Why You Can Trust CNET Save $30 on the Yummly smart meat thermometer and never have undercooked chicken again
Yummly's novel design means you're unlikely to deal with a dead battery when you most need to use it.
You might know Yummly for its recipe app -- it's been around forever and has a great variety of cuisines, easy-to-follow instructions and helpful videos. But last year, Yummly introduced its own smart meat thermometer as well. I'm a sucker for these kitchen gadgets, though I'm invariably disappointed by them. The good news: I met my match with Yummly, which is hands-down the best wireless smart meat thermometer I've ever used. And this weekend you can get the $130 Yummly for $100 flat with no promo code or coupon required.
I love making my own meals and I love kitchen gadgets, and I've been through my share of smart thermometers. The problem I invariably encounter is that I only need the thermometer a few times a year, and when I get ready to stick it into the turkey or pork sitting on my countertop, I discover the battery is dead. Most of the models I've tried in the past use either hard-to-replace button batteries or need to be recharged, which benches the thermometer at the very moment I need it most. Yummly takes a completely different approach. The charging dock is powered by a pair of AAA batteries, so even if you need to replace them, odds are you keep a few spares in a drawer.
It's also completely wireless. Some smart thermometers are tethered to a powered transmitter that you need to stick on the side of the oven or on the countertop. But Yummly is truly wireless. Insert the thermometer in the food and it communicates wirelessly with the powered dock, which then connects wirelessly to your phone. It gives you a range of about 150 feet, and the dock needs to stay within about five feet of the oven or grill.
When you're not cooking, the thermometer is stored inside the dock, where it's recharged from the AAA batteries powering the dock. You get about 25 continuous hours of cooking time from the thermometer, and if you need more, set the thermometer in the dock for a half hour or so to top it off again.
I really love this design approach -- the dock is a smart and convenient place to store the thermometer when it's not in use, and it's always topped off and ready for use. And the easily replaced batteries means you'll probably never need to switch to an old-fashioned thermometer in frustration on Thanksgiving because the battery had unexpectedly died over the summer when you weren't using it.
The thermometer works in conjunction with the Yummly app, which is mainly designed as a recipe guidebook (there's a Yummly Pro subscription service that gives you additional features for about $5 per month), but a dedicated tab lets you monitor your temperature. Setup is a snap; the thermometer turns on and connects to the app automatically as soon as you pop it out of the dock, and then you just choose what you're cooking -- beef, lamp, chicken, turkey, salmon or a handful of other options. Then you can track your cooking from a screen that shows the meat temperature, target temperature, and even the oven temp (thanks to a second temperature sensor that's not embedded in the meat.
Depending on the meat, you can fine-tune the cooking; steak, for example, lets you choose the doneness (and therefore the target temperature). And if you want to go your own way, just choose the manual cook and dial in the target temperature.
I love the attention to detail Yummly poured into this thermometer. The app is gorgeous and easy to use, the dock is brilliant, and Yummly even includes a clever extractor to pull the hot thermometer out of the meat at the end of the cook. The extractor snaps into a little cubby under the dock, so you'll never lose it.
I've never been happier with a smart thermometer. If you're intrigued, the discount should be around through the weekend (though the usual disclaimers about "while supplies last" and "deal could end at any time" apply, of course).
This article was published previously. It has been updated with the latest deal.
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