I would probably use the pen for myself, but others would definitely benefit from it.
Also, I didn't know there was a forum, so I'll be excited to peruse those.
I'd definitely keep it for myself. But I'd feed all my family and friends!
If I bought one for a gift, it would be for a buddy who taught me how to homebrew; if I bought one for myself it would be for the same reason.
I've read countless reviews about how great the thermopen is at quickly and accurately measuring mash temps and providing just a little bit of a boost to the brew day.
I have a ThermaPen that sees heavy use in the kitchen - I would love to have another that I could use elsewhere in the house.
Also, I must have been living under a rock, because I missed any baby announcement. Congratulations! (I assume that you meant to say that you do use it to test the water before putting the baby in, not that you wait for the opportunity to stick her with sharp objects.)
I would unabashedly buy this for myself. I'd probably give it as a present to my wife, but really, who's kidding who here: it'd be for me (uh, us.)
Our son-in-law is a professional chef-- I bet he'd love one!
I think I've been too busy with the newborn and then the server crashes / stability (and full-time work) and forgot to announce that I am a first time father now. Emma Rae Chu was born on July 4, 2013.
And thanks for catching that typo. I think it was one of those sentences that started off one way and then I changed it but forgot to remove a keyword. :) Article fixed.
I would keep it for myself!
This has been high on my list of gadgets to buy for myself. Pick me!! Not sucking up but btw, your daughter is so cute!! Congrats on the new addition.
No one I know would appreciate this gift, so I'll be selfish and keep it :) I've been wanting one of these forever!
I've considered buying a Thermapen before, but haven't because of the cost. Ideally, I'd have one for myself, and one for my fiancee...
Ed
I want a thermapen so badly for my mother. I love mine. Couldn't imagine life without it :0)
I was literally looking on ThermoWorks website today! I've heard great things about them, so clearly the first one I would ever buy would be for myself. :D
Yeah, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'd keep this one for myself.
I've lusted after these for years after seeing them and reading about them at Cook's Illustrated. I would get one for my mom, but she was lucky enough to get one from a restaurant (for free!?), so I'd have to say I'd keep this for myself :)
That looks pretty cool, so I'd get one for my sister. I'm not much of a cook or baker (yet), but she's excellent. She's even in the process of starting her own bakery catering business to try to make money doing what she loves, so any tools to help her make the perfect brownies, cakes, or anything else will come in very handy.
I would indeed buy a pen for my husband, who loves cooking gadgets more than I do (even though I am the engineer in the family).
I would definitely get this for my husband and his many grilling and meat experiments. And then I would "borrow" it from him for my salted caramel cupcakes (his fave).
I'd either buy it for myself, or for my dad. He bakes bread all the time, and I like to make candy and yogurt.
I have been wanting one of these for years!! Never even thought to use it for bathwater. It would be perfect for a salted caramel cake that I've been dying to make...maybe for Christmas if I win??!?!
This is on my wish list NOW at Amazon.com. I always look for as much precision as i can find when cooking - it gives me courage. I weigh ingredients when I can. I even convert favorite recipes to weight versions. I decided the Thermapen would be awesome for measuring temp of fat for deep frying, liquid when making naan or other yeast bread and to test cakes. Being able to measure the temp that quickly without losing as much heat from the oven would be great.
Thanks for having this give away.
I'm currently unemployed, so gifts this year will entirely consist of baked goods. That said, I've been lusting after a Thermapen ever since I first saw them, and I could definitely see myself gifting this to some of my cooking-loving family members (or, I admit, to myself).
Cheers,
Julie
I already own a Thermapen. While I would love a second one to keep for myself, if I were to win one then I would gift it to my friend Greg, who has been wishing he had one ever since he saw mine.
The Thermapen sounds like a great improvement on my meat thermometer that I currently use. Normally I have to wait for the dial to move and it takes over 20 secs to get an accurate reading. I would buy one for myself!
i would probably buy one for myself to try it out first!
I'd want to try one out for myself before getting them as gifts. I'm also the only serious cook I know very well, so!
I would gift the food, and keep the Thermapen.
I would love to purchase a Thermapen thermometer as a gift - for myself. I cook for both my immediate family and for my mother, and checking the proper temp of meats and other stuff is something I do frequently. I would love to have a quality tool to do this with!
I would love to get the thermapen as gift for my husband. He is a griller and sous vide user who approach them both with a need for precision
I admit I already own a thermapen, but I would love to get myself a gift of a second one, as well as many of my cooking friends who still don't understand the awesomeness of instant read and precision. Many of them still use your old fashioned meat thermometers, which I find useless now.
I use this product, but could use another. Thanks, Bill
I'd love to buy one for my father-in-law, but he knows how much they cost and would kill me if he knew I paid full price for one. I already have one for myself though and know it is totally worth it! :)
I'd buy one for myself, of course. My instant read is slower than me. And I'd buy one for my daughter, who loves to cook well. Thanks for your great posts, and for this opportunity!
I would totally buy one for a lot of different members of my family as we all love to cook. One for me would be great too, my wife can be a little paranoid about the doneness of things.
I'd buy one for myself, I'm selfish :).
I would definitely buy one for myself. Every time I see one used it seems to read in an instant, while my current thermometer seems to take 50 years.
It's not that I'm selfish, but I would use the pen for myself and at work. I have other thermometers currently but have secretly lusted after the quickness of the ThermoPen. I'd definitely use it for breads and proteins, as it would decrease the time I'd need an over door open.
I have been wanting to buy one as a gift for myself for a long time, but they are a bit out of my price range... My old cheap thermometer broke recently so here's to hoping I can replace it soon!
I would love a chance at this. I know people who use then and they love them.
I wouldn't join any contest that would have me as a member.
Besides which my Taylor timer/temp probe works fine, and when that fails I have a mechanical Taylor to back me up.
And a watch.
I would love to get one for myself since all the other kitchen thermometers I've owned over the years have failed so quickly.
I would buy two pens--one for myself, and one for my dad. My constantly tiff over the best way to cook different meats. Having an easy-to-use thermometer around would eliminate the debate about when to remove the meat from the grill or the oven. As engineers, anything so clear-cut at a temperature would make everyone's lives around the holidays a much smoother experience. Also, I'd obviously like one for myself, so that I could accompany the main dish with some homemade caramels for dessert.
I would love to buy one of these pens for my guy. He loves gadgets, and loves to cook. Perfect!
it's just outside my impulse buy range, sadly. Winning one would be awesome.. I could finally toss my tired old dial "instant read" therms.
I would like a thermapen to give to my boss who is a reluctant cook but likes gadgets. I think it would really help him cooking meat and other. (I have had one for years and use it all the time).
I just served a raw 16.5lb turkey to my family, as my existing thermometer apparently started misreading the actual temperature.
I thought it had cooked awfully quickly, but had trusted my thermometer so absolutely, it had to be correct.
Not even close. Carving the turkey was more like surgery than supper.
I'd buy a second one for my father after that -- he's the next most likely to cook items requiring a good thermometer, and he appreciates fine, reliable equipment.
I'd keep it for myself! I'm sick of cheap thermometers falling apart or dying after a few months, and I hear thermapens are amazing for brewing beer!
I definitely keep the thermopen for myself. I am the main cook in a large household and regularly cook large feasts. I have a Thermoworks oven thermometer that is awesome, but a quick pen would be the most useful. Thanks!
This one is definitely a keeper. It's been on my wish list for quite some time.
Who am I kidding? I'm the tech geek in the family, so I'd be using this the most. But my wife would appreciate having a quick way to test temperatures of roasts and bread.
I'd get one for my Dad, so he can experiment with roasts the same way I've been doing.
I would LOVE the thermopen for myself! If I had a lot of extra cash, I
would also like to give one as a gift to the friend who agreed to take an online course on Food and Science with me :)
I've always felt complete joy when I find a tool that has surpassed my expectations for quality and ergonomics - it enhances the task at hand and makes an otherwise difficult job enjoyable. I have no doubts that the Thermapen will fit into this lofty and rare category of tools. I would love one for myself of course, and, as an added bonus for someone who agonizes endlessly trying to find the perfect gift match, will find it easy to do Christmas shopping for a couple of special people.
I would give one to my wife so that she can experience the same joy in her baking as I experience in my cooking.
I would use this to upgrade my current (it's a Taylor, I think). It has been giving me great results but doesn't read quite as quickly as the Thermopen is famed to do.
My mother is getting more into cooking and I would pass her the current, I believe.
I would absolutely buy a thermapen as a gift for myself or any of my cheffy friends. That probe thermometer looks pretty enticing too...
I'd definitely buy one (or two) from myself!
I'd buy one for myself and maybe even one for my sister-in-law...she's an engineer.
I just purchased one, and it is in route to me as I type this. I would give a second one to my mother in law who cooks for us all the time.
I'd buy one for myself, if I could afford it.
I've been eying these for years. If I were to finally get one, it would definitely be for myself.
I've wanted to buy one of these for my husband for a long time. Every time I think about it they are out of stock. This is a wonderful giveaway. Thanks, and good luck to everyone.
Yes, I would definitely give as gift -- to myself that is
Definitely - I might get it for my father-in-law.
I I won the ThermaPen, I'd give it to my wife, a professional personal chef. She's just about worn out her old one!
I keep eying the thermapen for myself but honestly I'm unlikely to buy one since I'm not sure I'd use it enough to justify the price.
I have a different brand of probe thermometer that I'm reasonably happy with for meat (which is really all I use one for). If the probe on it dies I may switch up to the thermoworks version as a replacement since it appears to be easier and cheaper to replace the probe for it than for some other brands.
I'll buy one Thermapen as a gift for a friend who always overcooks his steaks! I'll also get one lighted for myself! :)
I've been wanting to buy one of these for myself for a long time now, especially as I start getting into ever more complicated baked goods.
I really want one for myself. I typically buy at least one thermometer a year as they seem to go bad. I check them periodically with ice water and boiling water. I usually buy a new one to do the Thanksgiving turkey. Many of the bargain brand ones either are too inaccurate or simply don't last very long. I am not sure why.
Thanks,
Frank
I would totally buy one as a gift for myself.
I'd like to say I'd give this to my girlfriend, but really I'd be giving it to myself. I've had my eye on one of these for a while, but never pulled the trigger on a purchase.
Me, me, me, me...but the end product would be shared. Just in time for cooking a standing rib roast and brewing a holiday ale.
I would get the Thermapen for myself. I am so ashamed.
I'd unashamedly gift it to myself -- but primarily because I'm awful at judging the doneness of meat. It's a service to others, really...
I would have to have a serious discussion with the voices in my head because the nice thing to do would be to give it to my mother in law that reminded me of my love of cooking but I want to keep it for myself.
I'd keep it for myself.
Myself with no shame!
Absolutely myself as I make a ton of candy every year for Christmas, giving most of it away to friends/family, and the left overs to the local food shelter for Christmas presents. I like to make the best, and having an accurate thermometer takes me to that realm.
I would gift it to myself. Always wanted one for homebrewing and cooking!
I'd probably keep one first, but my friend Susann would like one as well!
I would definitely gift one to myself if funds allowed :)
I'd love a thermapen and would put it in our own kitchen utensil drawer.
I have been wanting to get my dad one for Christmas but they are incredibly expensive. I'd love one for myself too but tis the season of giving!
I've wanted a Thermapen for a very long time, and would definitely gift one to me! :) I've been trying my hand at candy making, and this would be a huge help!
I would buy one for my son. They look terrific.
I would definitely buy it for myself, though others would benefit most from the confectionery.
MINE!!
I would LOVE to have this handy gadget in my kitchen, especially for grilling chicken!
For my husband as he is the grill master in our home.
Would definitely buy as a gift for my partner, who really wants one. I'd consider it a joint gift, since I'd certainly benefit, too. Would make a great gift for my Mom, as well.
The Thermapen would be great for us because we're learning to cook and bake. However, my mom is a great cook/baker, so if she didn't have one I'd give it to her :)
I'd buy one as a gift for myself! but if I won one then I'd probably buy one as a gift for my good buddy from Canadia.
This would be for my husband...he's been wanting one for over a year now!
I would keep the Thermopen for myself since I cook the big family holiday dinners ....and it will be my birthday present to myself. :)
I would LOVE to obtain a Thermapen or one of their Timesticks.
I can imagine a multitude of uses for each. My wife, a laid-off Special Ed teacher, and I do a lot of tasks where a timer such as this would come in handy. For me, mostly in the kitchen or @ the wood-fired oven I built with my own hands a few years ago.
Love the articles contained here! Keep up the great work!
Sam
Have had Cooking for Engineers on MyYahoo page for years but never joined the forum. Will enjoy studying it out. I work as a cook in a nursing home and well aware of how important temperatures are and how difficult they can be to regulate. Would love to own such an efficient tool. Thanks for all of your good ideas.
A few years ago I gifted a Thermapen to my nephew who was in cooking school (CIA), and since then I've envied him his Thermapen.
BTW I've enjoyed C4E for years now.
Thank you!
TimM
I'd totally buy a thermapen for my best friend and my brother; both love to cook. (I also need one for me as well. Definitely. Super foodie tool.)
I would buy a thermopen for my wife, who would then regift it back to me. Thanks!
I would buy a Thermapen as a gift for myself, if it didn't show up under the Christmas tree. I would also buy one for my brother-in-law, who probably has one where he works but not at home.
I would definitely buy a Thermapen as a gift for myself!
I would definitely buy a Thermapen as a gift(and have)! I'll probably give it to my daughter.
this would be a spiffy gift for my parents!
I have been wanting a Thermapen for ages. So this would definitely be a gift for myself!
Thanks!
I'd get it for myself to replace my trusty yet slow analog thermometer.
I would get a Thermapen as a gift, and use it myself or my wife would use it. Thanks!
If we won we'd keep it at our house. We've broken multiple probes before, so need a good sturdy one.
I would buy this and definitely at the price point of $19 each. I think the idea is good but it would be more convincing if the product has more testimonials or reviews. Also, perhaps if it mentions more about its non-toxic properties and durability, I would be more inclined to purchase it.
Probing the bath water with a thermopen is a ingenious idea! Can this double as a fever indicator?
I would buy one for myself and possibly one for my boyfriend as well. I know that my parents and best friend already have them.
I would give one to my wife, she keeps begging me for one but already has a gift this year.
It would definitely be a gift to my wife (*cough* myself). We've been resisting biting the bullet to get "the thermometer" when cheaper ones are available. We know we'd save money/grief in the long run, but alas, cash on hand & finances aren't endless.
I have a kitchen and a new baby, so the Thermapen would get used all over the house!
I would love one to use with my new tri-tip grill that I am building.
I would absolutely buy a Thermapen (or two) as gifts! One for myself (loins, and tri-tips, and briskets, oh my!) and one for my Uncle in Brooklyn.
I would definitely buy a Thermapen. One for me, for grilling especially (although I love the idea of using it for candy making too!), one for my sister in Pittsburgh, and a couple more for my best friends at work. Cool tool!
Thanks everyone for all your comments and entering the contest. All entries above this comment will be counted as submissions. Only the first entry for people who commented multiple times will be counted. I'll post the winner shortly.
This year's winner of the Thermapen is: Greengem
I pulled all 112 comments, removed mine, duplicates, and those where I did not have email addresses. The final tally was 109 entrants. I used random.org to generate a random number and it gave me 87 which equated to Greengem (who was the 87th qualifying post [and the 89th comment overall]).
Just for fun, I did a little analysis of the comments (these might not be completely accurately as I went through them pretty fast).
Of the 109 entrants...
83 said they would get a Thermapen for themselves
17 said they would get it for their spouse or significant other (with several mentioning that they would use it as well or benefit directly from it)
14 said they would give it as a gift to someone from the previous generation (6 to fathers, 3 to mothers, 2 each to father-in-laws and mother-in-laws, and one to the parents without specifying which one)
7 said they would give one to a friend or buddy
5 said they would give it to someone from the subsequent generation (2 daughters, 1 son, 1 son-in-law, and 1 nephew)
4 would be given to the same generation (2 siblings, 1 brother-in-law, and 1 sister-in-law)
2 given to family members without specifying who
and 1 gifted to a boss
Additionally, 7 specifically mentioned that they would be gifting the Thermapen to themselves and gifting the food (with several more implying that's what they were going to do).
Merry Christmas everyone and if you aren't Greengem, consider buying a
Thermapen. Starting about a year or so ago, Thermoworks is providing a percentage of each sale through any of the links on this page and elsewhere on this site back to Cooking For Engineers. 100% of the proceeds goes directly towards paying for server and bandwidth costs.
Oh, and one person said they didn't want a Thermapen at all. There was a part of me that wanted their random number to come up just for the contradictory outcome. The random number generator did not agree with my inclination however, which is why I use a random number generator. :)
Appreciate the mention, Michael! :D
It's just that new and fancy crap usually breaks down after a few years no matter how wonderful it might be. I'll take my 30+ yo Taylor thermometers which don't need batteries or Bluetooth to function as required, and work quite well, thankyouverymuch.
It's given me a topic for a new and exciting thread:
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3132
I've written about the Thermapen before during last year's giveaway and when I tested a variety of thermometers back in 2005, and I still believe it is the best thermometer I've ever used. I sheepishly admitted during last year's giveaway that over the years I've collected several Thermapens which I use in various places in the house.
I thought I'd take a moment to mention a couple of other Thermowork devices that I've been using on a regular basis. To take surface temperature readings instantly (less than a second), I reach for an infrared thermometer. Measuring temperature with an IR thermometer isn't as simple as pointing and shooting (although, usually that's all you have to do) because the emissivity of the material you are aiming at changes the coefficient used by the device to calculate the temperature based on the infrared measurement. So, taking a reading on a shiny stainless steel surface is quite different than reading the surface temperature of a pot of water. Most IR thermometers have a fixed emissivity coefficient of 0.95 which works well for water and organic materials, but the IR thermometers I've tried from Thermoworks have adjustable emissitivy values in case you need to measure the surface temperatures of other materials accurately. I use this IR Thermometer I bought a few years ago, but this IR thermometer is on sale for $45 as of the time of this posting.
Other tool I've been playing with regularly is their new ChefAlarm which has a super fast probe (5 seconds vs 12 seconds for most probe alarm thermometers) and an option for a super thin probe that is suitable for use in sous vide applications.
Lastly, I've found the their splash-proof TimeStick to be handy when I've got something in the oven or is time sensitive. I used to set an alarm in the kitchen (and still do), but when I know I'm stepping away (which is fairly often with work and baby care fighting for my attention), this lightweight but rugged timer has come in handy on more than a few ocassions. I know I can just set a timer on my phone, but somehow it's not as handy to do that while I'm at home. The TimeStick slips into my pocket conveniently (also comes with a lanyard and a magnet on the back) and is easy to set with one hand.
Anyway, hopefully, I've given you some holiday gift ideas so onto the giveaway instructions: