Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Thermometers Needed When Cooking Foods

You probably have thermometers in your freezer or refrigerator, but do you have a food thermometer to use while cooking? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a food safety education campaign to encourage the use of food thermometers in meat, poultry and egg products. The campaign theme is, It's safe to bite when the temperature is right.'

Despite what most consumers believe, using a food thermometer is the only way to tell that food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy harmful pathogens that may be in a raw food. Trusting experience or the color of meat to tell when food is done can be misleading. One of four hamburgers turns brown in the middle before it has reached a safe internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

Egg dishes and fresh pork or beef medium done are cooked to 160 degrees; leftovers and casseroles should be 165. Most poultry is cooked from 170 (breasts and roast) to 180 degrees F. Pre-cooked ham needs only to be heated to 140 degrees.

There are numerous reliable thermometers on the market today; many are inexpensive. They are high-tech and easy to use. Some are meant to stay in the food while it's cooking; others are not. Some are ideal for checking thin foods; others are meant for large roasts and whole chickens and turkeys.

Here is an overview of some types of food thermometers:

Dial oven-safe (bimetal). Reads in 1-2 minutes. Place 2-2=" deep in thickest part of food.

Digital instant-read (thermistor). Reads in 10 seconds. Place at least 1/2" deep.

Fork. Reads in 2-10 seconds. Place at least 1/4" deep in thickest part of food.

Dial instant-read (bimetal). Reads in 15-20 seconds. Place 2-2=" deep in thickest part of food.

Thermocouple. Reads in 2-5 seconds. Place 1/4" or deeper.

Disposable temperature indicators (single-use). Reads in 5-10 seconds. Place about 1/2" deep (follow manufacturer's directions).

Pop-up. Commonly used in turkeys and roasting.

Why use a food thermometer? Millions of people get sick from dangerous bacteria in food every year. Public health data in 2000 show that there are more the five times the number of dangerous bacteria in our food than we were aware of in 1942.

A person can become sick any time from 20 minutes to six weeks after eating food-borne types of harmful bacteria. For people who are at high riskyoung children, pregnant women, people over 65, and people with chronic illnesses getting sick from food borne bacteria can be serious.

Remember: It's safe to bite when the temperature is right Using a food thermometer is the only sure way to know if food has a high enough temperature to destroy food borne bacteria.

For more information about food safety contact the Clark County Extension office at 246-2281.