# New Oven Quirk **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891 "2015-08-15T01:08:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/21 "2015-08-15T21:36:53Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > When I get an ISO compliant oven I’ll start using the terms that way. In the mean time I’ll use the definitions normal people\* use. > > \*normal people = not engineers Well, OK, but… > [@TriPolar](#): > > Precision is the degree of accuracy. Consistency is repeatability. > > A precise answer to the sum of 1+1 is 3.000000000. But it’s not very accurate. … you’re not even being consistent with yourself. First you say that precision is accuracy, then you say that 3.00000000 is precise but not accurate. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/22 "2015-08-15T22:22:08Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > Well, OK, but… > > … you’re not even being consistent with yourself. First you say that precision is accuracy, then you say that 3.00000000 is precise but not accurate. > > Just sayin’. Where did I say precision was accuracy? I said precision was the degree of accuracy. Maybe not the best way to put it, but the something of another thing is not the other thing. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/23 "2015-08-16T03:42:29Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’ve had ovens that cooked consistently, and ovens with unpredictable and uneven heat. It makes a big difference, especially for baked goods. That’s why you need an oven thermometer. So you know what the temperature really is in there. There’s no other way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/24 "2015-08-16T04:05:02Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That’s why you need an oven thermometer. So you know what the temperature really is in there. There’s no other way to be sure. Naw, you really don’t. If the oven is consistent, you just get used to it. I had one good oven that ran a little hot, I just set it 25 degrees lower than the recipe said. My current one is pretty accurate and I use recipes as stated. The bad one was all over the place, and there wasn’t any way to fix that. Sometimes it was too hot, sometimes too cool, and it could cycle between them in the time it took to bake a cake, or be too hot in some places and too cool in others. Knowing the temp at a particular place right now didn’t really give you a strategy to make it right over the whole cake and all the time it baked. Okay, I confess that I checked the new oven with some thermometers right after I got it, just to have a good idea of where to start. But after you use it a few times, you don’t need an over thermometer. Now, you DO need a good meat thermometer, because every chunk of meat will cook differently, based on its starting temp, it’s size and shape, how fatty it is, and where the bones lie. But that’s a different question. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/25 "2015-08-17T21:42:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > …Okay, I confess that I checked the new oven with some thermometers right after I got it, just to have a good idea of where to start. But after you use it a few times, you don’t need an over thermometer. But by then you already own it, don’t you? :rolleyes: > [@](#): > > Now, you DO need a good meat thermometer, because every chunk of meat will cook differently, based on its starting temp, it’s size and shape, how fatty it is, and where the bones lie. But that’s a different question. Yes, and the one you want is the [Thermapen](http://www.amazon.com/ThermoWorks-Super-Fast-Professional-Thermocouple-Thermometer/dp/B002GIZZWM/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1439847739&sr=1-2&keywords=thermapen). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/26 "2015-08-17T23:04:10Z")
The one I like is this one > **[Amazon.com: Taylor Roast and Yeast Instant Read Meat Food Kitchen Cooking...](https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Precision-Products-Classic-Thermometer/dp/B00004XSC8)** > > Amazon.com: Taylor Roast and Yeast Instant Read Meat Food Kitchen Cooking Thermometer : Patio, Lawn & Garden Taylor roast and yeast thermometer. I’ve found them very accurate, easy to use, and cheap. They are thicker than the instant-read ones, but actually give a temp quite quickly if you want to use them that way. I just shove one into the thickest part of the roast and leave it there. The cheap bimetalic “instant read” thermometers are very inaccurate, and take longer to register than the liquid-based cheapie. And you can’t leave them in the roast, because they have plastic parts that will melt in oven. I’m told the expensive ones, like the one you linked, are also accurate. But I don’t see how they are 15 times better than the Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/27 "2015-08-17T23:05:18Z")
Oh, and yes, I have an oven thermometer, but it told me stuff I already knew, and I haven’t used it in years. Not since getting a good oven. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891/28 "2015-08-17T23:17:10Z")
I use a [Taylor thermometer](http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Digital-Cooking-Thermometer-Timer/dp/B00004XSC5/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1439853301&sr=1-1&keywords=taylor+thermometer). It has the advantage that you can read the temperature without opening the oven door. It also has an alarm to tell you when the food has reached the desired temperature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-oven-quirk/727891.md?page=1)