Hot take: the $12 thermometer from the restaurant supply store beat our $90 one on the line

Parker Williams · 2026-10-27T14:45:04.688418+00:00

I grabbed a cheap dial thermometer at a supply shop in Portland because ours kept reading off, and it came within half a degree of the lab-checked unit every time I tested it. Turns out the FDA food code only needs accuracy of plus or minus 2 degrees F anyway, so all that extra money wasn't buying us safer food, just a nicer screen. Our old probe had drifted 6 degrees high, which means we'd been pulling chicken thighs off at 159 when they were barely 165. I check ours against ice water every Monday now and swap them out when they drift. Anybody else find that the bargain gear holds up better than the fancy stuff in a real kitchen?

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Hot take: the $12 thermometer from the restaurant supply store beat our $90 one on the line | Chefs - Babble Community