[Sca-cooks] Once again venturing blindly so I need help.

[kattratt]

This is kinda what I was thinking already....
I was going to shoot for about 290 degrees and remove leaving the extra
cooking during ther cool down period.
I also won't be turning the heat up to a higher degree due to impatience...
I think I mostly scorched the sugar as it still came out glassy in
nature but it tasted liked a roasted marshmallow.
We have a third mold and are going to try it with that and some playing
tomorrow I will let everyone know how it goes.
Nichola


Pixel, Goddess and Queen wrote:

>Yes, you didn't stop soon enough, and your sugar started to carmelize.
>Take it slow. The hard-crack stage is 300F to 310F, the beginnings of
>caramelization start at about 320F. So you probably want to err on the
>side of caution until you are more experienced working with sugar. Because
>it will continue to heat right after you take it off the heat, watch your
>thermometer carefully and take it off the flame (don't just turn off the
>burner, take the pan OFF the head) right as the mercury hits 300F. That
>should probably help you avoid caramel.
>
>Also, what kind of pan are you cooking your sugar in? A heavy pan will
>hold the heat longer than a thin pan, which means that a) your sugar will
>take longer to harden, and b) the temperature is definitely going to
>continue rising after you remove the pan from the heat.
>
>250F is the hard-ball stage (nougats, divinity, gummies). It will form a
>hard ball in cold water, but you should still be able to squish it. What
>you want is hard threads rather than a ball, otherwise you'll run the risk
>of squishing your candy into formless blobs and it won't really look like
>stained glass. Think LifeSavers and lollipops and suchlike.
>
>As for how to get it out of the pan, well, it's just sugar. It will
>dissolve in hot water, so a good soak should take care of it. Actually, it
>will dissolve in cold water, but it will take rather longer.
>
>Margaret (who is notorious for screwing up her sugar syrup because of
>impatience)
>
>