Best Kitchen Timers

[mamster]

Have we ever had a thread on timers before? Ours just died, and while I already chose a replacement, I figured a thread was in order anyway.

Our recently deceased timer was the West Bend Clock/Double Timer, which was the Cook's Illustrated editor's choice last time they reviewed timers, which was 1996. It was a pretty good timer--big digits, loud beeps. The only problem with it was the weak magnet, so I removed it and super-glued on a big magnet from the hardware store. This made the beep sound kind of funny (must have been tugging on the speaker) but at least it didn't fall off the fridge anymore. R.I.P., West Bend Clock/Double Timer.

I would have bought another of the same, but (a) they don't seem to sell that model anymore, and (b) I wasn't in the mood to break out the superglue. So I poked around a bit and found the the current hip timer these days seems to be this one:

Polder Electronic Clock/Stopwatch/Timer

It come with a cord to wear it around your neck, and Amazon reviews allege that the beep is loud and the magnet clings to the fridge like a monkey. Also, it has a numeric keypad to enter the time (like on a microwave) rather than hour, minute, and second buttons. The only downside is that it only has one timer. I was stupidly trying to decide whether this was a deal-breaker, and then realized that if I like the timer, I can just get another one. Duh. It also costs less than the West Bend did.

I couldn't find the Polder locally, so I ordered it from Amazon. Reactions forthcoming when it arrives. In the meantime, what's your kitchen timer? Digital or windup? Love it or hate it?

[snowangel]

A couple of decades ago, my father gave me a little Rival timer that can stand on the counter or go on the fridge (with a magnet). It can also be a clock. What I really love about it is that if I miss the timer noise, it counts backwards so I know how long I've been overlooking whatever I'm timing.

I wouldn't really want one that I can hang around my neck. When the mid-40's hit, so did the reader glasses, so they are on a chain around my neck

Edited to add: one of the other things I really like about my timer is that the batteries are common and still readily available. Unlike all of the cordless phones I've ever owned.

Edited April 9, 2004 by snowangel (log)

[Dana]

I'm with snowangel on the necklacetimer. I've got enough stuff bouncing around, don't need a timer, too.

I have a stupid apple timer, and I set it plus the microwave timer, just in case I don't hear one or the other. Please report back on how you like the one you just ordered. I might need that!!!!

[lorea]

Polder Electronic Clock/Stopwatch/Timer

I have exactly the same timer! I purchased it prior to the Cook's Illustrated review because I personally liked the following features:

- it's LOUD. I kept missing the timer on my stove or microwave because they weren't quiet enough. It's loud enough that I can leave it downstairs and still hear it shrieking from upstairs. It beats wearing that thing!

- It's easy to type in digits. I always felt timers that made you press the same button over and over again to enter in a time was a waste of time. Since all the digits are easily accessible, it's very quick to type in times.

- There's a count-up function.

- After the timer beeps, it continues to count up.

As far as ergonomics goes, it's a little awkward to use. It's slightly difficult to hold (so I just leave mine on the refrigerator), and the readout is a little small. Also, it's a little irritating that I have to press Stop, then Clear, before I can type in new numbers. I'd rather prefer to press Stop, then be able to automatically enter in a new time without pressing Clear. But that's a small matter.

In all, it's a good little timer that does the job. And if I ever really need to have multiple timers, I can always use my oven timer or microwave timer.

[Anna N]

I have two cheapo digital timers - both made by EKCO - both less then $10 Cdn. The magnets are too weak to hold so I stuck 3M's velcro-like fasteners on the back of each and now they hold just fine. Their beeps are not loud enough to hear when I am downstairs so I just take whatever timer I am using with me.

The digital timer on my stove continues to beep every 30 seconds or so until I turn it off - I really like that feature.

[Fat Guy]

That Polder unit is the best kitchen timer I've seen, and I've looked for good kitchen timers not only online and in the catalogs but also at the professional kitchen supply places in New York. That being said, it sucks. I don't think anybody has actually managed to build an excellent dedicated kitchen timer. Here's what it would need to have:

- A numeric keypad with keys arranged as on a normal numeric keypad, with sturdy tactile buttons

- A dual display large enough to read if it's not around your neck

- A durable case, like what they make good notebook computers out of

- Adjustable tones and options for alert patterns during overtime

- Runs on a AAA battery

- A strong magnet, a removable neck lanyard, and a removable belt clip

The best source for timers, in my opinion, is the lab-equipment industry. Ever since I saw a chef sporting one, I've been considering this $20 unit from Technika ( http://www.technika.com/Sper/s810027.htm ), which has multiple timers, a clip, and an extremely loud beep.

If you're the type of person who has wifi and a notebook computer that hangs around in the kitchen area anyway, you can also use your computer as a timer with any number of freeware and shareware programs.

[bigwino]

Dedicated timers don't make much sense to me anymore after getting two of these timer/thermometer combos. The readout is large, they seem to stick quite well and they've lasted several years so far. Damn, now I just guaranteed they'll both break soon.

There are several competitors to these by Polder, etc.

They may not be "best of breed" but there is less clutter in the kitchen from these multi-taskers.

[Fat Guy]

Right. If you're going to sacrifice a lot of features anyway, you may as well use a temperature probe combo unit. My crappy Polder thermometer-timer is always right there on my range hood and I use it often because it's in reach. Still, as with timers, the kitchen thermometers sold at the consumer level are total crap: they're inaccurate and their probes are too large. If you want a really good temperature probe thermometer, you need to go to a scientific instrumentation company like Hanna and get one of the waterproof K units, which are ideal for kitchen use.

[fredbram]

The other feature that I like in a timer is that it ring until I turn it off. I may be in the minority in this because I don't hear about it much, and it's not available in home timers as far as I know. But it makes perfect sense, and doesn't have any downside that I know of.

[bigwino]

FG, do you think the consumer-level probes are inaccurate enough to really matter for normal home cooking? Are they off 10+ degrees in the digital forms? I've heard many an indictment of the dial thermometers, but not about the digital ones.

If we're talking about a couple of degrees, I wonder how much it matters. If I pull the roast at 120 or 116 or 124 I don't mind so much. If I pull it with 10+ degrees of variation, I care more.

For the small cost of them, I'd recommend a second and perhaps third Polder unit. The extra timer(s) and thermometer(s) are very handy. Even if they are crap.

[Bombdog]

and get one of the waterproof K units, which are ideal for kitchen use.

That's what I need. The last two good timers I've had have ended up in a pasta pot. I resorted to the cheap Ecko timers also. I figure if I'm gonna par boil them I'll keep the expense down.

[Fat Guy]

I think the Polder is a useful item if you get a feel for your particular unit and you know how to compensate for its deficiencies. But it's just not a very good product -- no cheap digital thermometer is. One Polder unit I used was easily 15-degress off the mark when compared to a trusted analog thermometer. The last time I used one, at a friend's house in North Carolina, the reading was so far off that we overcooked a roast by at least 10 degrees. I kept saying that, by touch, the thing was done, but he insisted that because it's digital the thermometer is more accurate than my hand. Whatever. Really, the units and the probes are quite crappy. You can get lucky and get one that's properly calibrated (in other words the unit and the probe, by random chance, work together such that 140 degrees will really be 140 degrees) but you'll still have a lot of precision issues. What I find is that the probes themselves are affected by conditions other than just the temperature at the tip. As for how much accuracy is really needed, well, that depends on what kind of cooking you're doing and how much you care. There are situations where the difference between 139 and 141 degrees represents an almost complete color-change for a piece of meat, such as veal. So there you want a pretty high degree of accuracy. And if you're doing sous vide type cooking in vacuum pouches, forget about it. Nothing less than a laboratory-quality thermometer will do.

[phaelon56]

I'm with snowangel on the necklacetimer. I've got enough stuff bouncing around, don't need a timer, too.

Please elaborate - enquiring minds want to know!

I have a Polder countdown timer that I use as a rough guidelien when pulling espresso shots (although I often stop short or allow the pull to go past the pre-set time). The magnet is indeed totally useless. I also use it to time my roasts when roasting beans but I just use the timer on the stove for those other rare occasions when I need to time cooking processes. Then again.... I rarely cook much of anything that dictates precise times - most of my dishes are based on look, feel, touch and smell.

[Chad]

I have the Polder timer/probe thermometer thingie. Mine works pretty well. I checked the probe reading in ice water, boiling water and ambient temperature with another instant read probe thermometer and the temp/humidity gauge in my kitchen and it's spot on. The Polders do, however, have a reputation for the probe going bad, especially if you get the wire/probe joint wet. Something to watch out for. FG is right. If you're getting a timer/probe combo, you've got to check its calibration and really get a feel for how yours reads under real world conditions.

Chad

[mamster]

I thought about looking into lab timers, too, but in labs where I've worked, we've had mostly the VWR-branded timers which sometimes had more features than a typical kitchen timer but broke just as often, and I don't like those rubbery chiclet buttons that don't have a satisfying click when pressed. In fact, I'd wager if you go into a typical lab, you'll find a drawer full of timers and no one will be sure which ones work and which ones don't.

One day a coworker of mine opened a drawer and found some really cool timers--they were mechical analog timers, maybe 9" square. Huge, loud, unpredictable bastards.

Another type of kitchen timer on the market that seems relatively new is digital timers with a windup mechanism--you turn a collar to set the time, but it's digital. This seems like a potentially clever idea, but the ones I've seen are extremely feature-poor in every other respect.

[mamster]

Wow, here's the exact timer that I just broke, only with four timers instead of two:

http://www.technika.com/Sper/s810015.htm

If I don't absolutely love the Polder, I'm returning it and getting one of these.

And here are some examples of the big analog controller timers I was talking about:

http://www.technika.com/navpage/timecontrls.htm

[balmagowry]

If I don't absolutely love the Polder, I'm returning it and getting one of these.

And here are some examples of the big analog controller timers I was talking about:

http://www.technika.com/navpage/timecontrls.htm

Those Gralab ones are darkroom timers - or at least, they look just like 'em down to the Gralab name. Only mine is black with white (phosphorescent) hands & numbers.

BTW I have the Polder and I really love it - though I admit I wouldn't mind if it were a bit bigger. I don't always use its necklace-ness, but there are times when it comes in very handy - any time I'm setting something for long enough that I might walk away and forget it. (Before I had the Polder I did this with laundry all the time, set it to wash, got distracted and left it to moulder for... days, sometimes.) Most of all, though, I'm now spoiled by the numeric keypad; I now think it an affront and a dreadful hardship to have to set 45 minutes with one button. Hmph. What if I miss and have to start all over again? The horror!

[Raynickben]

I have a simple, whimsical timer that looks like a head of garlic. May be too basic for your needs but hey, it's cute!

Timers

[Suzanne F]

I've got a Polder Triple Timer/Clock/Stopwatch. No rope, but it fits in a shirt-pocket. and has a magnet to slap it on surfaces (over my desk, that means a huge binder clip, clipped onto the bottom of the cabinet door).

The clock and stopwatch are one mode, the timers another. It is possible to have all five counters going at the same time (timers counting down, clock and stopwatch counting up). Each timer has a different ring.

Very handy for timing unexpected breaks during work (stopwatch) and the usual washer-and-dryer cycles (timers). I don't use it in the kitchen -- I've four timers there, one each built into stove and nuker, plus one single electronic and a twisty manual -- but no doubt it would be good there.

[balmagowry]

That Polder unit is the best kitchen timer I've seen, and I've looked for good kitchen timers not only online and in the catalogs but also at the professional kitchen supply places in New York. That being said, it sucks. I don't think anybody has actually managed to build an excellent dedicated kitchen timer. Here's what it would need to have:

- A numeric keypad with keys arranged as on a normal numeric keypad, with sturdy tactile buttons

- A dual display large enough to read if it's not around your neck

- A durable case, like what they make good notebook computers out of

- Adjustable tones and options for alert patterns during overtime

- Runs on a AAA battery

- A strong magnet, a removable neck lanyard, and a removable belt clip

FG - this doesn't quite meet all the criteria for your dream timer, but it comes closer than the Polder in several respects. I've never seen it before, and I'm seriously tempted by it:

Acurite Timer

[Toliver]

I've got two timers in my kitchen, one from Pampered Chef that counts up & down and has all the buttons on it you could ever want. But the other one, Barclay Geneve (I believe) has just four measley buttons, Start, Stop/Reset, Hour & Minutes. It can't count up, only down. I have no idea where I got it. What I love about it is that 10 minutes before it's ready to go off, it gives a little beep. Then at 5 minutes left it gives another little beep. So instead of a "BEEP I'M DONE, GOSH DARN IT" it's a more genteel, "Excuse me, but in 10 minutes your food will be done" and "Five minutes to go, doesn't it smell wonderful?"

I've got to get a life!

[mamster]

Okay, I got the Polder, and I like it. It's nice and loud and feels solidly built. I will wear it round my neck like a talisman all my days or until someone markets a really good timer.

[Dahomechef]

Wow, here's the exact timer that I just broke, only with four timers instead of two:

http://www.technika.com/Sper/s810015.htm

Mamster, that timer is beautiful. I'm going to order one myself.

After checking around the kitchen, I realize I already have 4 timers, but the 2 embedded in appliances are only sometimes useful. I've got one that shows in big digits only hours/min, and it gets used for any long/slow processes (braising, proofing bread, etc.) It's a Taylor.

Also have the Williams-Sonoma thermometer/timer (hey, it were a gift) which I don't recommend. Ergonomically, it's a disaster because the designers, who made it look pretty slick, made the entire top of the unit the on/off button, leading to various timer misadventures. Use the probe, though. I've gone through several of these type of thermometers because the probes just fail.

Fat Guy, what do you think of the Thermapen, the one touted by Cook's Illustrated and others, which is advertised as "accurate to within .5 degrees"??

[jsolomon]

NIST traceable from Fisher Scientific... geek all the way

[Fat Guy]

Thermapen is a good product, at least according to many professionals I know, but it's an instant-read thermometer. That's not particularly useful to most home cooks, who benefit more from thermometers with probes that can be left in the oven and readouts that remain outside. A good thermometer of that sort is going to cost you $150.