Candy Lessons

Candy Temperatures: When cooking a syrup of sugar and water, as the water evaporates, the syrup can reach temperatures above the boiling point of water by itself. The evaporation also permits the formation of crystalline structures, which vary according to the percentage of sugar in the syrup (and therefore the temperature). Candy makers refer to these structures by the way they behave when cooled. They range from the thread stage (215 degrees and too cool to be used in most candies) to the hard-crack stage (290 to 310 degrees).