Temperature Not Time is the Key to Cooking

by Mark R. Vogel

Due to increased health concerns, lower trichinae infestation is not the only change in modern porcine production. Specialized breeding eventuates in pigs far leaner, significantly less fatty, and hence less juicy than their forefathers.

Ergo, temperatures approaching the 160 mark may accent certain flavor components, but with some loss of succulence. You will have to decide for yourself where your loyalty lies.

A final issue remains with instant read thermometers. Your roast has been cooking for a half hour. You open the oven door, insert your thermometer, and arrive at 105 degrees. You promptly remove the thermometer and usher the uncooked food back into the oven.

You wait a while and check again. 120 degrees. You're aiming for 130 and no more. When should you check again? You give it ten minutes and poke the poor thing again. 140. You curse as you realize that the rib roast will not be medium rare like your dad likes it. And it was his birthday dinner too.

Every time you open that oven door you drop the temperature and extend cooking time. Worse yet, each time you impale the food with the thermometer you create a little canal that will leak juice and make your finished product drier. The answer is a programmable thermometer.

Polder makes a good one that can be procured for about $25 on most cookware websites. If you wish to leave no room for error, and be unshackled from the guesswork of checking your food, a programmable thermometer is the ticket.

It consists of a main unit upon which you preset the desired temperature. A wire extends from this unit into a probe. Insert the probe into the center of your food, close the oven door, and get this: an alarm will sound when you have reached the target temperature.

To make this device even handier, the increasing temperature is constantly displayed on the unit. Now you can more accurately judge when to start the side dishes so they can be done simultaneously.

Hmmmm, the rack of lamb is ten degrees from being done. Better start sautéing the asparagus! Invest in this wonderful gadget and your days of overcooking your roasts will be as long gone as the succulent pigs of yore.