A candy thermometer, also known as a sugar thermometer or jam thermometer, is a cooking thermometer used to measure the

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

and therefore the ''stage'' of a cooking sugar solution. (See

candy making Candy making is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and choc ...

for a description of sugar stages.) A candy thermometer is similar to a

meat thermometer image:Meat thermometer.jpg, A meat thermometer with a dial. Notice the markings for each type of meat. A meat thermometer or cooking thermometer is a thermometer used to measure the internal temperature of meat, especially roasts and steaks, a ...

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 Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly Cooking oil, oil, as opposed to the shallow frying used in conventional frying done in a fryi ...

since it can reach higher temperatures than a normal thermometer. Candy thermometers have been used by the general public since

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, although they had been available to professional candymakers earlier than that and were mentioned as early as 1896 in

Fannie Farmer Fannie Merritt Farmer (23 March 1857 – 16 January 1915) was an American culinary expert whose '' Boston Cooking-School Cook Book'' became a widely used culinary text. Education Fannie Farmer was born on 23 March 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, ...

's ''Boston Cooking-School Cook Book''. 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.

References

Food preparation utensils Thermometers Cooking thermometers {{cooking-tool-stub

See also

References