Testing a cooked sugar syrup while making candy of any type is to ensure that the reaction is irreversible . A chunk of candy is made pliable in your hands then dropped into cold water. read more
What dictates which type of candy you are cooking is the point when the water stops boiling. There are seven stages of candy making: thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft-crack, hard-crack, and caramel. Different types of candy—from fudge to lollipops—need to be cooked to different stages. read more
After the fudge that you are boiling in the pot reaches a thickened syrupy stage, you put a drop with a spoon into the glass and if when you roll it with your fingers a bit , it holds together in a soft ball, you can remove it from the stove and let it cool down a bit before whipping with the beaters. read more