Candy thermometer

{{Short description|Cooking thermometer for sugar solutions}}

File:Candy thermometer 001.jpg

A candy thermometer, also known as a sugar thermometer or jam thermometer, is a cooking thermometer used to measure the temperature and therefore the stage of a cooking sugar solution. (See candy making for a description of sugar stages.) A candy thermometer is similar to a meat thermometer but can read higher temperatures, usually 400 °F/200 °C or more. Candy thermometers can also be used to measure hot oil for deep frying since it can reach higher temperatures than a normal thermometer.

Candy thermometers have been used by the general public since World War I, although they had been available to professional candymakers earlier than that{{cite book |last1=Beard |first1=James |title=James Beard's American Cookery |date=28 February 2009 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=9780316069816 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHbSW8MylhkC |access-date=14 February 2023}} and were mentioned as early as 1896 in Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.{{cite book |last1=Farmer |first1=Fannie |title=Original 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book |date=January 1997 |isbn=9780486296975 |page=453 |publisher=Courier Corporation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=26BGgEh8Lo0C |access-date=14 February 2023}} Before, cooks had to use the "water test," i.e., placing a portion of syrup into cold water to judge its temperature.

Types of candy thermometers include liquid thermometers, coil spring or "dial" thermometers that use a bimetallic strip, and digital thermometers, which are often more precise. They may include a clip to attach the thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Some thermometers have markers indicating which stage the sugar is at, and alarms that go off after a given temperature is reached.{{cite book |last1=Pearlman |first1=Ann |last2=Bayer |first2=Mary Beth |title=The Christmas Cookie Cookbook: All the Rules and Delicious Recipes to Start Your Own Holiday Cookie Club |date=26 October 2010 |publisher=Atria Books |isbn=9781439176931 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Si9Dgsb5BHAC |access-date=14 February 2023}}