Why Won't My Caramels Harden?

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Why Won't My Caramels Harden?

by Deborah
(Lansing, MI)

Why won't my caramels harden?

I made homemade caramels for the first time. The recipe said to get the temp on the candy thermometer to 240 degrees. Got it up to 235 and wouldn't go any higher.

They've been sitting in the garage in Michigan for 2 days and it still won't harden.

Can I cook it over again?

Hi Deborah,

Yes, you can try melting down your caramel and cooking it a bit longer. You do need to get the temperature higher if you want them to set more firmly - between 240 and 245 degrees F.

Let us know if you are able to rescue the caramels and get them to harden the second time around.

Blessings,
Angie

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Why Won't My Caramels Harden?

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Jan 02, 2011

Candy Thermometer a must
by: Marci

Caramels, taffy, toffee, lollipops; all these items are sugar based, and their hardness depends on the temperature they are cooked to. The more water that is boiled out of the mixture, the harder the candy becomes. You need to have a good, accurate candy thermometer that stays in your mixture while you are boiling it. Do not let the tip of the thermometer rest on the bottom of your pan or it will be measuring the pan temp, not the candy. When water reaches 212° it boils and leaves your mixture in the form of steam. It can take a while for this to happen; that's why the temperature can seem to hang for a while (usually in the 220s) before it rises again. I boil my caramels till they reach 245° and they're nice and chewy.

Aug 09, 2011

The Sugar Plateau
by: Melissa

The reason it didn't go any higher, or seem to, is because of something called plateauing. As sugar reaches different points in the melting stage, it seems to sit at a temperature and take in a lot of heat energy without changing. This is because changing from different states takes a lot more energy. In general, it plateaus at 210 or so, then at 235 (thread stage) and then usually at 240 where it gets to the softball stage. You have to be careful because the temperature can leap up fast after taking ages to get to one point. Going from 240 to 260 takes a fraction of the time going from 220 to 240 did. I've ended up with caramelized sugar when I didn't want it.

235 makes syrup. 240 makes candy. It's better to err on the side of a little hotter, technically 235 is the start of the softball stage, but 240 will definitely be it.

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Why Won't My Caramels Harden?

Comments for Why Won't My Caramels Harden?

Comments for
Why Won't My Caramels Harden?