ThermoWorks SuperFast Thermapen User Manual
1PB Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
FRONT
PAGE
Your
Thermapen
TM
A guide to better food
by using and caring for your
SuperFast Thermapen
TM
32 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
4 Your Thermapen doesn't test doneness - it tests temperature
very accurately (see page 7).
4
The Thermapen doesn't lock in on a reading. It is accurate
enough to show the ever-changing temperature of your food
while it cooks (see page 7).
4Your Thermapen measures temperature at the tip of its
probe (see page 9). Penetrate your food with the probe tip
where you want to measure - usually the centre of the thickest
part of your food (see page 12).
4Never leave your Thermapen in an oven while cooking
(see page 20).
4In general, be sure to thaw meats thoroughly before cooking
(see page 10).
4Remember that the temperature of meat normally continues
to rise a little after you remove it from the oven or grill
(see page 13).
4Don't test the accuracy of a thermometer in food. Use a
properly made ice bath (see page 17).
4Be sure to clean your Thermapen probe after contact with
uncooked or undercooked meat (see page 19).
4Wipe your Thermapen regularly, but don't place it under the
tap, submerge it, or put it in the dishwasher (see page 19).
4The battery compartment cover is tight for water-resistance.
Be careful not to force it open (see page 22).
Guarantee
The Thermapen carries a two-year warranty against defects in
either components or workmanship. During this period, products
that prove to be defective will, at the discretion of ETI, be either
repaired or replaced without charge. This warranty does not
apply to probes, where a six-month period is offered. The product
warranty does not cover damage caused by fair wear and tear,
abnormal storage conditions, incorrect use, accidental misuse,
abuse, neglect, misapplication or modification. Full details of
liability are available within ETI's Terms & Conditions of Sale
at www.thermapen.co.uk/terms. In line with our policy of
continuous development, we reserve the right to amend our
product specification without prior notice.
Thermapen Handy Tips!
32 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
A guide to better food
by using and caring for your
Thermapen digital thermometer
SuperFast
Thermapen
™
54 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
Contents
Fifteen Minutes Well Spent ................................ 5
A Few Things Your Thermapen Does NOT Do
It doesn’t start at zero
..................................... 6
It doesn’t stop the cooking for you................... 6
It tests temperature not doneness .................... 7
It doesn’t lock in on a reading ........................ 7
Here’s What Your Thermapen DOES Do ............ 7
Measuring Temperatures ................................ 9
Special Considerations for
Cooking Meat, Poultry & Fish
1. Thawing ................................................. 10
2. Removing from Fridge .............................. 11
3. Low and Slow Versus Hot and Fast
............ 11
4. Choosing a Target Temperature ................ 11
5. Getting a Proper Reading with
Your Thermapen ...................................... 12
6. Resting ................................................... 13
Outdoor Grilling ......................................... 14
Using Oven Alarms with the Thermapen ........ 14
Food Safety & Temperature .............................. 15
The Accuracy of Your Thermapen
Ready, Set, Go ............................................ 16
Performing an Ice Bath Test ........................... 17
Performing a Boiling Water Test
..................... 18
Re-calibration ............................................. 19
Cleaning & Caring for Your Thermapen
Cleaning the Probe ...................................... 19
Cleaning the Thermapen Body...................... 19
Storing Your Thermapen
............................... 20
Avoid Overheating the Thermapen Body ....... 20
Customizing Your Thermapen
.......................... 21
Changing the Batteries
................................. 22
Frequently Asked Questions
............................ 23
Recommended Temperatures
............... Back Cover
54 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
Fifteen Minutes Well Spent…
Thank you for purchasing our SuperFast Thermapen
which is probably the fastest, most sensitive, and accurate
thermometer you will have ever owned. It will assist you to learn
things about the cooking process that you could not see using
other thermometers. It is, however, a tool and like all tools, it
requires proper use and care to be effective.
This booklet should only take fifteen minutes to read and will
help you get the most out of your Thermapen experience.
Your Thermapen was pre-calibrated by hand in our laboratory
and is guaranteed to be accurate to ±0.4 °C (-49.9 to
199.9 °C) and will display the temperature of food or liquid in
just three seconds! You are probably not used to that kind of
speed and accuracy in a thermometer.
Keep this in mind as you begin to take readings with your
Thermapen and learn to rely more and more on the information it
provides. It truly can change the way you cook and prepare food.
accurate temperature reading
in just three seconds!
76 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
A Few Things Your Thermapen
Does NOT Do
It doesn’t start at zero
The moment you swing open its probe, your Thermapen starts
displaying the current temperature at its tip. Your Thermapen
is not like a bathroom scale that starts at zero every time. As
soon as it comes on, it displays a temperature. If you touch the
tip of the probe, you can watch the temperature change (it will
probably go up, unless you are on a tropical island)*. Remove
your finger and watch the temperature fall again. Try it.
It doesn’t stop the cooking for you
It may seem like an obvious point, but the Thermapen is just
a tool that gives you highly accurate information about the
temperature of the food you are preparing. YOU have to make
the decisions about when to increase or decrease the heat and
about when things are done. It’s a learning process. You’ll learn
the most from just experimenting and keeping track of your
results. There are a lot of variables at play, such as how cold the
food was before cooking, your heat setting, the consistency of the
cooking surface, and much more. But with accurate information
from your Thermapen, you’ll learn quickly to account for such
variables to achieve just the right results.
* The Thermapen shows the temperature at its tip and works best when its
probe is inserted or immersed into something. It will read air temperature;
however, it can take a minute or two to get an accurate reading unless the air
is moving rapidly.
It doesn’t test doneness - it only
tests the current temperature!
reduced tip
76 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
It doesn't test doneness; it only tests the
current temperature
While temperature is the most effective indication of the doneness
of food while it is cooking, cooked food will eventually cool. For
example (although you might be tempted to try), it wouldn’t do
you much good to take your Thermapen
to a restaurant so you
can test your steak as it arrives at your table. Your Thermapen
would only tell you the temperature of the steak at the table, not
the highest temperature the steak reached in the kitchen - which
would be the temperature that determined its doneness. While
cooking, remember to look for the highest temperature reached
in the thickest part of the food to judge doneness (see 'Outdoor
Grilling' on page 14).
It doesn’t lock in on a reading
If you find that the digits on your Thermapen readout keep
changing after three seconds, that’s because the temperature at
the tip is changing. When you first penetrate meat on the grill,
for example, the Thermapen display will change very rapidly as it
moves from ambient temperature to the temperature of the meat
being probed. Within three seconds, the rate of change will slow
dramatically giving you an accurate reading, but it will not stop
changing completely. As the meat continues to cook and the
tip of your probe moves through the meat, your Thermapen will
continue to detect variations in the temperature of the meat itself.
Now…
Here’s What Your Thermapen
DOES Do
Quite simply, it gives you the fastest, most accurate temperature
information you can find in an affordable professional-grade
thermometer. It can be used to check the internal temperature
of the following…
u meats
u poultry
u fish/shellfish
u vegetables
u casseroles
u desserts
u confectionery
u breads
u doughs
u sauces
u drinks
u and much more...
98 Using Your Thermapen Your Thermapen - A Guide to Better Food
…while you prepare foods in your…
…and anywhere else you work with food.
Some people even use their Thermapen to check the temperature
of their bath water! Get creative and think about ways that an
accurate temperature reading could improve your life.
Those who make a commitment to using their Thermapen
regularly achieve the best results over time. You have likely grown
accustomed to estimating the doneness of food through other
less scientific methods, such as…
u relying on a recommended cooking time from a recipe
u watching the colour of a bread while baking
u sticking a fork or toothpick into a cake to see if it comes
out clean
u stirring and watching the consistency of a sauce or
confectionery
u pressing against the top of meat to gauge resistance
u cutting open a fillet on the grill
Many recipes call for just these types of activities, but you now
have a highly accurate temperature instrument at your disposal.
Start taking readings on your favourite recipes and jotting them
down next to the recipes themselves. Make the food the same
way you always do and check doneness as you always have,
but start writing down the Thermapen readings for when things
turn out just the way you like them. That way you will be able to
replicate a perfect result using your Thermapen.
You may find that
you can gauge the
'hardball' stage of a
confectionery recipe
more accurately than
ever and start making
near-misses a thing
of the past, if you
just take the time to
u oven
u microwave
u fridge
u freezer
u deep fat fryer
u BBQ, grill or smoker
u hob
u worktop
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