Drama Queen said:I bought an oven thermometer to check the temp in my oven and it showed a 25 degree difference. I called a repair man to calibrate my oven and he said it was right on. The thermometer was off. So much for that. It's like getting a second opinion from a doctor. Who's right??
Katie E said:You can check the accuracy of your thermometer by bringing a pot of water to a full boil. Water boils at 212 degrees F. Put your thermometer in the water. If it registers 212 degrees F, it's accurate. I do that from time to time with all my cooking thermometers to be sure they're on target.
Katie E said:I always use an oven thermometer. Our oven is essentially brand new but I learned early on that when I set the temp and let it preheat, say to 350 degrees F, when the oven "beeped" to tell me the oven was ready, it lied.
In fact, the oven was more than 20 degrees from my set temp. Preheating is an important step in cooking nearly everything. A greater than 20-degree difference in beginning to cook something can make a huge difference in the end result.
I wouldn't be without my oven thermometer.
Claire said:There is a big difference between baking (i.e., breads, pastry etc) and other kinds of cooking (i.e., roasting a chicken, braising, etc). The former is an exact science and the temps and times are more exacting. I am NOT a baker, and use a thermometer with a remote monitor, and it makes sure my meat is ready to serve, and the EXACT oven temp simply doesn't matter that much.