Original 1914 recipe
Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Erken's basic guide to sugar boiling: 1 kg sugar is dissolved in 1 liter of water, boiled over high heat without stirring, skimmed, and the edge of the pot kept clean. The boiling stages are determined with a finger test: thin thread 101.5 °C, thick thread 105.5 °C, small pearl 113.5 °C, large pearl 120 °C, small blow 125 °C, further large blow 129 °C, small ball 131 °C, large ball 137 °C, soft crack 161 °C, hard crack 171 °C, and caramel 195 °C.
Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 448 (falt i det fri)
Erken's introduction to sugar work in the dessert chapter. The recipe is really a basic technique: one sugar syrup of 1 kg sugar and 1 liter water is boiled further and further, and the various boiling stages are determined with finger and slotted-spoon tests (or with a thermometer). The stages from "the thin thread" to "the small blow" begin on this page; the higher stages (large blow, balls, crack, caramel) follow on the next page.
Pot and equipment
Preferably use an untinned copper pot scoured bright with acetic acid and ashes or scouring powder before each use, otherwise a heavy-bottomed pot. Have a linen cloth or small brush and a bowl of cold water ready, along with a sugar thermometer if possible.
Dissolve the sugar
Put the sugar in the pot with the water and let the sugar dissolve completely before the pot is set over the heat. With hard water, add 15 g of glucose per 0.5 kg of sugar.
Bring to a boil
Boil over rapid heat. Skim off as soon as it boils, and do not stir the sugar during boiling. Wipe the edge of the pot clean of sugar with the cloth dipped in cold water, otherwise the sugar is easily ruined.
The thin thread (about 101.5 °C)
Boil a few minutes. Dip your index finger in the syrup (first dip your finger in cold water for safety), press it together with your thumb, and part your fingers at once: if the sugar draws out into a fine thread that breaks at a short distance, it is boiled to the thin thread.
The thick thread (about 105.5 °C)
Boil the syrup a little longer and do the same test. If the thread can be drawn further without breaking, the syrup is boiled to the thick thread.
The small pearl (about 113.5 °C)
Continue boiling for a moment and test as before. When the fingers can be moved a little far apart without the thread breaking, the sugar is boiled to the small pearl.
The large pearl (about 120 °C)
Boil a little longer, dip your index finger again, and stretch your thumb and index finger as far apart as possible. If the thread holds whole, the sugar is boiled to the large pearl.
The small blow (about 125 °C)
Boil a little longer. Dip a slotted spoon in the syrup, pass it lightly over the pot, and blow through the holes. If small bubbles appear on the other side, the sugar is boiled to the small blow.
Further stages
If you want higher stages, the sugar is boiled further: the large blow 129 °C (265 °F), the small ball 131 °C (270 °F), the large ball 137 °C (280 °F), the soft crack 161 °C (320 °F), the hard crack 171 °C (340 °F), and caramel 195 °C (385 °F). At the high stages the pot must be taken off the heat at once, as a few seconds more of boiling turns the sugar to caramel.
Modernized spelling in the steps, "loaf sugar" explained as refined/good-quality sugar, amounts given in modern units (kg, liter, grams). The finger tests have been kept, but a reference to a sugar thermometer has been added for safety. The untinned copper pot is mentioned as the original's recommendation, with a heavy-bottomed pot as an alternative.
Original 1914 recipe
Verbatim from the first edition of the Big Cookbook.

Revised 1949 recipe
From the revised edition of the Big Cookbook.

Note on Modernised
Modernisert rettskriving i trinnene, «topsukker» forklart som raffinade/sukker av god kvalitet, mengder oppgitt i moderne enheter (kg, liter, gram). Fingerprøvene er beholdt, men det er lagt til henvisning til sukkertermometer av sikkerhetshensyn. Ufortinnet kobberkjele er nevnt som originalens anbefaling, med tykkbunnet kjele som alternativ.
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