Thermapen Professional Thermometer Review
Reviewed by Alexis Randall
Many of us may never know just how easy cooking can be, if you were never fortunate enough to use a Thermapen professional thermometer. The days of guessing the temperature using your fingers, tongue or other body parts are now over.
The Thermapen thermometer comes in a durable plastic case. The sample I was sent was red although it is available in other colours. It’s extremely durable and easy to clean and has a grey rubber band around the outside to help with the grip. One the rear of the device are instructions for the battery and basic instructions regarding its use. To turn it on you simply swing out the probe and the display turns on. If it’s too dark where you are cooking the device uses a sensor to turn on a backlight so you can still see the temperature. It’s made in the UK and it’s worth noting that it’s waterproof rated to IP66/67, which means it’s completely protected against dust ingress and also waterproof to between 15cm and 1 metre. I found this feature particularly useful as I’m often checking the temperature of food near liquid or testing liquid itself and it’s reassuring to know it’s safe should I drop it.
The display rotates to allow you to read it when inserting the probe on its side, or upright. It’s calibrated in the factory as well so you know the readings you are given are true and correct (Each Thermapen Professional is supplied with a FREE traceable certificate of calibration). It measures temperature over a range of -49.9 to 299.9°C. It requires a single AAA battery, which has a life expectancy of up 3000 hours of normal use (without backlight).
As soon as this arrived I set it to work starting with some chicken. Prior to using the thermometer my methods of checking if food was cooked was questionable. It mostly consisted of cutting this open to see if the juices were clear. Whilst this was effective it had the unfortunate side effect of making the food drier if it wasn’t done as the juices where escaping. Thermapen have kindly put me on the right track by allowing me to insert a probe into the food and giving me an accurate temperature reading in approximately 3 seconds. After a couple of checks it said the chicken had reached 75 degrees and as such was safe to eat. The food was moist and succulent and I wouldn’t have achieved that if it wasn’t for this device. I didn’t just stop and chicken either, it did frittatas and steaks without missing a beat. The temperature taking of the steaks was particularly useful as it helped to cook them to both medium and medium rare without having to revert to my usual method of poking them.
When it comes to Christmas dinner this year, this thermometer will remove all of the guess work. We’ve all been guilty of both overcooking and undercooking meat but you simply can’t go wrong with this thermometer. If it’s a whole turkey, simply insert the probe between the leg and the breast and when it says that it’s reached 75 degrees your turkey will be coked to perfection. As an added bonus this has the knock-on effect of making the turkey sandwiches taste even better the next day. And the day after.
I was sent the professional version which included the rotational display and the backlight, auto intelligent backlight and motion sensing sleep mode so it switches off automatically. Although I haven’t tried the classic version the above extras are well worth the extra investment. I believe this thermometer will still be working long after I stop cooking.
The Thermapen Professional Thermometer can be bought from www.thermapen.co.uk, Amazon and John Lewis and is priced at a very reasonable £51.60 for the classic and £64.80 for the professional version. This is an excellent product and it’s easy for me to award it 5 stars.
Make sure all your dinners are cooked to perfection over this festive season and invest in a Thermapen Professional Thermometer, you will definitely be able to taste the results of this worthwhile kitchen gadget.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £64.80
For more information or to buy visit thermapen.co.uk.
