On 10/15/2013 10:25 PM, Nancy2 wrote:
> Get a reasonably good quality candy thermometer. It's required, especially for a novice candy maker.
>
> My toffee recipe says to cook to soft crack stage which off hand I don't know what that is without checking the
> recipe, but my thermometer is marked "soft crack," hard crack," etc.
>
> N.
>
Crack stages are typically gauged by drizzling a little of the cooked
sugar mixture into cold water. You know you've hit hard crack if it
separates into threads you can "crack". The cold water test also works
for things like fudge for the gauging soft or hard ball stage - does it
flatten slightly or hold it's shape? I'm not astute enough to gauge
things that way. Grandma knew all about it.

I am not my grandmother. For a long time I made batches of candy
every year. Peanut brittle, almond toffee, fudge. I invested in a
candy thermometer.

Jill