How to make sugar syrup recipe, preparing sugar syrup

The ability to work with sugar is a very important component of confectionery art, and it can be learned at home. True, for this you will need not only to read this chapter, but also to conduct an experiment in the kitchen. I hope that after this lesson you will be able to cook sugar syrups perfectly!

As you know, sugar dissolves perfectly in water, and such a solution is called syrup. The thickness of the syrup depends on the amount of dissolved sugar. The more sugar, the slower it dissolves in water, and there always comes a moment when sugar can no longer dissolve (with a ratio of water to sugar of 1:3). To make the syrup even thicker, you will have to boil it. During cooking, the water evaporates and the sugar concentration increases. The temperature of the syrup also increases. Eventually the water may completely evaporate, leaving just melted sugar, or caramel, in the pan.

To make caramel, you don't have to boil the syrup and evaporate all the water from it, you can just pour sugar into a frying pan, lightly moisten it with water and start heating until it melts and turns brown.

This method of caramelization is often used when quality (uniformity and clarity of the caramel) is not important - for example, in tatins, crème caramels or upside down cakes.

The boiling point of the syrup varies depending on its thickness. Let's say, with a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water, the syrup boils at a temperature of 101°C, and the temperature of molten sugar (that is, syrup with 100% sugar content) is 165°C. You can very accurately determine the amount of sugar in syrup by knowing the boiling point.

In addition, boiling syrup is liquid, but when cooled it thickens. By the thickness of the cooled drop you can also find out the percentage of sugar and the boiling point of the syrup. The measure of the thickness of the syrup is called the sample. Here is a table corresponding to the percentage of sugar in the syrup, the thickness of the drop and the boiling point.

Heating above 165°C makes sugar bitter (such sugar is called “burnt sugar”).

Confectioners determine the temperature (and, accordingly, the thickness of the syrup) using a special culinary (“sugar”) thermometer, the scale of which is marked from 30 to 180 ° C. Therefore, in professional literature you can find instructions like: “boil the syrup to 120°C.” At home, the sample can be taken simply by having a cup of cold water on hand. Cold water instantly cools the syrup, and there is no need to wait long. Please note, by the way, that the thick syrup does not mix with water.

Typically, citric acid or a few drops of lemon juice are added to the syrup for caramel and fondant (soft ball). This should be done a couple of minutes before the end of cooking. Due to the presence of acid, part of the sugar is inverted (converted into glucose and fructose, which prevent crystallization), that is, the acid prevents sugaring. Too much acid (or cooking with acid for too long) will invert all the syrup and the caramel will be soft and chewy. If you do not add acid (for example, when preparing grilled meats), you can get sugar fudge instead of transparent caramel. Professionals add molasses or glucose syrup instead of acid.

To cook sugar syrup you need:
- a saucepan or stewpan with a not too thick bottom;
- brush, silicone will do;
- a wide cup filled with cold water with several ice cubes;
- tea spoon.

You can use as much water as you like, it will just take longer to boil.

Thick or thin bottom? Choose for yourself! Pay attention to the thickness of the bottom of your saucepan. The thin bottom conducts heat well, but if the heating is uneven (for example, on a gas stove), the bottom will also heat unevenly, so the syrup will have to be stirred (not with a spoon, but by shaking the pan). But as soon as you remove the pan from the stove, the cooking stops.

If the bottom is thick, it not only provides uniform heating (which is very good!), but also retains and accumulates heat. Therefore, even if you remove the pan from the heat, heating continues and the sugar syrup can easily overcook. In this case, you need to prepare a large bowl of cold water or a wet towel to place the pan on to cool the bottom and stop the heating.

Also note that the larger the bottom area, that is, the wider the pan, the faster the sugar syrup will cook.

Ingredients (For 8 or more people)

sugar 700 g

water 30 g

1. Pour sugar into a saucepan, add water and place over medium heat (syrups, unless otherwise indicated, are brought to a boil over medium and simmered over high heat). Prepare a cup of water and a teaspoon.

2. While stirring, dissolve the sugar, try to ensure that no grains remain.

3. When the syrup boils, dip the brush in cold water and wash off the sugar crystals from the walls of the pan (if you leave them, when they cool, they will contribute to the sugaring of the syrup, since they represent crystallization centers). For the same reason, boiled syrup should not be stirred with a spoon or spatula, but only by shaking the pan.

4. Increase the heat and cook the syrup, watching for bubbles. The syrup thickens, the bubbles become larger and burst more slowly. A minute after the start of boiling, take a sample.

5. When taking a sample, always remove the saucepan from the heat! Scoop some syrup with a teaspoon and dip the spoon into ice water. Using your fingers, remove the syrup from the spoon (it cools instantly!) and try to form a ball. If the syrup spreads, it is not ready yet.

6. Take samples every minute or more often, remembering to remove the saucepan from the heat* and if it has a thick bottom, then place it in a bowl of cold water or on a wet towel.

7. Soft ball - from a drop you can form a ball that holds its shape, but is very easily flattened. The middle drop ball looks like soft plasticine. A solid ball - the drop holds its shape perfectly. It is important that the syrup cooks faster and faster, and between two samples (especially if there is little syrup), the count of time can go by seconds.

8. Once you have sampled the hard ball, leave the sugar syrup on the stove. It will gradually become darker, turning into caramel. Proper caramel is crispy. golden brown, and undercooked caramel will not crunch, but stick to your teeth.