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Calcimator

Candy Temperature Chart

Find the correct cooking temperature for fudge, caramel, taffy, toffee, and hard candy. Adjusts for altitude with precise corrections.

Inputs

ft

Results

Target Temperature

236°F

Target Temperature

456.69°F

Sea Level Reference236°F
Altitude Correction0°F
Water Boiling Point212°F
Water Boiling Point413.6°F
Sugar Concentration83.6%
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Select the candy type you are making (soft ball, firm ball, hard ball, soft crack, hard crack, caramel).
  2. Enter your altitude in feet above sea level.
  3. The calculator adjusts the target temperature down by approximately 2 °F for every 1,000 feet of elevation.
  4. Use a calibrated candy thermometer and cook the sugar syrup to the adjusted target temperature.
  5. Verify your thermometer's accuracy in boiling water before starting to eliminate systematic error.

What each input means

Candy Type
1 = Fudge (236°F), 2 = Caramel (248°F), 3 = Taffy (270°F), 4 = Hard Candy (300°F), 5 = Toffee (290°F), 6 = Soft Ball (240°F).
Altitude
Your elevation in feet above sea level. Water boils at lower temps at altitude, so candy stages occur at lower temps too. Subtract ~2°F per 1,000 ft.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    Candy Type = 1, Altitude = 0 = 2 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Target Temperature
    Target Temperature
    236 = 236
  3. Calculate Target Temperature
    Target Temperature
    113.3 = 113.3
  4. Calculate Sea Level Reference
    Sea Level Reference
    236 = 236
  5. Calculate Altitude Correction
    Altitude Correction
    0 = 0

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