Infrared Thermometers for Cooking are handy devices, but they aren’t really essential in the kitchen. Unlike an instant-read or in-food/in-cooker thermometer, an infrared (IR) thermometer never touches what it’s measuring. Instead, it senses the infrared radiation coming off a surface, so it isn’t used for food temps. It tells you whether your pan, griddle, or grill grate has reached the right temperature.
There are a few caveats, though. Not all surfaces radiate the same amount of infrared energy at a given temperature (a property called emissivity), so a dark cast iron pan reads differently than a shiny stainless steel one. Most IR thermometers default to an emissivity of about 0.95, which is close enough for most cooking surfaces. Better models let you adjust emissivity, use a laser to show where they’re aiming, and record minimum, maximum, and average temps. Some even pull double duty: the ThermoWorks Industrial Infrared can accept a thermocouple probe, and the IR Thermapen combines a conventional probe and an infrared sensor in one unit.
If recipes listed actual surface temperatures instead of phrases like “heat until the pan is smoking hot,” I could see these getting more use. Until then, they fall into the “nice to have” category of kitchen gadgets.
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