Product Description

Digital Candy & Oil Thermometer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1272 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Maverick Industries
• Model: CT-03
• Dimensions: 1.80" h x 2.60" w x 12.50" l, .35 pounds

Features

• Digital thermometer with 14 pre-programmed settings for hot oil and candy
• Signals with beeps and flashes when ideal temperature is reached
• Large LCD monitor; splatter/heat shield; pivoting stainless-steel probe
• Automatic shut-off after 3-1/2 minutes
• Runs on AAA battery (included); wipes clean with damp cloth

Amazon.com Review
Equipped with 14 pre-programmed settings, this digital Maverick thermometer helps you achieve ideal results for both candy confections and fried treats. Plus, the simple operation means that you no longer have to stand by the stove and make estimates. In addition to helping get candy textures just right, the thermometer ensures that fried food cooks for the minimum time, so results are more crispy and less fatty.

Sturdily built with a stainless-steel splatter/heat shield, the thermometer features a 10-1/2-inch pivoting probe and a large LCD monitor. Simple icons guide pre-set use, while a handy temperature guide on the back helps out with measurements. Readings can be displayed in either Fahrenheit or Celsius, and when the ideal temperature is reached, the monitor beeps and flashes. The unit comes with a sturdy clip for the side of the pot and wipes up clean with a damp cloth. Maverick also includes automatic shut-off and a low-battery indicator. The unit runs on a AAA battery, which is included. --Emily Bedard

Customer Reviews

Well made unit that suffers from a fatal design flaw
This seems to be a well made product, and if not for one tremendous flaw I could somewhat recommend it.

The manufacturer got a the hardware design and functionally right. The temperature readings are very accurate. The view-screen tilts for easy reading, even on pots with sloping sides. And having the 14 most common candy and oil temperatures stored in the unit for easy selection is a nice addition, unfortunately it's also the Maverick's Achilles heel.

Because if you ever want to cook something at a temperature 'other' than those 14 presets, you may as well use a cheap analog thermometer. Unlike any other digital thermometer I've ever used, the Maverick does not permit setting of custom temperature alarms. You'll either use their 14 alarm presets or nothing at all.

Certainly the unit will display whatever temperature it is currently reading, but so can any $3 analog candy thermometer. In my mind, the primary purpose of a digital thermometer is to alert a cook when a specific temperature is reached. Not allowing the cook to set alarms at their chosen temperatures is a ridiculous and fatal defect.

The unit does have some issues even aside from that major flaw. The 14 available temperatures are selected from an LCD display, unfortunately the text on the display is very tiny it's awfully difficult to read. I have good eyesight, those suffering even moderate nearsightedness will be unable to read this display unassisted. This tiny-text problem seems also to a consequence of those 14 presets. If this thermometer worked like most other digital thermometers, the display would be more than big enough show 3 digit temperatures in huge lettering. But those 14 presets have too much text to be displayed at anything other than a tiny size on the unit's screen.

This product also misses the mark in catering to the needs of cooks. In candy making, knowing when candy has dropped to a certain temperature is just as important as knowing the highest temperature reached. This unit has no function for setting alarms at cooling temperatures.

This product shares it's reason for failure with many other failed electronic products. It has good hardware but very poorly designed software (firmware). The fixes should be simple by software standards. The designers need to ditch 14 presets, allow setting of alarms for any user-defined high and low temperature, and increase the text size. Those few changes would turn this lemon into an amazing kitchen tool. But if it remains as it is, it will be just another piece of kitchen junk to clutter your drawer.

Great ... as long as it worked
I used this thermometer fewer than 10 times before it stopped working. For the most part, it no longer registers any temperature, and when it does it reads 75-100 degrees too cool. While it was working, I definitely preferred it to my analog candy thermometer because it was less bulky, but I certainly can't recommend it now.

The clip still works, though, and coupled with my wonderful Polder probe thermometer, I've got the best candy thermometer ever.

Best I've ever used
As a professional chef, I get the opportunity to use a lot of cooking equipment. Most of the time I am somewhat disappointed with the limitations of certain items, especially digital thermometers. Usually they have too narrow a range, or only give numerical temperature or candy type. The Maverick, however, gives the user a lot of options for a great price. The extra long stem allows use in many types of vessels, the temperature can be read in either candy type or numeric (making the thermometer useful for frying also), and the heat shield protects the display from steam and splashes. Of course, there is the ability to switch between fahrenheit and celsius, and an overheat alarm that sounds when the oil is getting too hot. As you can see, this thermometer has a lot of extras that you don't often find in other products (at least not for this price). I certainly recommend it, as it is the best candy thermometer that I have ever used.