This document discusses sugar cooking techniques and provides recipes and instructions for making basic syrups, creams, and sauces used in baking. It explains sugar concentration levels, inversion to prevent crystallization, stages of sugar cooking determined by temperature, and procedures for simple syrup, dessert syrup, whipped cream, meringue, crème anglaise, pastry cream, and various dessert sauces.

1. Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
12
Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
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Syrup Strength
• Indication of the concentration of sugar in a solution.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, we can increase the concentration of
sugar by continuing to boil the syrup.
• When all the water has evaporated the remaining melted sugar
begins to caramelize, or brown.
• One pint of water is enough to dissolve 3-4 lbs. of sugar.
• The Brix scale is a measure of the sugar concentration in a solution.
• The simple way to measure sugar concentration is to use a
hydrometer, a hollow glass tube with a weight at one end. A
hydrometer used specifically to measure sugar concentration is
called a saccharometer.

3. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Crystallization and Inversion
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• Graininess is a common fault in many candies and desserts.
• Graininess results when cooked sugar crystallizes—turns to tiny
sugar crystals rather than staying dissolved in the syrup.
• Seeding is the chain reaction of when one sugar crystal comes in
contact with the sugar syrup and turns the whole thing into a mass
of sugar crystals.
• To avoid crystallization during the first stages of boiling sugary
syrups
• Do not stir the syrup.
• Wash down the sides of the sides of the pan with a brush
dipped in water.
• Cover the pan during the first boiling for several minutes.

4. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
• Syrups cooked until they have a high concentration of
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sugar are liable to crystallize after they have been
cooled. This can be controlled by inversion, a chemical
change of regular sugar into another form of sugar that
resists crystallizing.
• Ingredients that may be added to invert sugar are:
• An acid, cream of tartar or lemon juice
• Glucose or corn syrup

5. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Stages of Sugar Cooking
Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved
• Testing the temperature with a candy thermometer is the
most accurate way to determine the doneness of a
syrup.

6. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Stages of Doneness in Sugar Cooking
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Stage °F °C
Thread 230 110
Soft Ball 240 115
Firm Ball 245 118
Hard Ball 250-260 122-127
Small Crack 265-270 130-132
Crack 275-280 135-138
Hard Crack 290-310 143-155
Caramel 320-340 160-170

7. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Basic syrups for the bakeshop
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• Simple syrup, stock syrup, a solution of equal weights of
sugar and water.
• Dessert syrup, a flavored simple syrup.

8. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Procedure for Preparing a Simple Syrup
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• Combine equal weights of water and sugar.
• Stir and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Cook and stir
until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove any scum. Cool the syrup and store in a
covered container.

9. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Sugar Cooking
Procedure for Preparing a Dessert Syrup
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• Prepare and cool a simple syrup.
• Add any desired flavoring according to taste.
OR
• Prepare a simple syrup, but add the rind of an orange or
lemon to the sugar and water before bringing it to a boil.
• Remove rind from cooled syrup.

10. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Whipped Cream
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• Cream for whipping should be at least one day old.
• Chill the cream and all equipment thoroughly.
• Use a wire whip for beating by hand or the whip
attachment on the mixer. Use medium speed on mixer.
• Use extra fine granulated sugar or sifted confectioners
sugar if sweetening the cream.

11. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Whipped Cream
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• Do not over whip.
• Cream to be folded into other ingredients should be
slightly under whipped.
• Fold in flavoring last.
• If the cream is not to be used immediately, store it,
covered, in the refrigerator.

12. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Meringue : whipped egg whites sweetened with
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sugar.
•Common meringue (French meringue): room temperature
egg whites beaten with sugar.
•Swiss meringue: egg whites and sugar that are warmed
over a hot water bath as they are beaten.
•Italian meringue: beating a hot sugar syrup into the egg
whites.

13. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Meringue
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• Soft meringues: may be made with as little as 1 lb. sugar
to 1 lb. egg whites.
• Hard meringues: baked until crisp and twice as much
sugar.

14. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Guidelines for making meringues:
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• Fats prevent whites from foaming properly.
• Egg whites foam better at room temperature.
• Do not overbeat.
• Sugar makes egg white foams more stable.
• Mild acid helps foaming.

15. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Crème Anglaise : vanilla custard sauce and is a stirred
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custard.
•Use strict sanitation procedures.
•Set up a stainless steel bowl in an ice bath before beginning cooking.
•When combining the egg yolks and sugar, whip the mixture as soon
as the sugar is added.
•Heat the milk to scalding before combining with egg yolks.
•Slowly beat the hot milk into the beaten eggs and sugar.
•Set the bowl containing the egg mixture in a pan of simmering water
to prevent curdling.

16. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Crème Anglaise: vanilla custard sauce and is a stirred
Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved
custard.
•Checking for doneness
• When the mixture reaches 185°F (85°C).
• When the mixture lightly coats the back of a spoon.
•Immediately pour the sauce through a strainer.
•If the sauce curdles, immediately stir in 1-2 ounces (30-60 mL) of cold
milk, transfer it to a blender and blend at high speed.

17. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Basic Creams
Pastry Cream, crème pâtissière , contains a starch thickening agent
to stabilize the eggs. Crème chiboust is pastry cream with the
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addition of meringue and gelatin.
•Dissolve the sugar in the milk and bring to a boil.
•Beat egg yolks and whole eggs in a bowl.
•Sift the cornstarch and sugar into the eggs.
•Temper the egg mixture
•Return the mixture to the heat and bring to a boil.
•Stir constantly.
•Remove from heat when thickened and add butter and flavorings.
•Cool and chill as quickly as possible.

18. 12 Basic Syrups, Creams, and Sauces
Dessert Sauces
• Custard sauces
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• Chocolate sauces
• Lemon sauce
• Fruit sauces
• Purées of fresh or cooked fruit, sweetened with sugar, called coulis.
• Heated, strained fruit jams and preserves, diluted with simple syrup,
water or liquor.
• Caramel sauces
• Caramel is simply sugar cooked until it is golden. There are two
methods available for caramelizing sugar:
• Wet method
• Dry method
• Butter caramel