Making Cake. — Part II 1473 



perature is. The following tests will help the housekeeper in obtaining 

 accurate results when cooking a sugar solution with or without the use of 

 a thermometer. 



1 . Soft ball stage. — If a sugar solution is cooked until the thermometer 

 registers a temperature of 234° F. to 242° F., the concentration will be 

 such that a little of the sirup poured into cold water will form a ball that 

 holds its shape under water but that loses its shape when lifted from 

 water/ This is called the soft ball stage of concentration and this is the 

 degree of concentration used for cooking almost all boiled frostings and for 

 such candies as fudge, panocha, and fondant. Another test for this 

 stage is that the sirup begins to thread when some of it is dropped from 

 the tines of a fork. 



2. Hard ball stage. — A temperature of 246° F. to 250° F. in cooking a 

 sugar solution gives a sirup sufficiently concentrated to form a ball that 

 is firm under cold water and that still holds its shape when lifted from 

 the water. This is known as the hard ball stage. 



3. Soft crack stage. — -When a sugar solution in process of cooking 

 /caches a temperature of 290° F., the sirup is sufficiently concentrated 

 to form small balls or threads that will snap when kept under cold water 

 but that lose their brittle quality when removed from the water. This 

 is called the soft crack stage. 



4. Hard crack stage. — A temperature of 310° F. in a sugar solution 

 gives a sirup suificiently concentrated to form balls or strings that snap 

 when held under cold water and that retain their brittleness when removed 

 from the water. This is called the hard crack stage, and a sugar solution 

 cooked to this degree is used for coating nuts and in making candies such 

 as peanut brittle. 



5. Caramel stage. — When a sugar solution reaches a temperature of 

 350* F., the sirup turns brown, loses its power of crystallization, and 

 develops a peculiar agreeable flavor. This substance is known as caramel. 

 The presence of caramel in a cane sugar solution helps to retard or prevent 

 cr^'Stallization and when the solution does crystallize it has a creamy 

 consistency. Caramel is frequently added to sugar solutions for flavoring 

 and in order to influence crystallization. It is also used in other foods, 

 such as soups and desserts, for flavoring and in order to give color. Af cer 

 sugar has been caramelized, it wall harden into a brittle mass and it may 

 be used in that form or may be dissolved in a small amount of water and 

 bottled ready for use. 



6. Carbonizing stage. — If a sugar solution is cooked beyond the tem- 

 perature of 350° F., it begins to decompose, or carbonize. 



' Fahrenheit temperatures rnay be chan;;ed to centigrade by using the following formula: Fahrenheit 

 temperature — jj x | = centigrade temperature. 



93 



