Review on CDN IRXL220 Large Cooking Thermometer by Melissa Mcintosh

For those who see the word OVEN and think you can leave it in the food IN the oven_, you are wrong! The lens is polycarbonate, not pyrex, so it melts. This is not the probe. Open the door, put in, wait about 20 seconds to make sure the meat is at the right temperature, then remove. If you need an oven sensor, look for an oven thermometer or something similar. Insta-Read also seems annoying to users, it's a bimetal thermometer, it's fast but not instantaneous, NO bimetal isn't instantaneous. However, it is MUCH faster than a traditional alcohol or mercury capillary thermometer! If you really need instant action, get a digital probe, then have button batteries on hand in case you find your batteries are dead on Thanksgiving. In any case, this probe works very well. It is solidly manufactured, but not in China, but in Vietnam. The dial is easy to read, so I don't have to look for glasses to see what it's showing. The glass/lens is made of polycarbonate so it won't shatter if you drop it on a hard floor. It comes fairly well calibrated from the factory, mine was a degree cooler. Calibration is very easy and the protective plastic case has a hex drive for adjustment. If you want an accurately calibrated probe, you need a "certified" one and you won't find one for less than $10.