Cooking With Digital Kitchen Thermometers

Digital kitchen thermometers are one of the most important kitchen gadgets you can own. They are the best way to determine if meat, poultry or eggs are cooked to safety standards. Undercooked meat, poultry or eggs can create harmful bacteria, leading to illness. Thermometers not only help keep food from being undercooked, they also help prevent overcooking. They can also be used to keep foods at a safe temperature after cooking.

Types
Not all digital kitchen thermometers are made the same. Thermocouple thermometers use the junction of two wires at the tip of the probe to measure the temperature and are considered to be the fastest in reading the final temperature. Thermistors use a resistor, an electrical component, in the tip of the probe which takes approximately 10 seconds to read the temperature. Oven cord thermometers have a base that sits outside the oven. The thermistor probe is attached to a long metal cord which is inserted into the food. Thermometer forks can use either thermocouples or thermistors in one of the tines on the fork. The temperature readout is reached within 2 to 10 seconds.

Function
The method for using digital kitchen thermometers vary. The thermocouple thermometer takes the temperature fast, allowing to check multiple spots quickly. The thin probe can check the temperature in thin food and is not designed to stay in the food while cooking. It should be used towards the end of cooking. Thermistor thermometers can check the temperature of thin foods but are not meant to stay in the food during cooking. This thermometer should be used near the end of cooking with the tip inserted into the center part of the food. Oven cord thermometers are meant to be left in the food during cooking and can also be programmed to beep when the desired temperature is reached. The thermometer fork that can read the temperature of thin foods is not meant to be left in the food and should be used towards the end of cooking time.