| Small Ball, 236°-238°. |
| Large Ball, 246°-248°. |
Drop a little into cold water; for the 7th a soft ball can be rolled between the fingers; for the 8th a hard ball.
Ninth and Tenth.
| Small Crack, 290°. |
| Crack, 310°. |
At the 9th a little, dropped into water, will break when cooled. At 300° it begins to assume a light color, and a few drops of lemon-juice should be added (four drops to a pound of sugar). At 310° it breaks off sharp and crisp, and crackles when chewed.
Eleventh.
| The Caramel, 345°-350° |
It now assumes a yellow color, and great care must be used or it will burn. The cooking must be arrested as soon as it is taken from the fire by holding the pan in cold water for a minute or so. A skewer or stick is the best thing to use for testing, as the little sugar that adheres to it will cool quickly. Dip the stick first into water, then into the sugar, and again into water.
SYRUPS
Syrup kept in stock. To use a syrup gauge have a glass deep enough to allow the gauge to float. A small cylindrical glass like the one shown in illustration is best, as it requires so little syrup that removing and pouring it back does not arrest the boiling. Syrups can be prepared and kept in air-tight preserve jars until needed for use. It is well to have in stock syrup at 34° for softening fondant when used for icing cakes, éclairs, etc. Water-ices should register 18°-20° on the gauge when ready to freeze. Fruits to be frozen are better when sweetened with syrup at 32° than when sugar is used.