Even the humble thermometer is being replaced with a more sci-fi option in today’s modern kitchen. Gone are the days when you just watched the mercury rise and hoped the glass didn’t break! Now you can just point a remote infrared sensor at the surface of the item you are temperature testing and it supplies an almost instant reading.

The new infrared laser temperature gun is a really handy new kitchen gadget that can take the temperature of any surface it’s pointed at by measuring the thermal radiation being emitted. All you have to do is point the object and shoot. The temperature reading is available in seconds and is super accurate.

Some models have a pinpoint laser that shines a red light on the target being tested to give precise readings of a specific area, for example, the middle of a pan on the hob.

Experts believe that pans would last longer, and food would be less likely to stick to them if we didn’t overheat them in the first place. By pointing the laser sensor at the pan, it is possible to identify the temperature it has reached and regulate as necessary.

The remote sensors come into their own when cooking temperatures are high, as when boiling sugar, or heating chocolate for confectionary, or for jam making. Working with boiling hot sugar carries risks. One of the major advantages of the laser thermometer is that you can stand back from the heat and point the gun at the food being tested, reducing the risk of being burned.

Alongside a high quality food processor, an attractive and incredibly functional set of Kamikoto knives, this new kitchen must-have is safe, quick, efficient and accurate, as well as being fun to use!

They can measure a much wider range of temperatures than the old mercury in glass method, taking temperatures ranging between -58 – 1382 F, or more, depending on the model you have and its purpose.

The infrared laser thermometer does not just have culinary applications, it can also be used in the auto and electrical mechanical industries, by medics, by HVAC engineers, as well as by chefs. And they also have alternative domestic uses: to test the seals around windows and doors; to measure the efficiency of air conditioning and heating units; or for testing the temperature of electrical equipment to ensure they are not overheating.

The temperature range that these thermal testing guns operate at varies depending on the model chosen but the principles are the same. And non-contact thermometers, as they are also known, have different features depending on their purpose.

For example:

• They may or may not have a laser beam
• They have different ranges at which temperatures can be accurately taken
• Some models are battery operated, while others are rechargeable
• Some models have separate probes for taking the internal temperatures of food, for example, while other combi models have a drop-down probe that is integral to the thermometer gun
• Different models vary in the temperature range they operate within

However, they all take the temperature of the objects they are pointed at. Who would have thought the traditional mercury and glass thermometer would be the next thing to be consigned to the history books? But the new infrared thermometer guns are so much more accurate, safe and easy to use it’s not difficult to see why they are becoming so popular in the kitchen.