I bought my candy thermometer for $14 four years ago when I first decided to make my own caramels. What I love about candymaking is that you don’t often need too many ingredients. There is nothing complicated about it - you just need a candy thermometer and a watchful eye to make sure the sugar reaches the right “consistency.” When reaching certain temperatures, the structure of the sugar changes. After cooling, the sugar becomes anything from whippably soft (like divinity), gooey, chewy, or hard and brittle. The only thing you must be careful of is not to burn yourself, as the candy can reach very high temperatures. You also have to be careful not to stir the melted sugar syrup, as this will re-introduce sugar crystals and lead to crystallization and texture issues later on.