In the modern kitchen, there is a wide variety of cooking utensils, and the kitchen thermometer is gradually becoming an indispensable one. It not only plays a key role in ensuring food safety but also helps cooking enthusiasts improve their culinary skills to create more delicious and tasty dishes.
According to a report on the Health Day column of the U.S. News & World Report website on August 5, 2024, with the frequent occurrence of avian influenza, salmonella, and other food-borne diseases, the kitchen thermometer provides people with a simple and effective method to ensure that food is cooked thoroughly. However, a new health survey shows that only about a quarter (27%) of Americans "often" or "always" use a cooking thermometer to determine if meat, poultry, or fish has reached a safe-to-eat temperature. At the same time, 29% of American adults said they "never" use a thermometer when cooking, about 20% said they "rarely" use it, and another 20% "sometimes" use it.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, pointed out in a press release: "Using a food thermometer to determine that meat, poultry, fish, and eggs have been cooked to a safe temperature is an effective way to kill bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella and protect oneself from food poisoning." She also added: "Everyone who cooks should have a readily accessible food thermometer near the kitchen or grill."
Food thermometers can ensure that food is heated to a high enough temperature to effectively kill bacteria and viruses. But the survey also revealed that many people are unaware of the temperature to which poultry and eggs should be heated to kill avian influenza viruses and other pathogens. Less than four in ten (38%) of the respondents knew the correct temperature is 165°F, more than half (51%) said they were unsure, and even 4% thought no heating was needed to kill pathogens in poultry and eggs. Similarly, almost no one could accurately point out that 160°F is the appropriate temperature for cooking ground beef to kill Escherichia coli, and only 21% knew that 145°F is the suitable temperature for steaks and other whole cuts of beef.
In addition to ensuring food safety, kitchen thermometers also play an important role in improving cooking quality. For example, a 2023 study by the University of Tokyo in Japan showed that when the oil temperature is controlled between 180 - 190°C, the Maillard reaction reaches its optimal state, and the aromatic substances produced at this time are 573 times that at room temperature. This scientific discovery has made many cooking enthusiasts realize the importance of precise temperature control for the flavor of dishes. Ms. Zhang, a white-collar worker in Beijing's International Trade Center, received many praises on her WeChat Moments for the braised pork ribs she made after using a thermometer for precise temperature control. She sighed: "It turns out that the missing heat is the jumping numbers on the thermometer."
In the market, there are various types of kitchen thermometers with increasingly rich functions. Some high-end products not only have rapid reading speeds. For example, the needle-type thermometer launched by Hu Yi Technology has a reading time of only 0.7 seconds, while other products take an average of 2 to 3 seconds. Moreover, the temperature monitoring accuracy is extremely high. Hu Yi Technology has achieved a high accuracy of ±0.3 degrees Celsius by welding a temperature sensor on the probe, which can make cooking more precise. In addition, some thermometers are equipped with multiple temperature sensors, which can monitor the temperature of different layers of food, providing more comprehensive temperature information for complex cooking processes.
As consumers pay more and more attention to food safety and cooking quality, the market demand for kitchen thermometers is also growing. Data from Suning.com shows that the sales volume of professional cooking thermometers increased by 340% year-on-year in 2023. More and more people are beginning to realize that relying on kitchen thermometers for precise temperature control during cooking is an important step towards delicious food cooking. Whether it is daily cooking in family kitchens or exquisite culinary displays by professional chefs, kitchen thermometers are playing an increasingly important role as a powerful assistant in ensuring food safety and improving cooking quality.
