While my wife and I both love to cook, we don’t like being tethered to the stove, continually checking the temperature of the evening’s meat or poultry dish to ensure it reaches the proper cooking temperature. (Especially important for poultry dishes.) So, when we got the chance to try out the iDevices Kitchen Thermometer mini, we happily agreed.
Overview
The iDevices Kitchen Thermometer mini consists of:
- The Kitchen Thermometer mini
- 1 Meat Probe
- 1 Probe Wrap
- 1 Colored Probe Indicator
- 1 Battery
- 1 Optional Magnetic Disc
Setup consisted of opening the device, pulling the tab to initiate the battery connection, attaching the probe, installing the iDevices app on our iPhones, and we were ready to try it out.
The evening’s meal included a nice pork roast, so we decided to try the mini that very evening.
When our pork roast was prepared, we inserted the probe into the center of the pork roast, placed the roast into the cooker, and ran the heat-resistant cable out to the thermometer unit, and popped the top on the cooker and turned it on.
The easy to use iDevices app immediately recognized the Bluetooth enabled thermometer unit and connected to it from within the app, with no need to go into the Bluetooth settings of the iPhone.
The app then showed the temperature it was receiving from the probe, and we watched it for a few minutes as it slowly inched up a few degrees. As I wasn’t sure what temperature a pork roast should reach to be considered “done,” I tapped “Set Preset” on the temperature reading screen, and was able to pick a pork roast from a pre-filled list of various meats and poultries.
A good while later, the iDevices app alerted me that the roast was ready. I had a bit of fun checking back with the app until then though, watching the temperature of the roast inch up degree, by degree. (Hey, it’s summer, and there’s nothing good on television!)
The included magnetic disc makes it easy to mount the mini anywhere you’d like, and the LED color cycling indicator on the mini allows you to check the progress of your dish, even if the iPhone isn’t handy.
Verdict
If you love to cook, but don’t want to continually have to run back into the kitchen to check the temperature and doneness of the dishes you’re cooking, the iDevices Kitchen Thermometer mini is definitely an option I recommend looking into. At a suggested retail price of $39.99, the mini makes a welcome addition to any chef’s kitchen.
Rating: 4/5[rating:4.0]
Price: $39.99 – Available at the iDevices website, as well as Amazon.com.
Pros:
- Connects quickly via your iPhone via Bluetooth.
- Easy to setup and use.
- Select from various preset cooking temperatures or enter your own.
- Includes in-app recipes.
Cons:
- I do wish it included an option for multiple probes. However, iDevices makes a larger probe, the Kitchen Thermometer, that includes two probes, and a digital readout.
