Tuesday, January 22, 2008
candy/deep-fry thermometer
The other kind of thermometer I cannot live without is the deep-fry/candy variety. Typically they range from 50 to 400°F, and are clipped on the side of a pot when cooking items that require their temperature closely monitored. However, recent evidence suggests that mine is not worth the stainless steel it was cast in, and I’m on the hunt for a new one. Have any recommendations?
I got mine from William’s sonoma for something like $13, but Cook’s Illustrated recommends the “CDN Digital Cooking Thermometer and Timer ($24.95)”
Hi Deb:
I can’t live without my Polder digital thermometer, which is dual purpose candy/high temp-meat thermometer. AND it’s a timer. It is magnetic, so it sticks to the side of your range, and you can put the probe into the meat while it is roasting and leave it there the entire cooking time.
For candy purposes, it works beautifully but my only complaint is that it doesn’t actually clip to the side of the pot, but just sort of hangs out there. The other feature is a temperature alert, which you can set, and then a beeper goes off when desired temp is reached.
I think it cost around $28 4 or 5 years ago. It is possible that they have improved upon it, and wishful thinking, maybe it can now somehow attach to your pan.
Good Luck!
I have a digital one from the pampered chef. I don’t usually by their stuff because although I find it of decent quality, I think it is overpriced. I believe it was about $25-30 then. It has a timer, thermometer(C and F) that goes to 400F. It also has various candy settings I am not familiar with and a target temp feature which is nice. Set the temp you want to get to and leave it in and it will beep when you get there. The lead is nice and long so you can leave the probe in the oven and have the thermometer on the top of the stove or counter. It has a hinged display with big numbers so you can tilt it up if the light over the stove is glaring off it. It also has a magnet on the back, although the magnet isn’t quite as strong as I would like. It helps it from sliding around on the stove if you brush the lead but wont hold it up if you try sticking it to the side of the stove or fridge. It does have a clip to attach it to the sided of the pan. The clip is also removable if you don’t need it.
For someone that cooks allot I would say it is definitely worth it. At the time I was a little irritated. I only bought it because I was new at the company and I think my coworker was taking advantage of the fact I wanted to make a good impression. I cook allot more now and find it well worth the money. As a matter of fact, I used it this weekend when I made country fried chicken I was inspired to try after reading your post. The brining worked great although I had some trouble getting the crust right, I don’t think I used enough oil. Anyway, I think it is a good thermometer.
Oh yeah, the batteries last forever too, I am still on my first ones!
I have the “clip-on to the side of the pan” digital oil/candy thermometer from Williams-Sonoma. It’s expensive, but reliable, and I’ve made some killer candy with it!