Essential Thermometers For Home Cooks

Byamazingfoodstv


Equipment expert Adam Ried reveals our top picks for cooking thermometers.

Buy our winning instant-read thermometer:

ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.

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47 Comments

  2. If you are researching thermometers, be aware that ThermoWORKS (the ones featured here) are not sold on Amazon, but a misleadingly similar brand ThermoPRO is. I made this mistake, and purchased an inferior quality thermometer, which I discovered after torching a very pricey rib roast.

  5. The Thermopen is one of the best kitchen tools I've ever bought. I am very critical of amateur design flaws and this thing is FLAWLESS. It is extremely accurate and super fast – under 2 seconds. The thought that went into the design is impressive. When I take my first temperature reading I open it up. It comes on automatically. This is the only time that it requires two hands. There are no buttons on this because they are not needed. After my first reading I lay it down (open) and it shuts off in 30 seconds. Pick it up and it's on before you're ready to use it. No matter which way you turn it the displays moves to stay upright. If it senses a lack of light the backlight comes on. When I'm done, I clean it, close it and enjoy having used it. It is a pleasure to have things that work.

  11. people say the difference between a professional chef and a home cook is the amount of fire on the stove, when you season, how much butter, reducing wine and stock, etc.
    Among these are whether you use a thermometer.

  12. How old is this video? I can see it was just posted, but the Thermapen Mark iV has been discontinued some time ago. The link in your description actually links to the replacement – Thermapen One. Why is Adam saying you should have a Mark IV in the video, when you can't get one anymore? Is it just because it's an old thermometer that you just happened to have on hand?

    I would love to see a review of the Thermapen One and see how it compares to the discontinued Mark IV.

  13. Thermoworks is GOAT. I remember buying a Pop. Stab the food, 3 or so sec… temp readout. Move on with life. My roommate suddenly showed up with a knockoff Thermopen… "was something not working on the Pop?" "No, I just wanted an instant read thermometer" "the Pop is instant read" "it is?" "give it a try" (ice water, put both Pop and knockoff in. Pop came out to 32 F in ~3 sec, knockoff came to 34 after 5 sec and then stopped). Their face went red. There's a reason everyone from ATK to Alton Brown to that person at work who always seems to have the most amazing food recommends Thermoworks… because they work and they work well. Also, they have to be doing something right because they never advertise or sponsor people, yet always get recommended.

  14. It is great to see the winner, but I believe the video would be better if they would have shown ALL the thermometers tested and why what ended up being the most expensive ones in their categories were chosen. There are plenty of less expensive folding thermometers that cost as little as $17 that have excellent ratings on Amazon. I understand the notion of professional tools for the professional but just the same as a home mechanic doesn't need to buy Snap-On tools for his hobby, a $20 thermometer may be all one needs in their home kitchen instead of one that sells for $90 like the top choice. I can buy the less expensive ones 5 times for the same cost. Just my 2 cents.

  15. These are good recommendations. I get along with the cheap Polder probe thermometer, but do not regret for a moment spending $100 on the Thermapen. Just buy it. And as for an oven calibration thermometer, ours was off 35F when new, the cheap calibration thermometer was our only guide to the correct temperature.

  19. I would suggest the "meater" line of thermometers. Wireless, works with your cell phone, peace of mind and freedom of movement while cooking. It even tracks and monitors your cook, tells you how long you have to hit your target in order to prep other items, and can tell you exactly when to slice your meat to retain its juices.

    I got the Meater+ as I am a bachelor, I just got my mom the Meater block with 4 probes for christmas. With the meater block your cook is even available via the cloud in case you need to run some errands while keeping track of things!

    I have gone from a novice that is scared to cook a steak because they end up so overdone and dry, they suck the life out of you. To the most tender and juicy reverse sears whose own juices are so delectable they need mopped up with every bite!

    The Therma pen does look cool for instant reading stuff though.

    I also like my deep fry thermometers, great for reheating meals sous vide style (keeps stuff juicy and tender) or for making flavored oils and candle making.

  20. Earlier this year after seeing a another ATK video I ordered a Thermoworks One which is their newest instant read “Thermapen One” along with the silicone case which I really like the magnet on it since I can store in on side of the fridge for easy access.

    I also purchased one of their Infrared thermometers which are great for measuring surface temps – like the temp of a preheated skillet, or a piece of electronic equipment that suspect might be overheating – it gets daily use when warm up canned cat food and want to check temp after giving it a stir without having to actually insert a probe and having to clean it every breakfast and dinner (yes a probe would be the most accurate but the IR is close enough for my purpose).

    This month I purchased the Thermoworks Chefs Alarm for myself and another as a Christmas gift for a friend. Good feature that you can check accuracy and calibrate if necessary. It’s nice to be able to set either an alarm when something has reached the “High” temp (like roasting in oven) or a “Low” alarm when cooking something like yogurt where after first heating milk to a higher temp you need it to cool down to a lower temp before adding the starter. I haven’t used it yet but will be soon

  27. I got my grilling husband the Javelin Pro from lavatools. It was a runner up in earlier testing. For half the price of Thermoworks, it has almost all the same features. I kept watching him try to use a traditional meat thermometer and thought 'he's either going to set himself on fire or burn himself standing there that long over the grill'. No longer an issue!

  33. I bought my instant read thermometer because it had great reviews, but importantly, also a bottle opener. Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer, Waterproof with Backlight & Calibration. In red. $15, and one for my dad. Neither of us are big drinkers, but grilling is when he normally has a beer.

  35. It's always amusing to me how consistently Thermoworks is the best in every category of temperature sensors they make. I love my ChefAlarm, only issue I have is that the cables are very easy to break if you're not very careful on washing+storage. I'd definitely recommend buying a couple extra probes for home cooking.

  42. I feel like I've seen this video before… oh right, I have.
    Also, ThermoWorks has a new version of this out now, but since this is a recycled video, of course it doesn't mention it BUT, it the new one is linked in the description

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