Whether you’re a professional chef or an aspiring home cook, having the best tools at your disposal can be make or break when creating delicious meals. Training at Le Cordon Bleu London may be for an elite minority, but there are few reasons why a domestic kitchen shouldn’t be equipped with the tools of the trade upon which the professionals rely, such as digital food thermometers.
Cooking meat correctly isn’t always an exact science – personal taste will often dictate how thoroughly a joint is roasted, for example – but there are compelling reasons why it’s important to have a digital food thermometer in your kitchen. Whether you’re preparing Chateaubriand for a formal dinner or pork sausages for a kids’ birthday party, a food thermometer is an indispensable asset for two main reasons:
1) Food Safety
Digital food thermometers are one of the most effective ways to eradicate the risk of foodborne illness, yet studies suggest that as little as 20 per cent of people regularly use them as part of cooking. In the UK, there are approximately 2.4 million cases of foodborne illness every year, even though pathogens such as E.coli, salmonella, and campylobacter are effectively killed when meat is heated to the right temperature.
Many amateur cooks rely on the colour or texture of meat to judge whether is thoroughly cooked, yet these are not reliable indicators. A digital food thermometer will confirm instantly if meat has been heated to the necessary temperature to destroy bacteria, giving the chef reassurance that the food is safe to serve. A digital thermometer can also confirm if chilled food is stored at the correct temperature, to prevent the growth of potentially harmful bacteria.
2) Food Quality
While it is possible to estimate the cooking time of meat from its weight, thickness, and the temperature of the oven, a digital thermometer for food will help to achieve the optimum quality – and, therefore, the best taste and enjoyment. In commercial settings, such as restaurants, it is vital that meat isn’t overcooked so that it becomes dry or tough. Food thermometers help the chef achieve repeatability, so that each dish is cooked to perfection, or to tailor the cooking time according to the wishes of the diner.
Cuts of meat are rarely alike so, no matter what level of cooking experience you have, a digital food thermometer can eliminate the reliance on guesswork when calculating cooking time.
At Hanna Instruments, we supply a comprehensive range of digital food thermometers that are suited equally for professional chefs and home cooking enthusiasts. Our digital thermometers are designed for use at high temperatures and deliver a fast response time, so that you can make quick judgements about whether food is cooked to the right temperature without the risk of it becoming overdone. We offer same-day dispatch on in-stock equipment and full aftersales service to help you to get the most from your thermometer.
To find out more about our range or our competitive prices, please call us on 01525 850855 and one of our specialist staff will be pleased to assist.
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