[Sca-cooks] Chestnuts

[phoenissa at netscape.net]

"Olwen the Odd" <olwentheodd at hotmail.com> wrote:

>Do you have a candy thermometer?  Do you have an idea what 'soft ball' stage
>is?  If you do, you don't necessarily need a thermometer.

No thermometer, but I do know what the different stages of the candy are supposed to look like...I've seen my mom make caramel before.

>Basically, you
>spoon a few drops of hot sugar into a bowl of very cold water.  Check the
>hardness of the ball with your fingers.  Soft ball being the first stage.
>It is just what the name implies.  Rather soft.  Beware though because it
>only takes a few seconds for temperatures to take the syrup to a hard ball
>stage.  Make sure you use a heavy pan (for more even heating) and use
>caution as boiling sugar can really cause severe burns.
>Olwen
>

Thanks!  The cookbook does provide a very basic explanation, but details help :-)

Vittoria


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