Customer Reviews

Maverick CT-03 Digital Oil & Candy Thermomter

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

If you're making fondant creams or fudge, which require cooling to 110 degrees F before stirring, this thermometer is USELESS. Per product instructions, "The unit turns off after 3.5 minutes if no buttons are pushed and temperature is below 130 degrees F". So how do you monitor the temperature as it cools below 130 degrees? By continually pressing the "on" button every 3.5 minutes, which is senseless and VERY inconvenient. Any company that knows the slightest thing about candy making knows that many candies need to cool to 110 degrees F before stirring. Producing a "candy" thermometer that shuts off below 130 degrees F is just plain stupid. You also cannot use this thermometer to temper chocolate because a range of 88 degrees F to 110 degrees F is required for chocolate tempering. Final note: thermometer is a bit top-heavy and tends to fall sideways.

I bought this thermomter after watching Goods Eats with Alton Brown, because when I make buttercream frosting I wanted to be able to clip on the thermometer to the pot and get an accurate reading. Well this themometer did a lousy job at staying clipped onto the pot, it kept falling off no matter how I put it on. I even tried using other pots, but no luck. I am so mad that I paid so much money for this crappy gadget, it sucks!

After reading the mostly favorable reviews on this item I purchased it for my son who was making caramels to sell. He was fine with the preset features that others complained about because one of the presets was exactly what he needed. Right from the start he started having problems with it. It would register the temperature and then all of a sudden it would go blank -- no temperature reading at all. Then the temperature would come back after several minutes. After about the the fourth use it went blank and now will not register any temperatures. This happened right in the middle of making a batch of caramels. Luckily we had a Polder digital thermometer on hand and he substituted that and it worked like a charm. Only problem with the Polder is that the probe is relatively short and does not reach the syrup in the pan when clipped to the side -- so you have to hold it in your hand.

I have sent it back to Amazon for a refund and will go with a more traditional thermometer. I would not recommnend this to anyone after my experience and comments by others with the same reliability problems -- I really expected more for the price.

Yes, this is the thermometer Alton Brown used in his fudge episode. My first shock after getting this device was why Alton, king of single-tasker hatred, would use this when he uses his Polder digital thermometer for everything else? All you need is a clip to hold any typical digital probe in the pot. Plus, having a separate probe from the device, like the Polder, allows you to unplug and replace the probe if it breaks and the electronics stay safely away from the heat and moisture of what you are cooking. Also, the CT-03 is top heavy. Having a separate probe means with the Polder, you can leave the unit on the counter and have just the light probe in the pot with the heat resistant wire running off to your display unit.

My first Maverick CT-03 was off by 7 degrees as measured by boiling water and comparing all my thermometers. Being near sea level, they all measured within 1 degree of 212 degrees F. The first CT-03 measured 205. Also, when cooking bubbling candy, the bubbles and evaporation gave it a lot of trouble, the temperature was wild and often went down! I did keep the tip off the bottom and used a narrow pot to keep it properly submerged. Needless to say, the first batch of fudge was overcooked and ruined.

Other major limitations:

You can not set the temp alarm to a value you choose, you can only select from the small presets that some might find difficult to read. With carry over, you often want an alarm that is a few degrees below a certain temperature.

The presets just say things like "soft ball" instead of also listing the temp. If you want to know what they think "soft ball" is, you have to consult a sticker on the back.

There is a "max temperature reached" alarm, but no "minimum temperature reached". So you have to sit and watch the thermometer as the temp reduces so you don't miss the pre-setting stage for candy and fudge.

Positives:

If you don't already have a digital thermometer and can't create a clip from an office type metal paper clamp, then this thermometer isn't really a bad buy.

It uses as standard AAA battery instead of expensive button batteries. You can also get rechargeable AAAs, but not so with the watch type batteries.

It has a metal face shield which offers some protection for the display.

Overall, I would still recommend it with the listed caveats.

This is the ultimate candy/frying thermometer. Simple to use. Has a clasp that hooks it on to the pan/pot you are using it with. Digital display is very easy to set and there's a little metal shield to protect the display from steam/food. Set the type of candymaking/frying you are doing and it will beep when the desired temp is reached. Of course, this can't be put in the dishwasher, just wipe clean with a kitchen towel. Great buy!

I was making fudge when my thermometer broke. I bought and tried one of those paddle types. It was not accurate enough for fudge and it was very hard to clean. For fudge I clean my thermometer before putting it back in the syrup while it is cooling, very difficult with the other one. The Maverick was VERY accurate - loved that it beeps when it reaches the correct temperature - no more jumping up and down checking the thermometer. Perfrct fudge every time. Love it.

I had been looking for a digital candy thermometer for a long time. I finally decided to break down and pay for a good one and I am glad I did. It has helped me make all of my special holiday candy (peanut brittle, toffee and fudge) I will be using it to make caramels soon.