Last Updated on October 8, 2026

Maple Candy, Cream and Sugar Temperatures (Adjusted for Altitude)

Cook maple syrup to 22 to 24°F above the boiling point of water for maple cream, 32 to 34°F above for soft maple candy, and 40 to 50°F above for granulated maple sugar. At sea level, where water boils at 212°F, that is 234 to 236°F for cream, 244 to 246°F for candy, and 252 to 262°F for sugar. Ohio State University Extension and the Cornell Maple Program give the same cream and candy ranges. For granulated sugar they differ: Ohio State says 40 to 45°F above, Cornell says 45 to 50°F. Boil a pan of plain water first, read your thermometer, and add the number for the product you want.

Maple candy temperature chart

Every target is degrees above the boiling point of plain water where you are, on the day you cook. The sea level column assumes water boils at 212°F.

The ranges are from Ohio State’s fact sheet Maple Candy and Other Confections (F-46-02), except Cornell’s granulated sugar range, which is from Cornell Maple Bulletin 207. They are ranges, not single numbers, because barometric pressure, humidity and the syrup itself all change the result. Expect to adjust your finish up or down once you see how a batch turns out.

Maple candy temperature calculator

Enter your altitude, or better, the boiling point of plain water you just measured, and get the target for every confection.

The altitude estimate uses the same standard-atmosphere equations as the boiling point table hosted by the UC Davis food safety program, so it matches the chart below.

Maple candy temperatures by altitude

Water’s boiling point in this chart is from the UC Davis-hosted table for standard air pressure. Add the confection numbers to it.

Why you check boiling water first

A fixed number only works where water boils at 212°F. The UC Davis-hosted table puts the drop at about 0.9°F for every 500 feet of altitude, and the day’s weather moves it too: at sea level, a barometer reading of 29.0 inches instead of the standard 29.92 drops it 1.53°F. The Cornell Maple Program’s Maple Confections Notebook prints a fixed temperature chart and then warns that cooking from a chart like that will not give a consistent product, because finish temperatures must be adjusted to conditions.

Cook soft candy to a flat 245°F at 3,000 feet, where water boils at 206.6°F, and you are 38.4°F above boiling: past soft candy and close to hard molded sugar.

1. Bring a pan of plain water to a full boil on the same stove, the same day you cook.
2. Put your candy thermometer in and wait for the reading to stop climbing. Write it down. That is your boiling point.
3. Add the degrees for your product. Water at 210.5°F plus 32 gives 242.5°F for soft candy.
4. Cook the syrup with that same thermometer. If it reads a little high or low by a steady amount, the gap still comes out right.

Use a candy thermometer that reads 200 to 300°F. A digital one that reads to a tenth of a degree, ideally with an alarm, helps, because the temperature can climb too fast right at the end.

I finish my syrup indoors on the stove, where I can control the temperature. A kitchen stove gives confections the same steady, easily controlled heat. Start on moderate heat with no more than 1-1/2 inches of syrup in an 8-inch-deep pan so it does not burn or foam over. A drop of vegetable oil knocks foam down. Thermometer and pan advice is from Ohio State F-46-02 and Cornell Maple Bulletin 201. This is the same degrees-above-boiling method as the maple syrup finishing temperature calculator, carried further.

Cooling and stirring each one

The cooking temperature, how fast the syrup cools and how you stir it together decide which confection you get. These steps follow Ohio State F-46-02 and Cornell Maple Bulletins 201, 207 and 208. Where the two disagree, both are named.

Maple cream

1. Cook to 22 to 24°F above boiling water. Go to the high end on rainy or humid days.
2. Pull it off the heat and cool it fast, without stirring or moving the pan. A sink of cold water works, with ice to speed it up. Leave the thermometer in the pan instead of dipping it in and out.
3. Wait until it is down to 75°F or below. Ohio State prefers 70°F or cooler; Cornell’s limit for good results is 75°F. Cooling to 45 to 55°F makes the finest cream, though it is stiff to stir.
4. Stir slowly. Do not whip. It loosens and warms a little first (that is normal, the heat of crystallization), then thickens, turns lighter and loses its shine. Once it is dull and smooth, jar it.

Light-colored syrup is the safer pick if you have not tested it, since darker syrup is more likely to carry too much invert sugar to cream. Stirring in a teaspoon of an earlier batch of cream per gallon of cooked syrup makes crystals form faster.

Soft maple candy

1. Cook to 32 to 34°F above boiling water.
2. Pour into a flat pan and let it cool undisturbed to 200°F, but not below 160°F.
3. Stir until it turns lighter, thicker and creamy looking. This usually takes under five minutes. Stop on the early side, because stirred too long it sets up in the pan.
4. Pour or pack into rubber molds. It sets in 10 to 30 minutes. Poured candy gets a glazed surface that packed candy does not.
5. Unmold after 30 minutes to an hour and let the pieces air dry on a rack for 24 hours before packing.

Where you start stirring sets the hardness. Cornell Maple Bulletin 208 gives above 200°F for a harder candy, 190 to 175°F for medium, and below 170°F for soft candy that may be too soft to handle. The best results come in a 68 to 72°F room at 40 to 45 percent humidity.

Hard candy and hard molded sugar

For crunchy hard sugar candy, cook to 28 to 30°F above boiling water, cool to about 150°F, stir until it is plastic with relatively large crystals, then pour or pack into molds. Hard molded sugar goes to 40 to 45°F above, gets stirred right away until crystals form, and is packed into molds. This one is not candy but a quite hard block of sugar.

Granulated maple sugar

1. Cook to 40 to 45°F above boiling water (Ohio State) or 45 to 50°F (Cornell). Use the high end for syrup closer to 2 percent invert sugar.
2. Stir right away in a flat pan or trough, or after it cools to about 200°F, by hand or with a slow-speed commercial mixer. A kitchen-grade mixer is not recommended; the load after crystals start often burns one out.
3. Keep stirring until the moisture is gone and only crumbly sugar is left. Fast stirring makes a finer, powdery sugar; slow stirring makes a grainier sugar like brown sugar.
4. Sift through 1/8-inch hardware cloth or a sieve, then store it in a dry, airtight jar.

Sugar on snow

Heat syrup to 18 to 40°F above boiling water and pour it at once over snow or crushed ice, no stirring. The low end makes chewy, taffy-like strands; the high end makes harder, glassy candy. Eat it right away.

Crystallization troubleshooting

Causes and fixes are from Cornell Maple Bulletins 201, 207 and 208, the Cornell confections notebook and Ohio State F-46-02. Cornell checks invert sugar with a glucose meter on syrup diluted 1 in 10. Without a meter, light-colored syrup is the safer bet for cream and granulated sugar, since darker syrup tends to carry more invert sugar.

Stay safe with hot sugar

Syrup at confection temperature is far hotter than boiling water and sticks to skin. Cornell Maple Bulletin 204 recommends:

• Gloves or mitts, a non-absorbent apron and eye protection when you move hot syrup, plus long pants and closed shoes.
• Pan handles turned away from where people walk, and no reaching across hot burners.
• A bowl of cool water within reach. If hot sugar hits skin, cool the spot right away. Blisters mean a serious burn: do not break them, skip creams, and get medical help.

Granulated sugar can throw a burst of hot steam as it crystallizes, so wear the gloves and eye protection while you stir, too.

Making maple candy for holiday gifts

If you’re making December gifts, plan around how long each one keeps.

Keeping times and yields are from Cornell Maple Bulletins 201, 207 and 208, written for maple producers. A gallon of syrup makes about 7-1/2 pounds of molded candy, and a quart makes about 2 pounds of granulated sugar. Still making the syrup? Check its density with a hydrometer and use the hydrometer temperature correction to read it right.

Quick questions

What temperature do you cook maple syrup to for maple candy?

For soft molded maple candy, cook to 32 to 34°F above the boiling point of plain water where you are, which is 244 to 246°F at sea level. Then let it cool undisturbed to between 200°F and 160°F before you stir it. Crunchy hard candy goes to 28 to 30°F above boiling.

What temperature is maple cream cooked to?

22 to 24°F above the boiling point of water, or 234 to 236°F at sea level. Cool it fast without stirring to 75°F or below (70°F or cooler is better), then stir slowly until it turns dull and smooth.

What temperature makes granulated maple sugar?

Ohio State University Extension says 40 to 45°F above the boiling point of water, and the Cornell Maple Program says 45 to 50°F. At sea level that is 252 to 262°F. Stir it right away until it is dry and crumbly.

How does altitude change maple candy temperatures?

Every target drops with the boiling point of water, about 0.9°F for every 500 feet. At 3,000 feet water boils at about 206.6°F, so soft candy finishes at 238.6 to 240.6°F instead of 244 to 246°F. A boiling water reading on the day you cook is more accurate than any altitude estimate.

Why is my maple cream grainy?

Usually the pan was moved or stirred while it cooled, it was not chilled enough before stirring (Ohio State prefers 70°F or below; Cornell’s limit is 75°F), or stirring stopped before the shine was gone. Syrup that is too low in invert sugar can also make gritty cream.

Plan the garden while the candy sets

Sugaring season ends where garden season starts. Plan My Garden is free to start: enter your zip code and it finds your frost dates, draw your beds, pick your crops, and it places each plant at square-foot spacing and builds a planting schedule from your frost dates.

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