Candy Thermometer Stage Calculator

About this calculator

Candy making relies on cooking sugar syrup to precise temperatures, since each degree range produces a different concentration of sugar and water that determines the final texture — from soft and chewy at the thread and soft-ball stages to brittle and glassy at the hard-crack stage. These target temperatures (thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft-crack, hard-crack, caramel) are all defined at sea level.

Water boils at a lower temperature as altitude increases — roughly 1°F (about 0.5°C) lower for every 500 feet of elevation — and sugar syrup follows the same shift, so a recipe written for sea level will finish at the wrong texture unless every target temperature is adjusted downward for your actual altitude. Home cooks and confectioners use this adjustment to hit the correct candy stage wherever they're baking.