Learn to calibrate your kitchen thermometer

 Learn to calibrate your kitchen thermometer

The kitchen thermometer is a very easy-to-use instrument that can be of great help to achieve a precise finish in recipes, but it also provides security when using high temperatures to eliminate the bacteria that some foods carry. However, you should keep it calibrated for accuracy.

 - Learn to calibrate your kitchen thermometer and Instant-Read Thermometers Product

Meats and eggs are very common foods in our kitchen, but it is known that they can cause diseases if they do not reach the right temperature during cooking to eliminate harmful bacteria. In this sense, it is essential to use a food thermometer, since it is the way to know that we and our loved ones are consuming healthy food.

One of the most common bacteria in food is Escherichia coli, since it develops in warm-blooded animals such as birds, cows, and pigs. Also, some vegetables can be contaminated with fecal matter from these animals and therefore, they are also transmitters of the bacteria. It is also important to note that raw milk and eggs can contain the pathogen, so it is not recommended to eat them raw.

This and other bacteria present in the food we use every day cause multiple diseases in people. Despite the fact that science has advanced a lot and the production processes in Europe and other places are becoming more rigorous, the risk is still present and also the diseases that are consequences of consuming dangerous bacteria.



The color trap
Many people think that a simple change in the color of food indicates that all the bacteria have been eliminated and therefore they are ready for consumption. This is especially dangerous when cooking meats and eggs, since it has been proven in different studies that these foods can change their color and appear well cooked, but inside they have not reached the correct temperature.

For example, we can imagine a fillet of red meat, which when placed in the pan quickly turns brown, well, this does not necessarily mean that it has already reached the necessary temperature to completely eliminate bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Something similar happens with eggs, which can take on a dull color very quickly without reaching the right temperature.

Therefore, we cannot always trust the color of food when cooking, but we must check with the thermometer to be completely sure. In this sense, it is good to know that the minimum internal temperature recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is 63 ° C for lamb, veal, beef and pork, while dishes with Eggs should reach 71 ° C and it is advisable to cook the poultry at 74 ° C.

 

The importance of calibrating the kitchen thermometer
Even if you have the best kitchen thermometer of the moment , it is essential that you perform a periodic calibration of the instrument, since otherwise you could be cooking with the wrong values, which would increase the danger of developing diseases caused by improper handling of food, this it is particularly important in restaurants and other food businesses, but also in homes.

The reason thermometers lose calibration has to do with precisely the specific temperature range in which they can function properly. In reality, many times in the kitchen we use the thermometer at different temperatures than those indicated by the manufacturer, since we precisely want to know how hot or cold the food is. By processing this data beyond its capabilities, the device loses accuracy. This can happen to any model, no matter how high-tech it is.

Therefore, experts recommend calibrating the thermometer once a day in the case of restaurants and also at home if you use it daily. This will depend on the use you give it, but in any case you should perform the calibration at least weekly so that it is always ready to use when necessary.



How should I calibrate the kitchen thermometer?
Calibrating this instrument is a quick and easy process, which can be done by anyone without hiring a professional technician. There are two basic ways to calibrate your kitchen thermometer: the ice water method and the boiling water method. The first is considered by many to be the simplest and most practical, since you only need to add cold water to a glass with crushed ice to the top. As a general rule, this liquid should be at 0 ° C, so when submerging the thermometer it should indicate this temperature. If you notice that it is not correct, you just have to adjust it to the exact figure and it will already be calibrated. If you have a digital device, you just have to press the reset button or just wait for the screen to show the correct temperature.

The other way is to use the other extreme, which would be the boiling point, but in this case you must take into account that the water boils at a certain temperature depending on the height above sea level. For example, at sea level water boils at 100 ° C, but if you are 600 meters above sea level, then it will boil at 98 ° C, because every 150 meters above sea the boiling point decreases by 0.5 degrees. Although this does not seem very complex to science enthusiasts, most prefer to use the freezing point method because it has fewer variables.

As we have observed, using a thermometer to measure the temperature of food is the most reliable way to know that we are not consuming disease-causing bacteria, but it is useless to make measurements if we have not calibrated the device. Therefore, we invite you to carry out this process periodically to guarantee a healthier diet in your home.