Culinary Institute of America Masters Collection Candy/Deep Fry Thermometer

This little thermometer is intended for candy making and deep fat frying. I picked one up because my large candy thermometer is about a foot long and awkward to manage in a small pot. The materials and build quality seem quite good. The stainless steel stem can be covered with a plastic tube for storage. On the outside of the tube are temperature translations in both Fahrenheit and Celsius of vague terms like "soft ball" and "hard crack." Quite handy because there really are no commonly agreed upon meanings for those terms and, when making candy, boiled frosting, etc. missing the target by more than a few degrees can lead to unsatisfactory results.The thermometer is not advertised as water proof so be careful not to immerse it when washing the stem. A feature not seen often in thermometers in this price range is the ability to calibrate the dial. Happily, when I compared it at several temperatures against my CDN commercial candy thermometer, I found no point between 200F and 300F where the two differed by as much as five degrees. The temperature measurements seem to be both accurate and linear.To the extent that there is room for improvement, it would be in the pan clip. It works fine but you don't position it quite as you think you might from looking at it. You'll want to play with it for a minute or so with an empty pan so you catch on to how it should be positioned. Once in place, I found it quite stable.Bottom line? Well made, accurate, capable of calibration, a little more expensive than some other dial candy thermometers but this is an area where you get what you pay for. Readily recommended for the home cook.

Very well made, has the feel of a quality product. Temperature able to be adjusted so that even if the read gets off over time, turning a bolt on the back will re-calibrate it for you.If you are having problems with the clamp I'm guessing you are pulling it into position rather than pushing. The way the clamp attaches to the rod, pulling it into position will make the clamp loose and unable to hold the pot well. That may not make sense until you have the thermometer in hand, but believe me when I say the clamp works great.The only downside this has is shared with all dial thermometers I've seen, which is that the degree marks are close together and makes estimation necessary (but only slightly more so than the traditional thermometer types). More than makes up for it in how easy it is to see a dial however.The needle most definitely does not get in the way.

Appears quite solid, but when I tested it in boiling water at sea level, it read 200 degrees, not 212. I fixed it by turning the nut on the bottom with a pair of needle nose pliers, but CIA should not be selling miscalibrated products, nor should they assume their customers are all handy.UPDATE 1/30/2017 This is a great thermometer. Much more solid than any of my previous dial thermometers, easy to read, easy to clean. I've raised my rating from a 3 to a 4. It would have been a five if not for the initial miscalibration.

I have tried different thermometers and have had disasters because they weren't accurate. I needed a good candy thermometer & I was impressed with reviews. The coating for my caramel corn turned out perfectly. I found calibration easy. When I made my caramels I did have a problem - the clip didn't hold and the whole thing fell into the mixture. I rinsed it off, put it back on the pan and used a clip clothespin to help hold it. My caramels were awesome. If you are spending time to make candy, calibration is any worth the extra minute it takes. As for the clip, I know now to use the clothespin. I found that the thermometer still worked after submersion so I give this product 5 stars even with the problem. I suggest before you make your first batch of candy that you attach clip to a pan & play around with thermometer placement to find the best way to prevent the problem I had.

This is the sturdiest kitchen thermometer I've ever owned.After breaking or melting three different thermometers, I bought this one because it looked well-made. After using it for several months, my wife and I are both very happy with its durability and accuracy (at least for deep fat frying in a dutch oven).We have not used it for making candy.Pros:Sturdy (my 2-year old used it as a hammer without breaking it)Visually appealing (looks too good to put away in the kitchen drawer)Doesn't need batteriesAdjustable, in the event that recalibration is neededCons:The thermometer head is heavy and may not stay put in shallow pots and pans.Clip does not grip one of my pots very securely (Lodge enamel dutch oven) and I worry about it falling over.If I lose this thermometer, I'm buying the exact same one again.

I purchased this thermometer for baking (stove top) and deep frying. I was very pleased initially, the clip was nice and secure and the thermometer placement in the pots was nice. However, after three uses the needle stuck inside the thermometer and would jump from 200 to 300 degrees instead do slowly climbing. Purchased a traditional candy thermometer to replace and have been pleased thus far.

An easy to read, well made, frying thermometer. We fry lots of fish in my house. Keeping oil at 350 degrees is essential to this task. This thermometer works great. I had an instant read digital candy/deep fry thermometer before this one. But it had a problems. First, it got wet and misted in the display. Not sure if that will happen with this one, but I think it won't as it has been washed and dried already. Second, the digital had a super long spike that did not stay fixed to the side of the pot. This spike is shorter and the side clip works better.