How Do Meat Thermometers Differ from Candy Thermometers?

Whether you're roasting a whole chicken or crafting homemade candy, monitoring the temperature of your food as it cooks is crucial to its success. The best way to do this? A thermometer! It’s an essential tool for ensuring your food is perfectly cooked. Not only does it provide accurate readings, but it's also safer and easier than relying on touch to guess the temperature.

But not all thermometers are the same, and they aren’t interchangeable. In the kitchen, you'll need two distinct types — a candy thermometer and a meat thermometer. Here's how you can distinguish between the two.

Meat Thermometers

Meat thermometers have a lower temperature range compared to candy thermometers, typically maxing out at 200°F. This essential kitchen tool often features a pointed probe connected to a dial displaying the temperature. Digital "instant-read" versions are also available, offering more precise readings. Meat thermometers are perfect for checking the temperature of cuts like beef tenderloin, roasted turkey, grilled chicken breasts, whole fish, and more.

A meat thermometer is a must-have for cooking large cuts of meat, such as whole turkey, pork tenderloin, roast chicken, or meatloaf, to ensure they reach the safe minimum internal temperature (if you're unsure, refer to this helpful chart). For cuts like beef tenderloin, prime rib, or filet mignon, it helps you achieve the perfect medium-rare without guesswork.

Occasionally, you may need to recalibrate your meat thermometer to make sure it's providing accurate readings. Once that's done, test it out with these delicious recipes:

• Easy Marinated Pork Tenderloin
• Unbelievable Chicken
• Best Ever Meat Loaf

Candy Thermometers

A candy thermometer is designed to measure temperatures up to 400°F. This tall, slender thermometer is essential when making various candies like brittle, pralines, toffee, fudge, and others. These treats all begin with sugar, which is boiled to specific stages like "softball" or "hard crack" to create the perfect texture.

Knowing the exact temperature of the sugar is crucial, as the right temperature dictates the final consistency of your candy. This is why a candy thermometer is an indispensable tool (and much safer than dipping your finger into boiling sugar).

A candy thermometer can also be used for making homemade caramel sauce, sugar syrups, and preparing oil for deep frying. Whether you're frying okra, fried chicken, doughnuts, or other deep-fried treats, getting the oil to the correct temperature range (usually between 350°F and 375°F) is essential. Too low, and your food becomes greasy as it absorbs too much oil; too high, and it burns.

Excited to try your candy thermometer? Here are some scrumptious recipes to get you started:

• Chewy Caramel
• Best Honeycomb Toffee Candy
• Triple Dipped Fried Chicken

While you might think you can substitute a meat thermometer for a candy thermometer (or the other way around), this isn’t a good idea. A candy thermometer’s long, thin design allows it to safely measure the temperature of hot sugar or oil without burning you. On the other hand, a meat thermometer is shorter and not built for such high temperatures, especially when cooking sugar. Plus, its pointed tip makes it easy to insert into large cuts of meat, unlike the rounded tip of a candy thermometer.