Thermometer Calibration

You should routinely calibrate your food thermometers. Thermometers constantly face the rigors of a busy kitchen: being tossed about in drawers, dropped and thrown. This abuse and misuse can lead to faulty readings. Left unchecked, faulty readings from your food thermometer will result in improper food handling and could cause food born illness. Luckily, it is fairly easy to recalibrate them. The best method is an ice bath but do keep in mind an ice bath is more than just cubes of ice in a glass. If you don’t have the correct ratio you can get a variance in your temperature reading as high as 4º!

Here is the proper way to prepare an ice bath to calibrate your thermometer.

Fill a large glass with finely crushed ice

1. Add clean water to the top of the ice and stir well
2. Immerse the thermometer (at least half way) into your mixture
3. Wait 30 seconds and your thermometer should read 32º

If your thermometer does not read 32º please see your user’s manual on how to adjust your temperature to the correct setting. Often there will be screws on the back or bottom to make this adjustment.