Cooking For Engineers

[Jim Cooley]

Why not post a link right here to the cheapest/best value Thermapen you'd recommend? I"m not going to spend $100; but something on the order or $10-$20 bucks might just spur an impulse buy...

[Dilbert]

Thermapen is pretty much "the best you can buy" - and they know it.

I've never seen them in the $10-20 range.
I bought a digital when visiting the CIA in NY - paid about $20 for it; glad I didn't pay more.

sometime back they were selling off the beige/light brown ugly color at a decent discount (explained as "it's ugly, nobody wants this color, here's the color cheep) - tried to buy some but could not manage to navigate their site.

my standby is a dial analog Weston model 2261 - it has an 8" probe.
works like splendid for poultry and big roasts. it hasn't lost calibration in 20 years+, then again, it's not tossed / kept in the junk drawer - I drilled a hole in my knife block to keep it handy and properly cared for.

for some oddball reason I actually prefer the analog "see how fast the needle moves" in judging "is it soup yet?" and, put bluntly, the slower response of the analog eliminates the flashing number display making one wonder - gosh, what is the real temp....? the long probe is especially useful for sticking it in and then withdrawing it to check the "depth of temp profile" - a curious solution to the "did I hit a bone?" situation.

[Jim Cooley]

I was just thinking if Thermapens were in the $10-$20 range it might be fun to play with one as you have done.

I guess I'll stick with my (runs to check model #) Weston 2261!

Do great chefs cook alike?