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Thermapen hygiene


Spork

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After use, I hand wash it as I do any other tool (knife, etc), then dry it, fold down the probe, and put it back in its case. Nothing before use -- just flip and stab. I do like your "sip of vino" technique, though. I'll have to try that.

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[alcohol wipe]

 

Same.

 

I'm an extremist OCD germophobe....I wipe done the entire thermometer with an alcohol pad.

 

I sometimes use the Thermapen but in some ways I hate the design.

I use the Thermoworks RT600C Super-Fast® pocket thermometer most of the time.

 

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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23 minutes ago, Alex said:

After use, I hand wash it as I do any other tool (knife, etc), then dry it, fold down the probe, and put it back in its case. Nothing before use -- just flip and stab. I do like your "sip of vino" technique, though. I'll have to try that.

I thought I was anal, now I know. I'll say again, I swipe and store. 

 

But, I will add, multiple insertions during an episode is not conducient to soap/surfactant. 

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 I do not consider myself risky in the kitchen but alcohol wipes?  Don't get me started.  

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

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44 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

[alcohol wipe]

 

Same.

 

I'm an extremist OCD germophobe....I wipe done the entire thermometer with an alcohol pad.

 

I sometimes use the Thermapen but in some ways I hate the design.

I use the Thermoworks RT600C Super-Fast® pocket thermometer most of the time.

 

 

I've never helt, felt, or smelt, anRt600C. But, in a brief review, its only a segregated closure?

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5 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 I do not consider myself risky in the kitchen but alcohol wipes?  Don't get me started.  

 

Cheap and convenient.

I find an alcohol wipe the least tedious way to sanitize (when necessary) and keep stuff cleaned off the tip of the thermometer.

I'm talking smoked foods, greasy foods, cooking oil, etc.

A single wipe can be used multiple times in one cooking session.

 

 

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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9 minutes ago, Spork said:

I've never helt, felt, or smelt, anRt600C. But, in a brief review, its only a segregated closure?

 

Yeah, it doesn't bend like the Thermapen.

I tend to use a thermometer in a jar or cup quite often...the pocket thermometer is great for that.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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4 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Cheap and convenient.

I find an alcohol wipe the least tedious way to sanitize (when necessary) and keep stuff cleaned off the tip of the thermometer.

I'm talking smoked foods, greasy foods, cooking oil, etc.

A single wipe can be used multiple times in one cooking session.

 

 

How do you store this seasonal wipe?

 

2 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Yeah, it doesn't bend like the Thermapen.

I tend to use a thermometer in a jar or cup quite often...the pocket thermometer is great for that.

 

3 minutes ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

 

Yeah, it doesn't bend like the Thermapen.

I tend to use a thermometer in a jar or cup quite often...the pocket thermometer is great for that.

In a sanitizer?

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I don't think you get many germs into the meat.

 

You know if you use a window cleaning squeegee, it leaves the window squeegee clean. Meat works the same way with the tip of the thermometer.

 

Those few germs that manage to get in (no deeper than 1/4"?), will be cooked anyway.

 

Why are we worry about the one tiny hole poked by the tiny thermometer when a lot of the meat you buy have been mechanically tenderized?

 

Just my un-educated thinking.

 

dcarch

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Whatever you can live with. :)

My biggest fear is cross-contamination .

I use a thermometer a LOT so I've trained myself to sanitize it almost every time I pick it up or set it down.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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36 minutes ago, Spork said:

How do you store this seasonal wipe?

 

If the wipe isn't too nasty I put in back in the foil packet so the alcohol doesn't evaporate.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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23 minutes ago, dcarch said:

I don't think you get many germs into the meat.

 

You know if you use a window cleaning squeegee, it leaves the window squeegee clean. Meat works the same way with the tip of the thermometer.

 

Those few germs that manage to get in (no deeper than 1/4"?), will be cooked anyway.

 

Why are we worry about the one tiny hole poked by the tiny thermometer when a lot of the meat you buy have been mechanically tenderized?

 

Just my un-educated thinking.

 

dcarch

I'm a 131 kinda guy. We gotta be careful. 

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31 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

So wiping it on my dirty apron isn't recommended?

So long as it got dirty from spilling your negroni on it I think it's perfectly safe. 

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Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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A quick soap and water cleaning, rinse, dry with a fresh paper towel. Same technique I've used for all probe thermometers for years.  To me the main thing is to clean immediately before anything can begin to dry or crust.

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Porthos Potwatcher
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1 minute ago, Porthos said:

A quick soap and water cleaning, rinse, dry with a fresh paper towel. Same technique I've used for all probe thermometers for years.  To me the main thing is to clean immediately before anything can begin to dry or crust.

 

Yup, that's what I do too. Don't own a thermapen, but my trusty ECKO stainless mechanical, cheap and long-lasting thermometer does everything I need it to do. I just wash the probe with soap and water after each use. I put it away clean in a closed cabinet after I'm finished, and see no need to clean it again before use. It works just fine for me.

 

I also second the clean immediately thing. It's much quicker. The faster I can put the cleaning (loathed but critical) part of cooking behind me is always the way to go.

 

If I use alcohol for cleaning in the kitchen, I use ethyl alcohol. The actress Kirstie Alley used to have a home cleaning business, and that is one of the tricks I picked up from her. She used the cheapest bottle of vodka she could find. :laugh: It would also be cheaper than individual alcohol wipes which are frequently of the isopropyl variety. I know it's supposed to evaporate without a trace and is used to swab skin before injections, but I just can't keep from thinking of it as a poison chemical in the kitchen.

> ^ . . ^ <

 

 

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31 minutes ago, Porthos said:

A quick soap and water cleaning, rinse, dry with a fresh paper towel. Same technique I've used for all probe thermometers for years.  To me the main thing is to clean immediately before anything can begin to dry or crust.

 

Yes, me too.

 

I also have a bag of kitchen wipes (sort of wet wipes for kitchen use). I may use them to give the tip a wipe between probes, but if I were say testing both a chicken leg and a cake at the same cooking session, I'd be more careful and wash and dry the thing between foods.

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When I'm cooking, i usually have a sink full of hot water spiked with bleach so I can wash (most) things as I use them. I'll usually wipe down my thermometers' probes in the sink, then rinse them. I also have a spray bottle filled with restaurant-style quaternary ammonia sanitizer, which I use at the end of a session before putting it away. That's gilding the lily, though, with a strong pinch of "because I have it and want to use it up."

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