Polder Digital In-Oven Thermometer/Timer, White

I've had the Polder 362-90 for about 5 years. I purchased it after seeing Alton Brown using one on the Food Channel show "Good Eats". Now, I'd be lost without it. It takes all the guesswork out of roasting chicken or turkey or a roast beef or whatever else you care to cook in your oven.You insert the metal probe into whatever you're cooking, set the target temperature and start roasting. When your roast reaches the desired temperature, the Polder will beep to let you know. Perfectly cooked. No wiggling Mrs. Chicken's legs, no pressing on the roast, no "Gee, is it done? I'm not sure." It couldn't be easier.It has a countdown timer (but not a clock) as well. The back of the main unit has 2 strong magnets which allow it to be attached to any metallic surface, vertical or horizontal. The LCD pivots, so no matter where you put the unit, you can tilt the LCD to make it easy to read. A slide switch on the back allows you to change between Farenheit and Centigrade.When you wash the probe, you *must* be careful. The probe is a metal tube that contains a temperature sensor. At the point where the cable from the main unit enters this tube, it is sealed merely by crimping the tube. It isn't waterproof. So during washing, if you allow water around this area, it will find its way into the tube and kill the sensor. This is the basis, I believe, for many of the complaints regarding the probe's fragility.I wrap my hand tightly around the top of the probe when I wash it to prevent this from happening, and I'm still using the original. I use it at least twice a month, so that means it has been used at least 100 times and washed 100 times and it works fine. As far as complaints that the sensor is inaccurate, I've got 100+ perfectly cooked chickens, turkeys and roast beefs that contradict that assertion.If I have a complaint its that the thing has no on/off switch! Its always running and, therefore, draining the AAA battery. This is not a big deal. The first battery lasted about 3 years and the one in it now has about 2 years of use and is still going strong. When the temperature reads "LO", that is the indicator that the battery needs replacement.The Polder 362-90 allows you to know when your roast is done instead of guessing at it. I find it essential and I recommend it. Just be careful when you wash it.***UPDATE 6/2010: After 10+ years of faithful service, my Polder finally quit working. I immediately ordered another. The new one worked accurately twice and then began to underreport temperature by about 30 to 40 degrees F. I tried a backup probe and a new battery with the same result so it would appear to be a problem with the main unit and not the probe. I see that many of the most recent reviews for this product complain of a similar issue. I think Polder may have a manufacturing problem. I would defer purchasing this product until the reviews turn positive again.

I like everything about this thermometer. I tested it's accuracy against my pro darkroom thermometer. Exactly the same. Outstanding. Controls are very simple and easy to understand. Display is easy to read. Alarm is loud enough but not annoying. My only issue is with the alarm switch which on my unit is very hard to move. No worries though. I'll just leave the alarm on and turn the unit off when it gets up to temp. The thing that really sold me is the cord. I've had a few other brands of oven thermometers and every one of them has failed because of the cord. They were all braided steel and that always gets kinked causing it to fail. This one has high temp silicone that will never kink. It also has a handle making it easy to control while you insert it. On top of all that Alton Brown likes it so thst's good enough for me.

Superb meat thermometer. Guaranteed roast meat oven thermometer has replaced two or three open the oven, lift it out, stick it in, try to read old fashioned thermometers.Now, just stick in the roast, close the door and plug in the wire from thermometer to clear digital readout that sticks it hits magnet to the oven.Set for desired temperature, say 130 for medium rare and watch reading rise. Added benefit, set a timerto remind me to check temp gauge periodically so I can harmonize cooking other meal items on the stovetop.Saw the QUeen's cook and a French cook on You Tube using this and gave it a try. Cost less than $20 and no regrets at all. It's going to work whenever budget allows perfect roast beef. (From experience with my oven I now know for sure the oven temp and meat temp I want). Roast was always dodgy guessing the right temperature. This works wonders and saves ruining a good roast beef.

Must purchase battery replacement before using. However, after replacing the battery, this thermometer works beautifully! Dead battery subtracted a star, but worth 4 stars for beautiful performance after battery replacement.

I bought my first Polder meat thermometer about three years ago.Used it about 10 times a year. It stayed in a storage cabinet whenever I was not using it. A few weeks ago after smoking a Boston butt, I unknowingly knocked it into the drip pan of water and fat droppings. It was submerged there for about 3 hours. When I discovered it, I cleaned it off with a damp cloth and dried it out for three days with the battery out. When I put battery back in and turned it on, all sections of LED screen came on but were unreadable. I thought it was ruined, so ordered another one from Amazon. I put the ruined unit back in storage cabinet.Several weeks later I decided to do another Boston butt using my new Polder, same model as old. I also took the old one out of the storage cabinet and turned it on. The display screen came to life and the digits were readable but then they blinked off and on a couple of times and the push buttons did not work well. So I took it apart to clean out the insides. You must remove about six screws on the outside and gently five screws on the inside to access the circuit board.Using Q-tips and rubbing alcohol, I cleaned a greasy film off everything inside. I then put it back together. Surprisingly, the old one now works as good as new.I am impressed with the durability and functionality of these little Polder thermometers.

No me gustó que las instrucciones sólo vienen en Inglés.

Funktioniert; Lieferung war schnell; gur verpackt. Empfehlenswertes Produkt.

Excellent kitchen timer / thermometer.

This has seriously elevated my cooking. My meat and poultry is cooked to perfection! I never worry about over- or under-cooking things anymore. I love that the cord is long enough for my to stick it in the oven, and that the back is magnetized so i can stick it onto my stovetop or my dishwasher . I love this so much that I bought one for my mother-in-law for Christmas as well.It's fantastic, and I highly recommend it. Great value for money.

This is my first remote thermometer and it works great. Set it and wait for the temperature alarm to go off. I don't even bother with the timer. You know what the amount of time should be roughly anyways and this unit sits on my counter and goes off when the internal temperature is correct. If I am cooking more than 1 piece I put it into the thickest one and when it goes off it's perfectly done. If the pieces differ in size by a fair amount then just put it into the smaller piece/s first and when it goes off remove those and stick it into the larger one/s. Hit the reset button and wait until it goes off again. It's very easy and works great. There are 2 switches. The one on the back is for main power on and off while the one on the front turns the alarm function on or off. When i just received it i didn't understand why it wouldn't turn on when I used the front switch. It took me a little while before I found the main on/ off switch on the back. It's a small switch and easy to miss but is black on the white housing for contrast.