Why is it important to use a cooking thermometer?

Answer 1

Bacteria has become a more serious danger the last few years due to the antibiotics losing their effectiveness.
The other problem is with the quick grown live stock; quick grown meats will produce quicker multiplying bacteria, The other fear I have deals with causing mutated bacteria that can give you a flu like virus that could very well be problematic for antibiotics.
Now days; much of the live stock is fed antibiotics; this will give you bacteria that will seem incurable by modern standards.
There was a time I enjoyed eating meat that was not well cooked. But with the dangers of fast grown and antibiotic treated meat, I will use the meat thermometer and follow the recommended cooking and sustained temperatures.
By the way, I have decided not to use just the meat packing directions; I also got the recommended temperatures and cooking times from Good Housekeeping.
The facts are plain; properly sustained meat temperatures that are constantly checked by a meat thermometer is the best protection from the dangerous bacteria; it will also kill any worms or mites. Oh, keep the cooking area clean and wash your hands thoroughly.

Answer 2

Some meats can be harmful if undercooked (pork and chicken particularly, need to be done all the way through). By using a meat thermometer you can more easily see when the temp inside the meat reaches a degree in which any bacteria or harmful stuff in there would be killed.Otherwise it takes practice at cooking and knowing about when the food would be done, when cooked at a certain temperature for a particular amount of time. Most people I know don't use them, but if you're a new cook you might find it handy...goes for casseroles and the like as well, just so you can help avoid having to cut into things to see if they're done.

Answer 3

Most people don't have the trained eye to see if a an item is cook to the point in which to kill food borne bacteria. They help to keep casual cookers like myself form food borne illnesses. Also they can help you figure out when something is ready for the next stage such as in making candy.

Answer 4

Meat thermometers are used to prevent overcooking, undercooking, and ensuring that the meat has reached a temperature sufficient to kill pathogens that may otherwise cause Foodborne illness such as :

Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas caviae, Aeromonas sobria
Bacillus cereus
Brucella spp.
Campylobacter jejuni which causes Guillain-Barré syndrome
Escherichia coli O157:H7 enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) which causes hemolytic-uremic syndrome
Escherichia coli - enteroinvasive (EIEC)
Escherichia coli - enteropathogenic (EPEC)
Escherichia coli - enterotoxigenic (ETEC)
Escherichia coli - enteroaggregative (EAEC or EAgEC

Answer 5

So you don't kill your entire family by serving them under-cooked meat.

Answer 6

to make sure your food is done and you dont get sick or worms...
its a no brainer