Kitchen Requirements

6. I am a lover of kitchen gadgets, but the one I hold above all others is my Polder meat thermometer. It is useful and it is fun and there aren’t too many things you can say that about. The Polder is kind of like a regular instant-read thermometer, except the probe is attached to a big digital readout by a long heat-proof cord. Not only does it tell you the temperature, you can also set an alarm that will go off when it reaches a certain point.

That means you can stick it in a roast at the beginning of cooking; and set the alarm for, say, 160 degrees for a pork roast; and walk away for an hour until you hear the tweeting of the alarm to tell you the roast is done. It’s like a melody.

As for the fun part, well, you have to be of a certain twist of mind. I find it fascinating to track the temperature of a roast as it is cooking. If you take it straight from the refrigerator, how long does it take to reach room temperature? (Answer: At least half an hour.) Or: How long does it take to top that final 10 degrees? (Answer: Still forever, but being able to count it degree by degree is really cool.)