My cheap thermometer was off by 25 degrees for months

Last week I burned my third batch of sugar cookies and finally tested my oven thermometer against a new one. Turns out it was reading 25 degrees low the whole time. Has anyone else had a thermometer fail slowly like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

william_garcia25d ago

That thing about it failing slowly really gets me. My old meat thermometer started reading about 20 degrees low and I just thought I was getting worse at grilling. My steaks were coming out medium well when I wanted medium rare and I blamed myself for months. Then I tested it in boiling water one day and realized the whole time my temps were way off. Now I check all my thermometers against boiling water every few months just to be safe.

hugoj1224d ago

Screwed up a whole batch of pulled pork once because my probe thermometer was reading 40 degrees low. Ended up with dry, stringy meat that took me an extra 4 hours of cooking to figure out why. Now I test every new thermometer in ice water before I even take the wrapper off.

luna_wright25d ago

My buddy Tom found out his candy thermometer was 30 degrees off after he tried making caramel for the third time and it kept coming out like syrup instead of hard crack. He was so frustrated he almost threw his whole setup out before he tested it in ice water and realized the problem wasn't him. Now he keeps a little note taped to his oven that says "check your thermometers dummy" as a reminder.