We love our instant-read thermometer. It is essential for cooking everything from bread to meat, and we even use it sometimes to double-check the water temperature for our coffee! But our current thermometer is slow and a little jumpy in its readings. We have been eyeing the super-speedy, super-accurate Thermapen, a different sort of thermometer that takes it to a whole new level. But we hesitate: Is it really worth the $100 price tag?
One could argue that a thermometer is one of the most important tools in a kitchen. Its readings tell you when food is safe, and when food is just right. It can help you decide if the bread or cake is still doughy, or if it's ready to eat. It's a completely indispensable tool.
And we know cooks who swear by the increased functionality and speed of the Thermapen the way we swear by our own little analog thermometer. They say that its speed and accuracy transformed the quality of their cooking.
The Thermapen uses a different sort of technology to give virtually instant readings. It uses a technology found in lab equipment (thermocouple) to give much faster readings, and also more accurate ones. You only have to insert the probe a little ways into the food to get a reading; no fiddling around to find just the right spot. It also has a large range of temperatures, unlike many normal probe thermometers. The one we've seen goes from -52°F to 572°F.
It does seem like an extremely useful tool, but the price still holds us back.
Find it: Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen, $96 at Amazon
Do you have a Thermapen? Is it worth the high price tag, or is it not too much more helpful than an ordinary thermometer?
Related: Kitchen Tools: Instant-Read Thermometer
(Image: Amazon)
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I upgraded to a Thermapen a few months ago from a cheap Taylor digital thermometer. The difference in speed is incredible. The price is worth it to me (although I was able to get a small discount), because my thermometer is in constant use. If you're a sporadic temp checker, spend the money on something else.
Absolutely worth it! I have one and use it all the time. It's especially nice for measuring the temperature of certain items when I'm following super-precise baking recipes (e.g., one of my favorite chocolate layer cake recipes requires the chocolate buttercream mixture to be 70 degrees before whipping into frosting). The Thermapen is significantly more accurate than my old thermometers.
In my opinion, many of the Cook's Illustrated "highly recommended" tools -- including the Thermapen -- are either fantastic must-haves, or really fun splurges for the amateur chef.
If you make candy, it's worth every penny. I've owned most of the candy thermometers made, from the $10 ones with an analog dial (not precise enough) to the remote probe ones meant for the oven (not accurate, at all, and their level of accuracy varies day to day. I have 4 of these.) to a really expensive IR thermometer that technically belongs to the boyfriend (that one only works if you point it at a smooth, matte surface, which does not include "boiling pot of syrup").
Then I read an article by the woman who runs BonBonBar about the Thermapen. And I mentally added up all the money I'd spent on thermometers that didn't work, and the total was a lot more then $100.
So I bought one (I found it on Amazon for $80-something, but it was more than a year ago), and I've never regretted it. I use it for everything from yogurt to caramel. I haven't had a temperature-related candy failure since.
Now, if they just made a model that kept the doorbell from ringing when the caramel just needs to darken one more degree....
YES! I have one and love it so much - it has revolutionized my cooking. Worth every penny - and then some!
Before I had one I doubted it would be worth the price but it is really an excellent tool. I highly recommend it.
No matter how much I cook I could never justify paying $100 for a thermometer on our budget.
I bought a Maverick digital candy and oil thermometer because I kept breaking glass candy thermometers. I've used it for candy, oil, and checking meat temperatures without any problems. I paid $35 but it's listed at $18.94 at amazon now.
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-CT-03-Digital-Candy-Thermomter/dp/B0000AQL25/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1271779440&sr=8-1
Reviews:
http://www.cooking.com/products/reviews.asp?SKU=201613
I read somewhere this hint and find it helps with the use of my cheap Taylor digital:
If you're taking the temperature of meat or bread or something, insert the thermometer, wait a full minute, then turn it on. It will come up to temperature faster.
For candy and other things, ok, I can see where the Thermapen is the way to go.
I love my Thermapen for candy making/sugar work, chocolate tempering, and checking the internal temperature of bread loaves. It was totally worth the cost for me. That said, if you're happy with your analog and/or check precise temperatures infrequently, then you are probably better off spending that $100 elsewhere.
My only quibble is that I wish it came with a metal clip so that I could attach it to the side of a pot for deep frying or caramel making instead of holding it there hoping I don't drop my expensive piece of equipment into a vat of hot oil.
It's definitely worth it, especially if you buy one of the last generation ones for about $70. The speed difference isn't just about instant satisfaction but about safety. If you don't use an insta-read thermometer, you have to stand there over the stove or grill, or with the oven door open, and wait 3-7 seconds. In that time, the dish continues heating. You are never sure when it's correct and for things like fish where a 5-10 degrees makes a huge difference, this thing is king.
Perfectly cooked chicken and perfect medium rare steaks every single time has made every penny spent on the Thermapen well worth it- The less than 3 second read time lets me stick my hand over the grill or in the oven without burning myself or needing to take whatever's cooking out and exposed to the cooler air. It also has a tiny tip which helps prevent loosing precious meat juices when probing.
I was even able to temper chocolate on my first shot with it!
Get yours at King Authur Flour - they have free shipping and discount codes (10% & 20% off) all the time. Grabbed mine with a free bag of sugar shipped for $80.
A thermapen is absolutely worth it! We use ours all the time - it was a birthday gift for my husband. We cook sous vide at home, and we use it to check the water bath temperature, to test the doneness of meat, all sorts of uses. The quickness is especially helpful...so you're not leaving the oven door open for 3 minutes waiting to make sure your thermometer has slowly reached the temp. of the food.
I love it...expensive, but worth it.
www.onionsandchocolate.wordpress.com
I'm sure it might be worth it, but we were not in a position to spend that much / couldn't bring ourselves to spend that much.
The solution? We bought Cook's Illustrated "Best Buy" recommendation. Thermapen is their hands down winner, but this reasonably priced thermometer came in second place and they highly recommend it. We've been using ours for years and even though it has a low price tag, it's fantastic and you can recallibrate it if you need to.
$12.99 on Amazon.com, CDN Digital Thermometer - http://www.amazon.com/CDN-DT392-ProAccurate-Digital-Thermometer/dp/B002SNA48U
I've wondered about the Thermapen as well-these are great reviews!
I bought a Thermapen a few months ago, and I love it so far. It's just so fast - especially when checking the temperature of something in the oven, you don't have to wait with the oven door open or take the item out in order to check the temp. But I had a gift certificate which paid for half the cost.
By the way, for the person who was looking for a way to clip it on the side of a pan - try a small binder clip (from an office store). I haven't tried it with a thermapen, but it works with a regular thermometer. It seems like it could be adapted.
@Breezie-
Thanks for the tip on the King Arthur site! I just order mine with free shipping and a free whole grain yeast bread kit. I also found a coupon code for 10% off! I've wanted this thermometer for a long time but was hesitant to pay the $$, took the plunge and can't wait for it to arrive!
Highly worthwhile!
I love that the temperature sensor is so near the tip of the probe.
I can bake/broil fish (and thin ones at that) without having to flake it open and look, messing up the appearance of my dinner.
I have one and love it. I moved into my own place seven months ago and have been building my kitchen slowly and carefully, but decided to splurge on the best with this one. It's truly amazing for everything that everyone has mentioned in previous comments, and I also love using it for baking bread. Nothing's worse than thinking your loaf 'sounds hollow' and slicing it a few hours later to find the crumb all gummy. This takes out all the guesswork, and the tip is so small and sharp that the tiny hole it makes in the bread has no effect on cooling. Again, worth the splurge; I love it.
We have one and love it! After going through two or three other less pricey thermometers we decided to get the best and we use it for baking bread, checking steaks and chicken on the grill and things we cook in the oven. I've even used it stove top to check the temperature of dessert fillings. I expect it to be the last one we will buy.