How To Purchase An Instant-Read Thermometer
How To Use An Instant-Read Thermometer

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meat thermometer, cooking thermometer
This is the type of cooking and meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking. 

I get many readers asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking and baking. I, personally, use the Thermapen Thermometer shown in the photo on the right. Originally designed for professional users, the Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is used by chefs all over the world. To learn more about this excellent thermometer and to also purchase one (if you desire), just click on the underlined: Thermapen Thermometer.


Also learn How To Test and Calibrate a Cooking or Meat Thermometer.

Additional cooking and meat thermometers to choose from.
 


Below information from from the Editors of Cooks' Illustrated Magazine.


Seven (7) instant-read thermometers were tested and evaluated according to the following criteria: 

Readability: Thermometers were rated on how clearly we could see and read the numbers.

Response Time: Simply put, the faster, the better. When tested in boiling water, times of ten to twenty seconds to achieve a readout of 212 degrees were rated excellent, twenty to thirty seconds were rated fair, and times above thirty seconds were rated poor.

Accuracy: Thermometers should register exactly 212 degrees in boiling water and exactly 32 degrees in a slurry of crushed ice and water. If these readings were off, the thermometer was downgraded.

Design/Features: This category encompasses disparate factors that can make the thermometer a breeze or a real pain to use, such as the length of the stem; the ease of cleaning of screens or dials; on/off switches or automatic shutoff to save batteries; battery availability; and accurate readings in shallow liquids. See Testers’ Comments, page 28, for any particular notes on these issues.

Temperature Range: More often than not, instant-read thermometers are used within the relatively narrow temperature range necessary to monitor the internal temperature of meat, poultry, or bread.

Occasionally, though, you may wish to know the temperature of a freezing sorbet or ice cream, or double-check the temperature of hot oil prior to frying in it. Therefore, thermometers capable of taking very low (0 degrees and below) through very high (375 degrees and above) were upgraded.


 



Check out Linda's web pages on using thermometers when cooking:

Candy Thermometer and Candy Temperatures

Cooking or Meat Thermometer
How to use your thermometer - How to test your thermometer - How to calibrate your thermometer - Safety tips

Internal Temperature Cooking Charts
Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Breads, Baked goods, and Casseroles

 


 


Rating Instant-Read Thermometers

Ratings:

*** Good

** Fair

* Poor
 

BEST THERMOMETER - To learn more about this excellent thermometer and to also purchase one, just click on the underlined: Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer

Thermapen thermometerBRAND - Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer
PRICE $85.00 ***
RESPONSE TIME *** 5 seconds
ACCURACY ***
FEATURES *** 4 1/2-inch stem
TEMPERATURE RANGE ***
-58°F to 572°F


 

BEST BUYS

BRAND - Taylor Digital Pocket Thermometer, Model 9840
PRICE $15.00
READABILITY ***
RESPONSE TIME *** 10 seconds
ACCURACY ** 2º high
FEATURES *** 4 3/4-inch stem
TEMPERATURE RANGE ** -58º to 302º


BRAND - Polder Cooking Thermometer/Timer (Digital)
PRICE $25.00
READABILITY ***
RESPONSE TIME ** 30 seconds
ACCURACY ***
FEATURES *** 5 3/4-inch stem
TEMPERATURE RANGE ** 32º to 392º


BRAND - Cooper Digital Test Thermometer, Model DFP450
PRICE $26.50
READABILITY ***
RESPONSE TIME *** 17 seconds
ACCURACY ***
FEATURES ** 4 5/8-inch stem
TEMPERATURE RANGE *** -40º to 450º