This $6 Tool Is So Essential, I Have Two in My Kitchen at All Times

As a recipe developer who has tested over a thousand recipes in my career, I make sure I am well-stocked with tools that help me measure. I use timers, scales, and measuring cups and spoons, and even pull out a ruler on occasion. I have thermometers to measure the temperature of meat and oil when I’m deep-frying, but there’s one particular thermometer I love so much I have two of them at all times: an oven thermometer. It’s a humble kitchen gadget, but one I can’t live without. And this simple, inexpensive $6 version with a large display from Taylor is a must-have to make sure I’m testing recipes at the right temperature called for in a recipe.

When you’re using an oven, an accurate temperature is really key to make sure baked goods rise properly and meats and casseroles brown and cook in the expected amount of time. While ovens have built-in thermometers that tell it when to turn the heating element on and off, it isn’t always accurate. My oven has always been a bit finicky and tends to run on the cooler side, so having a stand-alone oven thermometer has been great to determine what the actual temperature is inside. I usually then set my oven a little higher than the temperature called for in a recipe, as I know that it runs cool.

Here are some other reasons you should get an oven thermometer.

There’s a whole range of oven thermometers out there you can buy, but I find that simple is best — especially because they do need to be replaced often. At three inches wide, Taylor’s large dial one is about twice as large as most oven thermometers, so the display is big enough that I don’t need to get too close to read the temperature. It can hang from an oven rack or be placed directly on a rack or the bottom of the oven so that you have some options on placement. The Taylor thermometer can measure temps of 100ºF to 600ºF, which is great if you like to get your oven rip-roaring hot for baking things like pizzas.

Although I have an oven thermometer in the oven at all times (even when the oven is not on), my appliance repair person actually advised me to always have two of them on hand. These thermometers don’t have a long life, about 6 to 8 months with fairly regular use, and either stop working or the display darkens too much to read, so having two means there’s always at least one working one around.