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| The Art of Candy Making Fully Explained |
| Compiled by Mrs. Sherwood P. Snyder (1915) |
Thermometer
Of all the tools for making candy, the candy thermometer is the
most important. One of the principal secrets of successful candy
making is boiling the syrups to exactly the right degree. To
determine that degree without the aid of a thermometer is next to
impossible. The cold-water tests and the hand tests may be used,
but when using these tests the consistency of the candy will always
vary, unless one is an experienced candy maker and boils syrup
practically every day. With the thermometer it is impossible to
make a mistake unless it is not correctly read. We assume that a
thermometer will be used, and we give the degree Fahrenheit in
each recipe to which candy must be boiled.
Candy thermometers cost from one to three dollars, and can usually
be purchased at any good candy supply house or at a good
hardware store. If it is not possible to secure a good thermometer in
your city, one can be secured from The Heath Publishing Company,
Main and Fourth Streets, Dayton, Ohio. We carry a supply of
thermometers to accommodate those who are not able to find one in
local stores. However, we advise that an effort be made to get one at
the local stores before writing our company for one. Do not buy a
thermometer that is not guaranteed, and then be careful in handling
it, for unless it is carelessly or accidentally broken, it will last a
lifetime.
Before using the thermometer the first time, test it in boiling water.
The mercury should stand at exactly 212° when the water boils,
unless the altitude is several thousand feet above sea level, which
makes the boiling point lower. However, should your thermometer
not register exactly 212° in boiling water, it will not interfere with
the quality or value of the thermometer; but candies must be boiled
accordingly. For example, should the thermometer register but 210°
in boiling water, then it would be necessary to boil candies two
degrees less than the recipes direct. If the thermometer registers two
degrees above the boiling point in boiling water, then it will be
necessary to boil all candies two degrees higher than the recipes
direct. We hope that with this explanation it is understood that it is
necessary to add to, or deduct, the number of degrees the
thermometer registers above or below the boiling point in boiling
water.
All thermometers are tested before leaving the factory, and rarely
one is found to register inaccurately.
If one lives at an altitude of six or seven thousand feet, the boiling
point will be about 209°, hence the thermometer should be tested in
boiling water to determine the boiling point at the altitude where it
is to be used, and then candies should be boiled accordingly.
Be careful to read the thermometer accurately, always having the
eyes on a level with the mercury.
Always use a kettle proportionate in size to the amount of sugar
being boiled. The syrup must be deep enough in the kettle to cover
the bulb of the thermometer; otherwise it will not register correctly.
It will not break the thermometer to place it in the syrup just after it
begins to boil, unless it has been in a cold room. However, it is
always well to warm it a little as a precaution when putting it into
boiling syrup. They are made to withstand such a shock, but it
doesn’t pay to be unnecessarily careless.
When making candy it pays to watch it closely, to read your
thermometer closely, and to remove the syrup from the fire the
moment the thermometer registers the correct degree.
Of all the tools for making candy, the candy thermometer is the
most important. One of the principal secrets of successful candy
making is boiling the syrups to exactly the right degree. To
determine that degree without the aid of a thermometer is next to
impossible. The cold-water tests and the hand tests may be used,
but when using these tests the consistency of the candy will always
vary, unless one is an experienced candy maker and boils syrup
practically every day. With the thermometer it is impossible to
make a mistake unless it is not correctly read. We assume that a
thermometer will be used, and we give the degree Fahrenheit in
each recipe to which candy must be boiled.
Candy thermometers cost from one to three dollars, and can usually
be purchased at any good candy supply house or at a good
hardware store. If it is not possible to secure a good thermometer in
your city, one can be secured from The Heath Publishing Company,
Main and Fourth Streets, Dayton, Ohio. We carry a supply of
thermometers to accommodate those who are not able to find one in
local stores. However, we advise that an effort be made to get one at
the local stores before writing our company for one. Do not buy a
thermometer that is not guaranteed, and then be careful in handling
it, for unless it is carelessly or accidentally broken, it will last a
lifetime.
Before using the thermometer the first time, test it in boiling water.
The mercury should stand at exactly 212° when the water boils,
unless the altitude is several thousand feet above sea level, which
makes the boiling point lower. However, should your thermometer
not register exactly 212° in boiling water, it will not interfere with
the quality or value of the thermometer; but candies must be boiled
accordingly. For example, should the thermometer register but 210°
in boiling water, then it would be necessary to boil candies two
degrees less than the recipes direct. If the thermometer registers two
degrees above the boiling point in boiling water, then it will be
necessary to boil all candies two degrees higher than the recipes
direct. We hope that with this explanation it is understood that it is
necessary to add to, or deduct, the number of degrees the
thermometer registers above or below the boiling point in boiling
water.
All thermometers are tested before leaving the factory, and rarely
one is found to register inaccurately.
If one lives at an altitude of six or seven thousand feet, the boiling
point will be about 209°, hence the thermometer should be tested in
boiling water to determine the boiling point at the altitude where it
is to be used, and then candies should be boiled accordingly.
Be careful to read the thermometer accurately, always having the
eyes on a level with the mercury.
Always use a kettle proportionate in size to the amount of sugar
being boiled. The syrup must be deep enough in the kettle to cover
the bulb of the thermometer; otherwise it will not register correctly.
It will not break the thermometer to place it in the syrup just after it
begins to boil, unless it has been in a cold room. However, it is
always well to warm it a little as a precaution when putting it into
boiling syrup. They are made to withstand such a shock, but it
doesn’t pay to be unnecessarily careless.
When making candy it pays to watch it closely, to read your
thermometer closely, and to remove the syrup from the fire the
moment the thermometer registers the correct degree.
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The Candy Cookbook by Alice
Bradley (1917)
Also available online:
Candies And BonBons And
How To Make Them By Marion
Neil (1913)
Home Candy Making by Sarah
Rorer (1911)
Candy Recipes from "Practical
Housekeeping" (1881)
Candy Making Recipes from
Mrs. Harding's 20th Century
Cookbook (1921)
Candy Recipes from "Grand
Union Cookbook" (1902)
Links