Why You Need an Oven Thermometer

Like most people who have an electric or gas cooker, you probably have a temperature gauge built into it that gives you a nice little reading.

So why am I advocating the need for a separate oven thermometer?

Quite simply, your current oven temperature reading is not what you think it is.

And I don’t just mean by the odd degree or 2. Independent research has shown that around 90% of all oven ranges tested were up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit out.

That’s a huge discrepancy considering the result could lead to less than perfect cooking. Food could end up drying out and losing its moist, tender consistency, gooey half-baked food or even a burnt Sunday roast.

Ever wondered why those chocolate brownies don’t come out looking or tasting as they should, according to the cooking times and temperature? I always used to guess an extra 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time because I knew my oven temperature never corresponded to recipe guidelines. Sound familiar?

Here’s why your oven has been unfaithful to you all this time..

Unfortunately the heating elements designed for ovens in our homes, do not simply heat up the oven set by the dial, and stay at that heat. These heating elements are either at maximum power of off. There’s no warm setting or middle ground. The heating elements simply heat up and turn off in cycles in order to try to maintain the desired temperature which is usually just above or below what you have set. There is an internal temperature sensor to regulate the cycling process.

The timings and cycles of these heating elements vary between manufacturers. So as you can imagine there is obvious room for inaccuracies and even the most expensive cookers are not guaranteed to be 100% right.

However, since I got myself a separate oven thermometer I don’t have to ‘guesstimate’ my times anymore. All you do is pop it into the oven, either free-standing, hang it from a suitable place or get a magnetic type and stick it to the back wall or side of the oven (inside of course!).

Sure enough my oven’s reading was about 35-50 degrees different to the separate oven thermometer reading. Now I know some of you techy geeks will argue that the oven thermometer is not guaranteed to be accurate either. Sure that may be true, and to be honest there’s nothing much I can say about that, apart from “go buy one that has the most recommendations and people are satisfied with”.

That’s all I did, and I bought a multi-mount oven thermometer from Amazon. This simply means you can place it on the shelf of the oven, hook it up, or stick it via the magnet to the side.

I bought this particular model for 4 reasons:

1.    It has a magnet, so I can easily place it anywhere in the oven which is conveniently out of the way.

2.    It has lots of good reviews from other satisfied customers.

3.    It has a large, easy to read, uncluttered dial

4.    It only cost about ten bucks!

This little gem is easy to read from outside looking in, and I now rely on it totally for my temperature readings. Look, I’m no oven thermometer expert, but my food now comes out of the oven looking and tasting the way it’s supposed to, without me having to factor in a little guesswork.

Here’s a quick overview of the thermometer I purchased:

CDN Multi-Mount Oven Thermometer

Features:

•    Stainless steel
•    Temperature range of 100 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit / 50 to 300 degrees Celsius
•    Three-way mounting - stand, hang from oven rack, or use magnet to stick on oven wall
•    Slow response time for an accurate reading after the oven door is opened
•    Target range indication

Size: 6.2 x 4 x 0.8 inches
Weight: 5 ounces

You can buy it here from Amazon for less than $10. There are also some good reviews on the thermometer which ultimately swung it for me.

Here’s an example of one, which gave it 5 out of 5 stars:

Best Little Oven Thermometer So Far..
“An awesome little oven thermometer. The minute I place a free-standing or hanging thermometer into my oven it drops to the bottom. The magnet on this one is brilliant. I simply place it on the side of the oven and it gives me an accurate temperature reading.. “
Review Paraphrased for size -- view original review here.

Conclusion

Despite all the cook books I’ve read urging me to buy a separate oven thermometer, up until recently, I never bothered. But one day I finally cracked and invested in one. All I can say is, it’s like having a car – you don’t think you really need one until you get one. Then you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it!

Go get one – and thank me for it later!

If you have any questions or comments regarding the use of an oven thermometer, please drop them below

Peter

See also: Instant Read Thermometer