Stop Poisoning Yourself. Get a Food Thermometer!

I have only become a person who cooks in the past few years. I say “person who cooks” because it feels a bit disingenuous to call myself a "cook” or, “someone who likes to cook.” But now that I’m not in a galley kitchen with a half-sized refrigerator (where I started trying to cook more), I feel more adept at trying new things, branching out, and actually making proper meals.

Which leads me to the contraption I thought I would never own: A food thermometer. I once cooked some fish that didn’t make me sick, but I did make me feel a bit sick, and I decided I needed to get a soupçon more precise in my cooking.

I don’t cook a lot of meat at home, but I’ve found that I use this thermometer a lot - when I’m making ravioli. Maybe this is a problem only I have, but when I’m cooking something like ravioli, I want to know when it’s done, i.e. warm all the way through, but I don’t want to sacrifice a raviolo to find out if it’s done. If it’s not done, there’s no putting a split raviolo back in a pot of boiling water! So now I take one out of the pot, stick this thermometer in it, and if it’s above 150, I call it done.

I’ve also used this thermometer on shrimp, but I feel like this ravioli trick is what’s really made me feel like a food thermometer is a valid purchase. At least in my house, a lot more ravioli is cooked than, say, brisket.

I chose this food thermometer because it was affordable, collapsible, and easy to read. It has a lighted display, which I do not know the purpose of, but is nice. Is this for cooking outdoors maybe? A bit of barbecuing in the pitch black night? Having an oven without a light? Wanting to fry chicken but NOT wanting to turn on any lights? I don’t know. This particular thermometer also has magnets on the back, so you can store it stuck on your oven or fridge. I keep it in a drawer, but I do appreciate this smart little add-on! Most importantly, it has a guide on the back that tells you what temperature various meats should be cooked to.

I’d say for $12, even if you’re an infrequent cook, get yourself a food thermometer. It’s handy! I makes you feel like you know what your’e doing! And best of all, it keeps you from getting sick or feeling slightly, maybe, a bit sick.