The 10 Best Candy Thermometers in 2022

When manufacturing candies, cold water is obviously less expensive than a thermometer, but you cannot use this temperature approach when deep frying, yeast proofing, jelly making, or ensuring meat has achieved an acceptable internal temperature. Candy thermometers are a useful tool for a range of culinary tasks since they can measure greater temperatures.

In this assessment, we look at the advantages and disadvantages of each form of candy thermometer, from the more conventional tall steel or glass bulb design to the current digital thermometers. Even if you already have the finest candy thermometer in your kitchen, it still requires frequent testing or calibration, so we’ve included some step-by-step instructions for testing and calibrating for temperature accuracy in this review.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Candy Thermometer

The Different Types of Candy Thermometers

Many of us still like the steel candy thermometer since it can be fastened to the edge of the pan while cooking. This sort of thermometer may be sluggish to provide an accurate reading, can rapidly lose calibration, and always requires enough mixture in the pan to completely cover its base and bulb.

Traditional bulb thermometers are inexpensive, but they are prone to condensation within the tube, making them difficult to read. They may also be highly delicate and break, resulting in the loss of an entire batch of mixture if the thermometer breaks in the pan. Because bulb and steel thermometers might have sharp edges and nooks and crannies, sugar crystals can form and impact the whole batch of mixture.

Dial thermometers can normally be manually calibrated, and their thinner steel probes make them simpler to keep out of the way while stirring the fluid. However, the dials on these may be difficult to read, particularly as the dial only allows for the marking of a few essential temperature values. A dial thermometer, like a standard thermometer, will only provide a reading for where it is clipped, although the center of the liquid may be significantly hotter.

Although they are more costly, digital thermometers may help with culinary automation, particularly if they include audible warnings that sound when the combination reaches a certain temperature. Some of digital thermometers also give a reading much faster than a manual thermometer and because most tend to have a stainless steel probe they can be quickly inserted into any part of the mixture for a more accurate reading.

Temperatures for Candy Making

Candy-specific thermometers are often preset or provide the following values for several varieties of candy:

• The thread stage occurs when a syrupy thread forms on cooling that may be poured over sweets. This is normally done at a temperature of 230F to 235F.
• The soft-ball stage is reserved for pralines, fondants, and fudges. When the mixture is cooled to 235F to 240F, a collapsible soft ball is created.
• Caramels may be prepared during the firm-ball stage, when the mixture has reached 245F to 250F and cools to form a stiff ball.
• The hard-ball stage is at 250F to 265F, and is appropriate for nougat, rock candy, and gummies. Once chilled, the material will form into a stiff ball.
• When a mixture reaches 270F to 290F and is cooled, it will have flexible threads which can bend before they break. This is the soft-crack stage for butterscotch.
• When the mixture has cooled from 300F to 310F, britles and toffees may be prepared. This is referred to as the hard-crack stage.

Why a Thermometer Should Be Calibrated

Many of us are accustomed to testing candy with cold water, so a thermometer is frequently simply a convenient addition to judge when the candy is approaching its proper stage. Candy thermometers, on the other hand, have a broad temperature range, making them ideal for a number of other kitchen and BBQ operations.

The accuracy of thermometers degrades with time, and even a few degrees off might be the difference between wonderful candy and damaged candy, or between internally safe meat and hazardous meat.

Testing A Thermometer

A boiling water test is the simplest technique to test a thermometer.

The probe end is completely submerged and not contacting the edges or bottom of the pan. Bring the water to a rolling boil (continuous and vigorous bubbling) and then let it to boil for at least five minutes to allow the thermometer to produce an accurate reading.Place your thermometer in a pan of water, ensuring sure the bulb is submerged.

The pan may then be turned off once you have taken an eye level reading from the thermometer.

Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit if you live at sea level. Water boils at 210.2 degrees Fahrenheit at 1000 feet above sea level, 208.4 degrees Fahrenheit at 2000 feet, and so on.

The temperature shown on your thermometer should correspond to the boiling point for the height at which you reside. If it doesn’t, make a note of the temperature the thermometer truly reads and save it somewhere safe.

It is beneficial to do this test on a frequent basis since it will alert you to any substantial temperature variations that may under- or over-cook food. If you notice that your regular calibration readings are dramatically different, it is definitely time to invest in a new thermometer.

Calibrating a Thermometer, Recipe Adjustment and Altitude

A handful of thermometers will enable you to manually re-calibrate them using the boiling water test or an iced water test, as described above. However, since you cannot calibrate all thermometers, the simplest solution is to calibrate your recipe!

When you use the thermometer again, you’ll need to alter the recipe temperature based on the reading from the boiling water test.

For example, your recipe calls for you to boil a combination for 10 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. You live at sea level (where water boils at 212F), and your thermometer read 216F in boiling water. This discrepancy is 4 degrees over the right boiling point, thus you must allow your combination to reach and maintain a temperature of 254F for ten minutes, since this will indicate that your mixture is at 250F.

Similarly, if your boiling water test measurement was 204F, or 8 degrees below, you would need to boil your combination for 10 minutes at 242F.

Now for the tricky part:

If you’re creating candy at altitude, once you’ve adjusted the temperature from your thermometer calibration, subtract an additional 2 degrees F from a recipe temperature for every 1000 feet above sea level.

Conclusion

In this analysis, we looked at some of the most popular candy thermometers on the market today, as well as the benefits that each kind of thermometer has over others. We’ve also discussed the necessity of calibration, since temperature changes not only degrade sweets, but if the thermometer is used elsewhere, such as to monitor interior meat temperatures, an erroneous reading may raise the risk of foodborne disease.

Even if you do rely on cold water for testing candy, a candy thermometer is still useful to have around, and if you are new to candy making, then until you become familiar with candy stages, a thermometer will give you some reassurance that you are cooking it correctly. We hope you found our review helpful in selecting the finest candy thermometer to guarantee your fudge is always soft-ball and your peanut brittle is always brittle.