Instant read thermometer for Candy?

Quoted message said:

Goomba38 asks:

If I were to make fudge, and the recipe called for a candy thermometer, could I use my instant
read instead?

Not really.

Quoted message said:

What are the differences here?

Typical insta-read thermometers do not register nearly high enough for confectionary work...
attempting to do so will likely damage the unit. Candy thermometers also do double duty for deep
frying... they are inexpensive... usually around ten dollars.

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Goomba38 said:

If I were to make fudge, and the recipe called for a candy thermometer, could I use my instant
read instead? What are the differences here?

If it reads to a high enough temperature I can't see why not. We use digital "meat" thermometers for
candy making and they all read plenty high enough for fudge, etc.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

at Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:57:40 GMT in <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote :

Quoted message said:

Goomba38 said:

If I were to make fudge, and the recipe called for a candy thermometer, could I use my instant
read instead? What are the differences here?

If it reads to a high enough temperature I can't see why not. We use digital "meat" thermometers
for candy making and they all read plenty high enough for fudge, etc.

A non-obvious advantage, however, of using a "traditional" candy thermometer (the glass-bulb ones,
not the dial ones) is that when the sugar syrup starts to get near the right temperature, things
happen *very* fast. In a matter of a few seconds, the syrup can change from ideal to overdone. With
a bulb thermometer, you can actually watch the mercury level rise, and so be ready to remove from
the stove. With an instant-read, however, you're not going to be able to do this, and at the rate
things start to change, the number of measurements you'd need to take would be impractical and
probably imprecise. The dial-type candy thermometers also work OK, although it's a little more
difficult to see the motion of the dial because it's generally not as much as in a glass bulb type.
Digital-readout thermometers are much more difficult to work with because a changing numeric reading
is confusing and tends to make it difficult to figure out exactly what's going on.

--
Alex Rast [email hidden] (remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

Alex Rast said:

at Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:57:40 GMT in <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] wrote :

Quoted message said:

Goomba38 said:

If I were to make fudge, and the recipe called for a candy thermometer, could I use my instant
read instead? What are the differences here?

If it reads to a high enough temperature I can't see why not. We use digital "meat" thermometers
for candy making and they all read plenty high enough for fudge, etc.

A non-obvious advantage, however, of using a "traditional" candy thermometer (the glass-bulb ones,
not the dial ones) is that when the sugar syrup starts to get near the right temperature, things
happen *very* fast. In a matter of a few seconds, the syrup can change from ideal to overdone.
With a bulb thermometer, you can actually watch the mercury level rise, and so be ready to remove
from the stove. With an instant-read, however, you're not going to be able to do this,

Beg to differ. Not much difference between watching a pointer move around a dial and mercury rising
in a column. I got rid of all my glass thermometers three restaurants ago because of the safety
issue. I have both analog and digital candy/deep fry thermometers and they work as well as or better
than the mercury ones. Analog reads from 50 to 550F. Digital reads from -30 to 425F.

Quoted message said:

and at the rate things start to change, the number of measurements you'd need to take would be
impractical and probably imprecise.

You don't remove the quick-read from the sugar solution. The probe end stays in the sugar while it's
working. I use a spring clip to hold them in place.

Quoted message said:

The dial-type candy thermometers also work OK, although it's a little more difficult to see the
motion of the dial because it's generally not as much as in a glass bulb type. Digital-readout
thermometers are much more difficult to work with because a changing numeric reading is confusing
and tends to make it difficult to figure out exactly what's going on.

The digital readout is considerably more accurate and considerably easier to read, IMO. On the face
of it, I can't understand why changing numbers would be confusing. What's to figure out about what's
going on. The sugar is getting hotter, staying the same or cooling off.

Pastorio

Bob said:

Alex Rast wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The dial-type candy thermometers also work OK, although it's a little more difficult to see the
motion of the dial because it's generally not as much as in a glass bulb type. Digital-readout
thermometers are much more difficult to work with because a changing numeric reading is
confusing and tends to make it difficult to figure out exactly what's going on.

Quoted message said:

The digital readout is considerably more accurate and considerably easier to read, IMO. On the
face of it, I can't understand why changing numbers would be confusing. What's to figure out about
what's going on. The sugar is getting hotter, staying the same or cooling off.

The digital models we use have temperature alarms. You can set them a few degrees below the critcal
point, and then they will beep once things get close. Easy to understand and read.

To each, their own, if you don't like digitals I'm not going to try to convince you to change. We
use them for candy making all the time and find them quite handy.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.