Candy Making: Cold Water Test

Now  not a big candy maker, but for Christmas I thought making a little caramel popcorn or nut brittle sounded nice. If you have a candy thermometer on hand, it makes these type of recipes easy. But if you lose yours or don't have one it might be nice to know how to judge the temperature based on a cold water test. So here is how to do that....

Cold-Water Test

For the cold-water test, spoon a few drops of the hot candy mixture into a cup of very cold (but not icy) water. Using your fingers, form the drops into a ball. Remove the ball from the water; the firmness will indicate the temperature of the candy mixture. If the mixture has not reached the correct stage, continue cooking and retesting, using fresh water and a clean spoon each time.

Thread stage (230 to 233 degrees F): When a teaspoon is dipped into the hot mixture, then removed, the candy falls off the spoon in a 2-inch-long, fine thin thread.

Soft-ball stage (234 to 240 degrees F): When the ball of candy is removed from the cold water, the candy instantly flattens and runs over your finger.

Firm-ball stage (244 to 248 degrees F): When the ball of candy is removed from the cold water, it is firm enough to hold its shape, but quickly flattens.

Hard-ball stage (250 to 266 degrees F): When the ball of candy is removed from the cold water, it can be deformed by pressure, but it doesn't flatten until pressed.

Soft-crack stage (270 to 290 degrees F): When dropped into the cold water, the candy separates into hard, but pliable and elastic, threads.

Hard-crack stage (295 to 310 degrees F): When dropped into the cold water, the candy separates into hard, brittle threads that snap easily.

Kitchen Tip: freeze and Grate Whole Lemons

Mom sent this info, but unsure of the exact source. its a great idea for using fresh lemon that you freeze. 

How can you use the whole lemon without waste? Simple.. place the washed lemon in the freezer section of your refrigerator. Once the lemon is frozen, get your grater, and shred the whole lemon (no need to peel it) and sprinkle it on top of your foods.  Sprinkle it on your salad, ice cream, soup, cereals, noodles, spaghetti sauce, rice, sushi, fish dishes.... the list is endless.

What's the major advantage of using the whole lemon other than preventing waste and adding new taste to your dishes?  Well, you see lemon peels contain as much as 5 to 10 times more vitamins than the lemon juice itself. And yes, that's what you've been wasting.  But from now on, by following this simple procedure of freezing the whole lemon, then grating it on top of your dishes, you can consume all of those nutrients and get even healthier.  It's also good that lemon peels are health rejuvenators in eradicating toxic elements in the body.

Who knew, right? The surprising benefits of lemon!  In fact, Lemon (Citrus) is reported to kill cancer cells. It is considered also as an anti microbial spectrum against bacterial   infections and fungi, effective against internal parasites and worms, it regulates blood pressure which is too high and an antidepressant, combats stress and nervous disorders. Hence why lemon essential oil is so great to have in you home health cabinet!