PSA: Don't cheap out on your oven thermometer like I did

I had to choose between a $6 dial thermometer from the grocery store and a $25 digital probe one from a restaurant supply place near me in Phoenix. Picked the cheap one because I thought they all did the same thing. It was off by 40 degrees on the low end, which I only caught after three batches of croissants came out looking like hockey pucks. Swapped to the digital one last week and my oven is actually at the temp I set now. Has anyone else found a big difference between cheap and mid-range thermometers?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancygrant1mo ago

Oh man, that's a bummer. I feel your pain on those ruined croissants, that's a real kick in the pants after all that work. Take it from someone who's been burned by cheap tools before, your mileage may vary but I've definitely learned that sometimes spending a little more saves a whole lot of headache.

kelly3851mo ago

You know, I used to be the complete opposite on this. I was always the guy grabbing the cheapest option thinking, "Why pay more when this does the same thing?" But after ruining a batch of homemade jam because my thermometer was off by like 15 degrees, I finally got it. That little bit of money I saved cost me a whole weekend of work and a pretty penny in fruit and sugar. Now I'm the one telling my buddies to just bite the bullet and get the good stuff the first time around. It's funny how one bad experience can totally flip your thinking like that.