Temperature of food in the microwave

temperature

Is there any way to know the temperature of food cooking in the microwave?

I am making candy in the microwave and need to be able to cook it to the soft crack stage [290-300 degrees]. How do I know when it reaches this temperature?

Best Answer

Some microwaves (not many) include a temperature probe. If yours does not, no luck there.

Don't just stick in a thermometer, it will probably result in arcing and damage.

So, you're back to the olde-fashioned methods where the various stages (soft ball, hard ball, soft crack, hard crack) got their names from - drip some into cold water and see what happens to it, then microwave for some additional time, or don't - or use a stovetop and a pan and a thermometer (the microwave is a challenging heat source for candy-making.)