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[1] and were mentioned as early as 1896 in Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking-School Cook Book.[2] 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.[3]
- ^ Beard, James (28 February 2009). James Beard's American Cookery. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316069816. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Farmer, Fannie (January 1997). Original 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Courier Corporation. p. 453. ISBN 9780486296975. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Pearlman, Ann; Bayer, Mary Beth (26 October 2010). The Christmas Cookie Cookbook: All the Rules and Delicious Recipes to Start Your Own Holiday Cookie Club. Atria Books. ISBN 9781439176931. Retrieved 14 February 2023.