Calibrating Your Thermometer

Calibrating a candy thermometer is important, take our word for it. It was one lovely Sunday afternoon when we wanted to try our hand at some candy making - lollipops to be more specific. Everything was going as planned... our sugar was cooking, our candy thermometer was in place, and once we reached a specific temperature, we poured our creation onto lollipop sticks. With a little time, the poured candy was supposed to ultimately harden into our beautiful lollipops. It wasn't until the necessary time had passed that we noticed that our lollipops wouldn't set - it wasn't hardening. We were stumped.

We had made this recipe before without a problem, so we wondered what might have gone wrong or what step we might have missed that was preventing us from making our perfect vanilla bean lollipops. After a few more attempts testing out different variations in the process and tools, we realized that, low and behold, our candy thermometer was off and was reading 10 degrees higher than the actual temperature. If we had calibrated our candy thermometer before using it, like we were supposed to, it would have saved us some heartache. On the plus side, this is now a teachable moment where we can show all of you how easy it is to check your candy thermometer so all your goodies come out perfectly every time!

In order to check the proper temperature of your candy thermometer you must compare the proper boiling point number with the number on your thermometer. The boiling point number for most is 212 degrees (F), but that number can vary slightly depending on where you live. Are you confused yet? Don't worry, we're gonna make this easy and painless for you, just check out these steps.

1) Fill a pot with water, clip your candy thermometer onto the side, and let the water come to a boil. Let the water boil for ten minutes to ensure it's a rolling boil.

2) While your water is boiling, check out this site to see what your state's mean elevation is, in feet, and write down the number.

3) Next, go to weather channel, type in your zip code and click on the blue buttom that "opens weather details". On the bottom left it will list what the pressure (barometric pressure) is. Write down this number.

4) Take those two numbers and fill in this chart. You will then know what the specific boiling point number is for your state.

5) At this point your water should be at a rolling boil, compare the boiling point number with the number on your thermometer to see if your candy thermometer is reading too high, too low, or just right.

6) If the candy thermometer is reading high or low, you will have to take that into account the next time you use it. For Example: You're making Swiss Meringue today and just learned that your candy thermometer reads 10 degrees below the boiling point. Since you know you need to reach a temperature of 160 degrees (F) for Swiss Meringue, be aware that when your thermometer reads 150 degrees (F), the proper temperature has been reached.

Unfortunately, there may not be a way to fix your thermometer depending on the type, so it all might come down to checking how calibrated it is and going from there. We suggest to check your thermometer before each candy making session to ensure the best results. If your thermometer is consistently giving you different numbers each time you calibrate, it may be time for a new one.

Now that you're equipped with all the candy thermometer knowledge needed for one day, we hope this helps you for your next lollipop, or other candy making adventure. Check out our favorite vanilla bean lollipop recipe if you're looking for some ideas for making some lollipops.