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GENERAL CHEESE MAKING BOARDS (Specific Cheese Making in Boards above) => EQUIPMENT - Making Cheese => Topic started by: Cheese Head on May 10, 2008, 01:17:28 PM
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In cheese making, standard kitchen thermometers for cooking do not work well as normally they do not read low enough. Digital thermometers are way better.
Attached picture is of:
1) Standard kitchen mercury inside glass tube cooking thermometer. It is fragile, consequences of breaking not fun, slow to stabilize, and hard to read.
2) Battery operated digital probe with cover (that clips onto handle), large LCD readout, C / F button, and on/off button to save batteries. It is hardy and very quick taking only few seconds to stabilize it's reading, easy to read, and battery has lasted so far 2 years.
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i will add that if you use a digital thermometer, either ensure that the batteries are fresh, or have a manual thermometer as a backup.
No, I am not smart enough to think of this all on my own. There was "an incident"
My digital thermometer's batteries were low, and it stopped telling me the temp when the whey was at 96 deg. Well the actual temperature kept climbing, and when I finally decided to get another thermometer, my cheddar was roasting at 125 deg.
Nice.
These well-done cheddar cheese curds are like superballs now. I think i will salt and eat "as is".
:)
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I use two different thermometers, one a digital and the other a mercury one. I am always checking that the temp are comparable.
The glass ones are great for candy making, but I don't think they are accurate enough for cheese making.
Just my thoughts.
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Wayne, congrats on making cheese curds, of course I've never over-heated my curds . . . . not!
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These days be sure to use Instant Read Digital Thermometers, you can find them on Amazon for like $10. I always try to use devices that either use regular batteries or LR44 which has a million cross reference numbers, it's basically the most common watch battery. Most digital thermometers use these. Anway, as Wayne said have spare batteries handy. I order on line because one battery at Radio Shack is $5 on line I bought 20 for $10, you do the math. I buy mine from http://www.watchbatteries.com/ProductInfo.aspx,,productid,,LR44TWOPACK
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I guess the candy ones are the most accurate though? I've been getting different readouts from our digital ones. The candy ones are harder to read, but isn't their technology tried and true and not vulnerable to a picky computer chip?
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I have 3 digital and about a dozen various analog thermometers.
I will say that a decent digital thermometer is superior.
Easy to read, timely, and accurate.
The analog ones are tougher to read, and subject to mechanical jarring.
I will admit, however, to keeping an analog thermometer within arms reach, always.
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I agree with Wayne. LL, take all your thermometer and put them in boiling water, they should all read 212 degrees Fahrenheit, that way you'll be able to see which ones are off, then just use a sharpee and mark the ones with a number by which they're off.
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I agree with Wayne. LL, take all your thermometer and put them in boiling water, they should all read 212 degrees Fahrenheit, that way you'll be able to see which ones are off, then just use a sharpee and mark the ones with a number by which they're off.
Sheesh, why didn't I think of that?? hehe, of course!
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I use a combination of both however this one is my favorite:
(http://www.kesabe.com/cheese/thermometer.jpg)
It allows you to calibrate it which is really nice. However, I was surprised to read their calibration procedure was to use a stirred crushed ice solution and calibrate it to freezing rather than boiling. I suppose due to the variance in boiling with elevation.
I got it from here (http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=398796)
I just need to make a cool little holder for it like Carter has so I can leave it in place rather than always having to rinse and re-sanitize before use.
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I use a combination of both however this one is my favorite:
([url]http://www.kesabe.com/cheese/thermometer.jpg[/url])
It allows you to calibrate it which is really nice. However, I was surprised to read their calibration procedure was to use a stirred crushed ice solution and calibrate it to freezing rather than boiling. I suppose due to the variance in boiling with elevation.
I got it from here ([url]http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=398796[/url])
I just need to make a cool little holder for it like Carter has so I can leave it in place rather than always having to rinse and re-sanitize before use.
I think we may be getting one of those, that looks really easy to read!
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My first thermometer digital has a probe with a long cable (1 meter) and has high and low alerts. which means I don't have to be watching it all the time just set the alarm to 1 degree above and below and if it moves out of this range of 3 degrees an alarm sounds.
My backup is a inferred thermometer not great all the time because it just takes the surface temp, but when stirring it is OK, i made about 6 kgs of cheese this way and all turned out OK.
Al
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I have an almost identical setup.
Notice the gray cord. (and the analog standby thermometer....)
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pJSoDk70yzEafRqgTNlEPSCaqTeJW_iNFhCFDBLfqvCq5YHVHsexVqSm9KS24j4WUa357aWTlylhQyr4zMZ6iUg/DSC_0059.jpg)
And here:
(http://vxxwgg.blu.livefilestore.com/y1ppSlGX_9AimJPQoBRnBruFEfFkjwBpbjtLwTDcPMozph8Ys8RP2k8CpHV4BZfKbNVSS0G7RtkB6zXIKCpA2tNgw/DSC_0062.jpg)
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I have a very similar digital setup with the remote probe. Mine however is really off... kind of annoyingly so. Last time I checked it was about 8 degrees at room temp and something like 15 degrees near boiling. Also, I don't have a waterproof probe for it either this one can't be submerged.