4 thermometers, 4 readings

Question

I have a Bosch convection oven, and I find some things take longer to roast than they "should" according to recipes (not using convection). I'd like to get as accurate as possible for baking. So I got four well-reviewed oven thermometers and tested at three temperatures. The reading were crazy. Any ideas how I should think about settings when I'm baking?

At 350 A: 325 (-25) B: 300 (-50) C: 350 D: 300 (-50)

At 400 A: 350 (-50) B: 375 (-25) C: 400 D: 375 (-25

At 450 A: 425 (-25) B: 375 (-50) C: 450 D: 425 (-25)

What kind of thermometers are these? Do they really only provide readings in 25 degree increments? — Cascabel, Apr 03 '19 at 19:45
Were they placed in the same place? Had the oven heated up for the same amount of time? — Chris H, Apr 03 '19 at 21:47

moscafj · Answer 1 · 2019-04-03T19:38:36.840

First, did you calibrate the thermometers to ensure they were reading correctly?

If so, I would set the oven 25 degrees higher than your desired temperature and call it a day. It's not really necessary to be much more precise than that. Not only are ovens notoriously inaccurate, but the temperature often fluctuates quite a bit. In addition, the temperature could easily be different at different locations inside your oven (did you place the thermometers in the same location?).

It's probably more important to use a thermometer in your roast, or use visual cues when cooking items you can't measure the temperature of.

If you did not calibrate the thermometers, do that first and retest your oven.

4 thermometers, 4 readings

1 Answers1