The Farberware Pro Large Oven Thermometer is a great oven thermometer that is both easy on the eyes and extremely accurate. Of course, it’s not digital, but these “analog” oven thermometers seem to be more durable than the digital ones anyway.
I have talked at great length in some of my other reviews about how ovens usually run at least 10 degrees COOLER (sometimes much more) than their thermostats say. In rare cases, they run a little hotter (which is much worse in my opinion). I’ve also discussed in some detail why it is essential to know the actual temperature in the oven, especially when baking breads, cakes, muffins, or anything else that has to rise (and cooks while rising). So, I won’t go into that much here.
What I will say is that you should have two oven thermometers – at least at first. Here’s why: sometimes they fail.
I am not going to talk badly about an entire BRAND if a couple of products accidentally slip through quality control. I haven’t run across any, but I have spoken to other cooks (both professionals and hobbyists) who have found an occasional oven thermometer that has failed them. Hey, it happens. Oven thermostats are supposed to be accurate too, but they aren’t. My own oven at home is 37 degrees cooler than the digital readout says, and my oven wasn’t cheap.
Using two oven thermometers allows you to have the piece of mind that is so helpful when baking and cooking. It’s even more essential when you have a lot riding on a successful dinner (such as Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner). But, even if you don’t want to consistently use two thermometers, it’s nice to have two of them AT FIRST… to test your oven.
Here’s an example: If your oven reads 350 and your newly-purchased oven thermometer reads 325 degrees, how do you know which one is correct? Answer: You don’t! You need a third source of information. This is why in the old school accounting classes (before computers), they always taught to always add the columns TWICE and then compare. If they don’t match, add a THIRD time and then take the two totals that match.
But, I digress. This was supposed to be a review of the Farberware Pro Large Oven Thermometer. So, here it is.
This is a great device, with BIG, easy-to-read numbers. Although this device only goes up to 500 degrees (the CDN model goes up to 750 degrees), it’s perfect for most applications. I never use this on the grill, but it’s perfect for my oven and I never take it out – and is more of a permanent fixture in my oven.
Because of the big numbers, I recommend the Farberware Pro Large Oven Thermometer for anyone that has trouble seeing or doesn’t like to cook with glasses (mine always get fogged up when I open the oven). The numbers are big enough that I can see the correct temperature without any problem.
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The CDN High Heat Oven Thermometer is a great little tool, whether you intend to use it for baking breads, roasting meats and other dinner items, or grilling.
I have used this little gem for all three of these.
First of all, when it comes to baking breads, cakes, and other items that have to “rise”, certain things are key to your success: accurate measurements and accurate temperature. A good digital scale will help you with the measuring (try to never use bread recipes that call for cups, teaspoons, etc – always use the ones that call for units of weight). But, a precise way of measuring temperature is essential, too. That is why I always use a secondary oven thermometer to help gauge the REAL temperature inside the oven, instead of relying on my oven’s built-in thermostat (skip to the bottom to read my findings about my own oven running 37 degrees cooler than the built-in thermostat reported).
Secondly, when using the oven to roast something such a turkey or other type of bird (a whole chicken, Cornish game hen, etc) it is important to get the meat up to 165 degrees without going over. If you go too far over that temperature, the white meat is going to be dry and chewy. That is where a good oven thermometer comes in. Starting with the proper temperature inside the oven is the secret to getting the inside of the turkey up to that desired temperature in time for the dinner. The CDN High Heat Oven Thermometer does just that.
I also use the CDN High Heat Oven Thermometer when grilling. I have a grill that has a built in temperature gauge in the lid, but unfortunately this only measures how hot the top of the lid gets. Since heat always rises, the top of the lid is always hotter than where the food gets cooked. This little thermometer sits on the second rack of the grill (not the one next to the flames) and measures whether the grill is hot enough to get those perfect grill marks and cook at a consistent temperature.
What I have found through using the CDN High Heat Oven Thermometer is that my oven runs about 37 degrees cooler. I was skeptical at first, but then I bought a second oven thermometer (which I will review later) to confirm the results. After some thorough testing, I have confirmed it. Interestingly, after doing some research on the web, it seems that MOST ovens run a bit cool – even the expensive, high-end ovens.
Considering the difference in temperature between my oven’s thermostat and the REAL oven thermometer, I used the CDN High Heat Oven Thermometer (and the other model) to create a “cheat sheet” for accurate oven temperatures and posted it to the fridge with magnets. So, if the recipe calls for preheating the oven to 450 degrees, I will check my little note-card on the fridge and turn the knob to 487 and wait for it to beep at me. Then, I will go look through the oven window and confirm that the oven thermometer reads 450 degrees.
The CDN goes all the way up to 750 degrees, which is probably why it can withstand my high-heat grilling without damage. the numbers are a little hard to see unless your eyes are good (mine aren’t the best these days) but it’s never been too much of a challenge to read.
All in all, the CDN High Heat Thermometer is perfect for my uses. It is both accurate, durable, and runs for less than $10 at most online retailers.
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It was the Thanksgiving of 2008, and the wife and I were responsible for the preparing the turkey. It wasn’t a bad deal. We cook the turkey, and the the rest of the family each brought a “side” item. The advantage of this arrangement was that we didn’t have to drive anywhere.
I love cooking turkey. In fact, I like cooking the turkey more than most people, because I don’t even LIKE turkey all that much. I think that I see it as a personal challenge to make something that I don’t like very much taste delicious. Most of the time I succeed.
One of the secrets to preparing a mouth watering bird, is to brine the turkey overnight in a very salty, herbal bath of ice water. I have always just used Kosher salt, but there may be other types of salt that will work. The herbs can be of your own choosing, or you can purchase a packet of pre-prepared herbs designed for use in the brine.
The OTHER secret to cooking a good turkey is to NOT overcook it. Turkey (especially the white meat) is naturally pretty dry. In my opinion, you should always take the bird out of the oven when the oven thermometer temperature hits 165 degrees in the middle of the thickest part of the turkey breast. If you don’t get up to 165 degrees, you run the risk of poisoning your family and friends. If you go too far over 165 degrees, you run the risk of drying out the bird so badly that they will ACT like it’s poison and just not eat it.
This is where my story of my oven thermometer comes in.
I had just purchased an oven thermometer from Wal-Mart, and was anxious to try it out. My old one quit working for some reason the previous year and I had to ditch the electronic testing, and instead had to cut into various parts of the turkey to make sure the meat was fully cooked.
I tried cutting into the breast meat once while the bird was in the oven, but I burned the top of my hand pretty badly by accidentally touching one of the top heating elements. After that, I decided to take the entire bird out of the oven, cut into it, and then put it back into the oven several times. It was a HUGE hassle.
This year would be different. I had an oven thermometer with a long, 4 foot cable. At the end of it was a temperature probe. It allowed me to have the digital thermometer display outside of the oven, with the temperature being measured inside the turkey breast at all times! There was even an alarm that made sure that I noticed the digital oven thermometer when the temperature was reached. I set it to 163 degrees, just so I could take the bird out as soon as it was up to 165.
My brother-in-law, who is not quite as geeky as myself, was very interested in the oven thermometer. He was asking questions about how durable it was, how accurate it was, etc. I thought that it was pretty odd to be so focused on a digital oven thermometer. I knew there had to be some ulterior motive behind the questions. Was he thinking of buying one for cooking? He doesn’t even cook that much!
Then, out of his pocket he pulled a small oven thermometer, still in the package, that he had ordered from Amazon.com about 2 weeks prior. He thought that it would make a nice Christmas gift for me, but decided to bring it over early to help with the proper cooking of the turkey. He was a little disappointed that I had just bought one, but decided that having two digital temperature probes for cooking is okay too.
Besides, the gifted thermometer was much smaller than the one I had purchased. It was more of a handheld variety. No alarm, just the temperature, also with a digital display. I was super excited. As a side note, I looked up the gifted oven thermometer on the Amazon.com website and was amazed at the good reviews.
Well, I used two oven thermometers that day. And I am glad that I did. It turns out that the one that I had purchased at Wal-Mart was about 5 degrees OFF. In fact, I would have overcooked the turkey if I had not used the hand-held unit just before taking it out of the oven to cool. The only thing worse than Salmonella is a dry bird!
In case you are wondering how we knew which oven thermometer was the correct one, here is your answer: We didn’t… At least not at first. We actually used the same method as before, cutting into the thicket parts of the turkey to ensure that it’s done, at various times toward the end. All the time, we were monitoring the temperature with the two probes. About a week later, I was able to test each of them with a pot of hot water and infrared thermal leak detector, and I discovered that my Wal-Mart purchase was the faulty of the two.
So, the next time you cook a turkey, be sure to not over cook it… and one sure-fire way to make sure you don’t, is to come prepared.
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