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Sugar


Notes

  • Brix: Grams of sucrose in 100 grams of solution, ie percent.


Solubility of sugar in water

  • Sucrose has the greatest solubility of the disaccharid sugars

Temp C

Temp F

Specific Gravity

Brix

Grams of sucrose dissolvable by 100g of water

0

32

1.31490

64.18

179.2

5

41

1.31920

64.87

184.7

10

50

1.32353

65.58

190.5

15

59

1.32804

66.30

197.0

20

68

1.33272

67.09

203.9

25

77

1.33768

67.89

211.4

30

86

1.34273

68.70

219.5

35

95

1.34805

69.55

228.4

40

104

1.35353

70.42

238.1

45

113

1.35923

71.32

248.7

50

122

1.36515

72.25

260.4

55

131

1.37124

73.20

273.1

60

140

1.37755

74.18

287.3

65

149

1.38404

75.18

302.9

70

158

1.39083

76.22

320.5

75

167

1.39772

77.27

339.9

80

176

1.40493

78.36

362.1

85

185

1.41225

79.46

386.8

90

194

1.41996

80.61

415.7

95

203

1.42778

81.77

448.6

100

212

1.43594

82.87

487.2


Sugar cooking temperature vs Brix

Temp (C)

Temp (F)

Brix

100.3

212.5

2 - 6

100.4

212.7

8 - 12

100.5

212.9

14 - 18

100.6

213.1

20

100.7

213.3

22 - 24

100.8

213.4

26

100.9

213.6

28

101.0

213.8

30

101.1

214.0

32

101.2

214.2

34

101.3

214.3

36

101.4

214.5

38

101.5

214.7

40

101.6

214.9

42

101.7

215.1

44

101.8

215.2

46

101.9

215.4

48

102.0

215.6

50

102.1

215.8

52

102.3

216.1

54

102.4

216.3

56

102.7

216.9

58

103.0

217.4

60

103.4

218.1

62

104.0

219.2

64

104.8

220.6

66

105.6

222.1

68

106.5

223.7

70

107.4

225.3

72

108.4

227.1

74

109.4

228.9

76

110.6

231.1

78

112.0

233.6

80

113.9

237.0

82

116.3

241.3

84

119.3

246.7

86

123.1

253.6

88

127.8

262.0

90

131

268

92

143

290

95

149

300

99

166

330

100


Sugar cooking stages

Temp (C)

Temp (F)

Stage

106 – 112

223 - 234

Thread

112 – 115

234 - 240

Soft-ball

116 – 120

242 - 248

Firm-ball

122 – 130

250 - 266

Hard-ball

132 – 143

270 - 290

Soft-crack

146 – 155

295 - 310

Hard-crack

> 160

> 320

Caramel

171 - 179

340 - 355

Light Brown Caramel

179 - 182

355 - 360

Medium Brown Caramel

190 - 193

375 - 380

Dark Brown Caramel

  • Cold water test: Drizzle a small amount of the sugar syrup from a spoon into a cup of cold water.

  • Thread Stage:

    • Uses: syrups, fruit liqueurs, and some icings.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms fine/loose threads at the bottom of the glass. Won't ball up. Doesn't quickly dissole.

  • Soft-Ball Stage:

    • Uses: fudge, fondant, pralines, peppermint creams, Italian meringue, and buttercreams.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms a soft, sticky ball. When removed from the water it will slowly flatten.

  • Firm-ball Stage:

    • Uses: caramels, nougats, and taffy.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms a firm ball that won’t flatten when removed from the water. Removed from the water it's still malleable.

  • Hard-ball Stage:

    • Uses: gummies, nougat, rock candy, popcorn balls, and marshmallows.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms thick threads as it drips from the spoon. Forms a hard ball in the water. It's firm but still malleable with some effort.

  • Soft-crack Stage:

    • Uses: butterscotch and saltwater taffy.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms firm but pliable strands.

  • Hard-crack Stage:

    • Uses: toffee, nut brittles lollipops, and barley sugar.

    • Cold water test: Syrup forms hard and brittle strands.

References


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