A candy thermometer, also known as a sugar thermometer, is a thermometer

Thermometer

Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...

 used to measure the temperature

Temperature

Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...

 and therefore the stage of a cooking sugar solution. (See Candy for a description of sugar stages.) These thermometers can also be used to measure hot oil for deep frying

Deep frying

Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....

.

There are several kinds of candy thermometers available. These include traditional liquid thermometers, coil spring "dial" thermometers and digital thermometers. The digital thermometers tend to read the temperature more quickly and accurately, and some models have an alarm when the thermometer hits a certain temperature. Many models have markers for the various stages of sugar cooking.

A candy thermometer is similar to a meat thermometer

Meat thermometer

thumb|A meat thermometer with a dial. Notice the markings for each type of meatA meat thermometer is a thermometer used to measure the internal temperature of meat, especially roasts and steaks, and other cooked foods. The degree of "doneness" of meat correlates closely with the internal...

except that it can read higher temperatures (usually 400 °F/200 °C or more).