The Laser Thermometer
This is probably my first true culinary toy. I like to equip my kitchen with as many multi-purpose, utilitarian things as possible, which actually means having as few things as possible. So, I could just muddle on with my so-called instant read dial thermometer for all my temperature needs, but the laser thermometer is the coolest thing that I couldn’t bear to be without.
Once it’s in your hand, your environment turns into a matrix of temperatures waiting to be found out. It can only take the surface temperature of things, but for a baking and dessert person, that’s just fine. I can use it to temper chocolate, make sauces (such as creme anglaise), and see how hot work surfaces are. I just have to mix a little when measuring to make sure the temp is uniform.
Once you squeeze the trigger and aim the red laser tracking dot, you get instantaneous readings of the surfaces. It can measure between 0-932 degrees Fahrenheit by half degrees (it can do Celsius, too), and you can shoot it across the room for temperatures (though the detection spot is then bigger b/c of the distance that it travels). And it’s so clean. No wiping it off every time I want a reading; I just have to keep my hands clean.
I’ve always wondered why ovens are set to exact temperatures while stovetop controls are given arbitrary numbers or descriptions — especially since I’ve always had to make do with dodgy electric ones. With the thermometer, I’ll be able to see just what temperatures I’m cooking on — and how much the cold spots differ (caused from uneven coils, in my case). In the booklet, it gives a cooking surface temperature guide:
- Low: 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- Simmer: 200
- Med-Low (or Fry): 250
- Saute: 275
- Med: 300
- Med-High (or Griddle): 350
- Grill: 375
- High (Wok): 400
- Sear: 450
Finally! Some sort of working guide…
May 16th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
hahahaha!!!! i love it.
May 16th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
I’ve always wanted one of those! Does it live up to the price?
May 17th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Great website!
As an engineer I would just say that this device is almost certainly not measuring the temperature with the laser; the laser just acts as a sight. It uses some kind of infrared receiver to measure the temperature whose beamwidth is much larger than that the laser. What that means practically is that you should hold the device as close as is comfortable to the object being measured — it’s accuracy across the room, say, is probably terrible.
May 18th, 2006 at 10:57 am
I’ve been thinking about getting one of those, how much was it?
May 21st, 2006 at 9:20 pm
fattypr - You just have to figure out how to justify using one of these in your lab….
From Our Kitchen - I think it’s great for tempering chocolate, and will probably save me money and time with wasted chocolate.
But I’ve realized that for creme anglaise — and probably other egg-based sauces — it just can’t produce a perfect reading for the whole pot — but I don’t think that other thermometers really can, either; I’ll have to eyeball it.
I also like it for glazes that need to be heated to a certain temp, and for stove top temperatures. I’m still playing around with it, so I’ll probably write a post in a while that’s more comprehensive about uses that I’ve found for it.
Paul - I’m glad you like my site.
And you’re right. Technically, this uses “infrared technology” to measure the temperature, while the red laser sight dot is just used for aim — it can even be turned off to save the battery. The company probably just emphasizes the laser because it sounds cool. As far as distance goes, it has a Distance to Spot Ratio of 8:1, so the field of view does get larger the farther away you are from it. I did some tests to measure a spot on a wall from about 30 ft away and then from up close, and the difference was about .5-1.5 degrees, with the temp taken from farther away always being lower. So yeah, I’ll usually be standing right at the pot that I’m measuring, though I can give a rough idea of a temperature to someone further away.
Gerald - I got mine at this site for $74.95 with free shipping. http://www.kitchen-universe.com/detail.aspx?s=shopping&ID=1260
February 6th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
[...] So, I continue to stir and add sugar until all my sugar is in the pot. This is when doneness counts. At this point, there is already so much heat under the pot and in the pot — sugar caramelizes at about 310F (as a comparison, bread is done at an internal temp of only 195F) — that I turn the heat down to medium so that the remaining crystals melt and caramelize without burning the sugar that has already caramelized. The sugar is already quite brown and caramel-y at this point, so I only vaguely go by a nice rich caramel color. I think that the most important thing is that all the sugar crystals are melted. It’s slightly tricky because the caramel naturally has air bubbles in it, which also look like crystals, so I look closely at it. I then stir gently, b/c stirring vigorously wouldn’t accomplish anything except letting heat escape. When there are no more visible crystals and it’s a lovely deep caramel color, I stop cooking it by adding fats on low heat. If there are still sugar crystals, they can lead to graininess or clump into hard bits. I’ve found that my laser thermometer can pick up the temp of caramel just fine; mine usually gets to around 340F. If you think it’s close to being done but are scared of burning it, you can take it off the heat and it will finish due to the residual heat. Unless you go all Michael Recchuiti, burnt sugar isn’t good for much. I think it’s better to go slower at the end than to risk wasting the whole batch. Candy thermometers are not so useful here because you’ve lost so much moisture while caramelizing that the caramel usually isn’t deep enough to get a good reading. And if you were to add fats to it, there’s a chance that the sugar on the thermometer wouldn’t dissolve completely when added. Also, if you have a lot of caramelized sugar, chances are you’re adding a lot of fat that will bubble up, so you want the caramel to be as shallow as possible so that it won’t bubble out of the pot. A candy thermometer should be added only after you’ve added any additional wet ingredients and have stirred to incorporate. [...]