CC, I'll be watching this too, I bought a candy/jelly thermometer at the grocery store, less than $10, but I have to store it very carefully to keep from breaking that glass column.

I use it for jelly, for candy making and for checking oil temps when I'm making donuts or other deep fried items. It's a Taylor.

I have to store it in the drawer I keep dish towels in, though, so it doesn't get broken, I'd love one that I didn't have to be quite so careful with during storage.

Annie

Annie, I never had the glass break, but the column of mercury breaks, and becomes useless.
A good way to store these is inside a paper towel tube.

Me too....haven't had one in years....since the last one broke. Think I have one of the sort that hangs on the side of the pan....the one with the variable metal coil that measures heat....but I feel it's no longer accurate....wondering how I could test it?

Just boil water, LindaC, and put the thermometer in. If it boils at 212F fine, if not, you can adjust from there, up or down.

Annie

I think I bought one at the dollar store because it was there and so was I but it's still in the packaging. I'll have to test it. Thanks for the info Annie. I have never used one. I just cook by feel and look. It would be nice to be more accurate.

Eileen

Remember to adjust for altitude, there are charts on-line. Higher elevation, lower boiling point.

Annie

I'm 92 feet above sea level here. No worries.

E

I have one of the large Taylor thermometers that clips to the side of the pan, and it has presets for different temperatures. However, the presets are not exactly what I use - I go to 248 degrees instead of 244 when making toffee, but at least it warns me when I am getting close. I haven't had problems with it like the review on Amazon suggest, and so I don't know what to tell you. I have another smaller clip-on as a back-up, and then I also have a glass one that I use in case the batteries run down in the other ones. It's harder to read, but it saved me in an emergency once. I used to store it in a paper towel tube, per ReneeKY's suggestion, but now I clip it onto the rack that I have above my island. I've never had the mercury part break, and I think mine has colored alcohol instead of mercury.

I've never made candy at high altitude, but I have made pizza, and that was a very different experience.

Lars

LOL, Eileen, I knew that, and LindaC is in Iowa, but I didn't know who else might read this and try it.

Annie

Gosh I've had the same glass one for at least 25 years, just throw it in the drawer :-) Admittedly one of the little metal clips that hold the glass bit in the metal frame broke off a few years back and was replaced with some fuse wire, but :-)

Will a standard probe thermometer work? The kind with a probe, long wire, and remote display unit. Then you can use it for everything else too - meat roasting in the oven, etc.

Mine goes up to about 400F, I use it for roasting and deep frying, I think it would work for candy.

Pefhaps a candy thermometer that's not? I found candy thermometers a nuisance in the pan so I started using my thermapen for readings. Clear and fast and I can keep checking.

I tried a candy thermometer but found it a nuisance too and I found I had better results going with the cold water test for soft ball stage and hardball stage.

~Ann

Anybody have this one?

Here is a link that might be useful: CDN digital candy thermometer

I'm also monitoring this post to see if there's a great one out there. Like AnnT, I find the one I currently own to be a bother to use. Seems to always slide one way or another on the pot making it hard to read & doesn't stay in place so I can get an accurate measure. Since I have to fuss so much with it I usually resort to a glass of water and the soft ball test.

When I'm making fudge I also use the soft ball test,but I'm not as good when it comes to had ball or crack stage. I have yet to make a single batch of peanut brittle successfully, no matter whether I use cold water or the thermometer. I use the frozen plate test for jelly. I used the thermometer when I first started making long cooked jams without commercial pectin, just to give me a clue of when I was getting close to jell stage. I can tell pretty much by the way the stuff looks now but if I'm trying to teach someone else to do it, I use the thermometer.

However, I mostly use the thermometer when deep frying, to tell me when the oil is at 350 or 375 or whatever temperature I want to cook at.

A Thermapen would be nice but the original poster said a "reasonably priced" thermometer and I don't think the $100 or so for a Thermapen is at all reasonable. They're nice, I know, but they're pricey!

Annie

Puzzlefan, how are you using your thermopen? Just stick it in occasionally? Do you hold it in for several minutes as you're nearing your desired temp? Any problems with getting burned (you or thermopen)?

I bought this one: CDN DTQ450X ProAccurate Quick-Read Thermometer.
I like it much better than my old digital meat thermometer. It is fast. So far I've only used it for meat. Haven't made candy or jam since I got it.