Thermometer

A kitchen thermometer checks the heat of meat, oil, sugar and your oven, so food is safe and cooked how you want. Here is which type to use and how.

Also called Meat thermometer, Instant-read thermometer, Probe thermometer, Candy thermometer, Oven thermometer.

A kitchen thermometer measures how hot food, oil or your oven is. It is the only reliable way to know that meat is cooked to a safe internal temperature, that frying oil is ready, or that sugar has reached the right stage. Color, juices and cooking times are all guesses by comparison.

How to do it

Types:

Instant-read digital. A thin probe that reads in a few seconds. The most useful one for meat, bread and custards.
Leave-in probe. A probe on a cable that stays in the meat in the oven, with a display outside. It can beep at the target.
Candy and deep-fry. A long, clip-on thermometer that reads up to about 200°C (400°F) or more, for sugar work and deep-frying.
Oven thermometer. Hangs on a rack to show what the oven really is at. Many ovens run hot or cold.

To check meat, push the probe into the thickest part, away from bone and fat, which give false readings. For a whole bird, check the thickest part of the thigh and the breast.

USDA safe minimums:

Food	Temperature
Poultry, whole or ground	74°C (165°F)
Ground beef, pork, lamb	71°C (160°F)
Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, veal	63°C (145°F), then rest 3 minutes
Fish	63°C (145°F)

How to tell it is done

Pull meat a few degrees before your target. It keeps rising as it rests, which is carryover cooking. For sugar, watch for stages such as the soft-ball stage at 112 to 116°C (235 to 240°F).

Common mistakes

Never checking accuracy. Test it in a glass packed with ice and a little water. It should read 0°C (32°F). Most digital models can be reset if it is off.
Touching the pan or bone with the tip.
Measuring sugar or oil with the tip resting on the bottom of the pan.
Leaving an instant-read thermometer in the oven. The plastic body melts.
Not washing the probe between raw and cooked meat.