ThermoWorks The Original Cooking Thermometer/Timer

by ThermoWorks

Product Features

• Rated #1 by Cook's Illustrated
• Extremely easy to set
• Digital display of food temperature, alarm temperature and countdown timer
• Put the probe into food and close oven door. Set the temp and alarm will ring when done
• Set any alarm temperature between 32 F and 392 F

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 2.9 x 0.8 inches ; 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0019R4HQQ
• Item model number: TW362B
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #8 in Kitchen & Dining > Kitchen Utensils & Gadgets > Thermometers & Timers > Instant-Read

Product Description

The TW362B has a robust design and a slide switch so the unit can be powered off. The well-loved simplicity means you won't need to find the instructions each time you set an alarm. The stylish housing folds the display up for counter use or flat for less obtrusive magnetic mounting to an appliance door. This is a huge kitchen favorite in commercial and home kitchens as well as industrial and lab use. Buy several for the kitchen, the BBQ, the RV, the vacation home or as gifts for friends.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

140 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best value., June 16, 2008

By 

JR (Saratoga, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ThermoWorks The Original Cooking Thermometer/Timer (Kitchen)

I read the Cook's Illustrated magazine review. They rated this number 1. I called Thermoworks to ask about the probes. They said they are NOT "sometimes defective". But, over time heat and moisture can damage them. Or, if you let the cable rest against a heating element it will burn through the cable. So I got an extra probe. The price is fair. But still haven't needed it. I also asked about Polder. They said it is actually the same thermometer internally and made by the same factory in China. But they said they are not associated in any way with Polder. I've had mine since last Thanksgiving and I use it at least once a week in the oven or on the BBQ. It's easy to set and at this price I figured it was such a low risk. Since then I've decided its one of the best values in my kitchen. I also have the Thermapen - much higher price. Both work great. -- By the way, don't use the polder replacement probes. The one I tried was not accurate with this unit. Get the correct thermoworks one - TW362XX.

74 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Product is better than its average suggests!, March 26, 2010

By 

Busy Mom (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ThermoWorks The Original Cooking Thermometer/Timer (Kitchen)

I've been using this product for over 2 years and love it. I give it as wedding shower gifts, because it's one of my most useful kitchen tools. (Mine was marketed under the Sunbeam name, but it's absolutely IDENTICAL to this model TW362B, except mine has white buttons.) I've been researching these thermometers again, because I'm getting ready to buy a second one as a backup: I don't want to be without this item for even one day.

Before buying this model, I went through 2 other brands / models, and this one is best. I generally use it several times a week. For example, I insert it in my whole-wheat bread loaves after they've baked for 15 minutes; the alarm enables me to remove them from my baking stone at the perfect time, when the interior temp is 194. Keeping the probe in the loaf for a few minutes after removing the latter from the oven has enabled me to determine that residual heat causes the interior temp to rise to the desired 200 degrees. People compliment me on these loaves all the time, and I've never had a failure since I started using this tool.

My probe has been dropped numerous times, but I've never had to replace any parts and it's still working great.

I suspect the negative reviews are due to one of the following:

1) Some people appear to have been writing about the OLDER model, not the new and improved Model TW362B.

2) Maybe people have been using it at temps that are too high. Like ALL other probe-and-cable type thermometers that I've seen, this one can't be used in ovens that have been heated to high temps, and I wouldn't think it could tolerate the high heat of a grill, for instance. That may explain many of the failures people have written about!

The instructions say not to put it inside an oven that is hotter than 392 degrees (presumably because the oven heat would damage the cable and/or sensor). For a while, I was setting my oven to that temp. Then I learned elsewhere that when you set your oven to 350, it can actually spike up to 400 while it's heating. So now I try to avoid using this thermometer in any oven hotter than about 360, which is the temp I use for my bread. (I leave the probe sticking in the bread for 20 minutes at a time in a 360 oven, and so far it's worked fine.)

Having said that, I must admit that several times I've forgotten and put it in a 375 to 400-degree oven for maybe 10 minutes at a time, and no harm has come of it. Now that I've heard you can risk higher temps if you wrap the probe cord in foil, I may go up to 400 deliberately, but only after I get my back-up.

Thermoworks, are you listening? How about upgrading this model so that it can tolerate higher temps? Except for that detail, it's just about perfect, and I hope you keep carrying it!

3) Maybe people have been getting sensitive parts WET. Somewhere I read that for probe-and-cable thermometers of this type, the place where the cable attaches to the curved steel of the probe can't be made truly waterproof, so it shouldn't be submerged. I hand-wash my probe, of course, and I've been careful to keep that spot dry (as well as the other end--the part that inserts into the main body of the thermometer).

If I need to soak my probe (which rarely happens, but sometimes I leave it overnight and bread crumbs are stuck to it the next day), I stand it in a small glass of soapy warm water, which makes it easy to keep the cable-joining part high and dry. That works well; the stuck-on stuff then wipes off very easily and quickly.

4) Regarding alarms that don't go off: at one point I thought my unit had gone bad because its alarm inexplicably stopped working. Then when I finally looked at it carefully, I discovered that my daughter had turned the alarm OFF without telling me! A simple flip of the switch cured that problem. (My previous models had lacked that switch, so I hadn't paid any attention to the switch.)

I haven't ever used the magnet, because magnets on ANY product never seem to hold as they claim.

In summary, I've found this to be a great product with MANY uses.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Oven Thermometer, June 15, 2008

By 

Craig "Craig" (Md) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ThermoWorks The Original Cooking Thermometer/Timer (Kitchen)

I use the Thermapen thermometer made by this same company and I wanted another one that I could set to beep at a certain temperature in the oven when it hits a certain degree. I even used it on the grill to cook steaks. I just closed the lid on the wire and found that lots easier than just probing the meat all the time. It works fine and I'm very happy with it.I will be buying another one for a friend.