Basics

How is it different than other wireless thermometers?

The Predictive Thermometer (CPT) has 8 sensors. Most wireless thermometers only have one or two.

“Extra” sensors let the CPT find the lowest internal temperature (TrueCore™) even if you missed the mark.

And they show you all the temperatures from the surface to the center (Total Temperature Awareness™).

So you know how evenly it’s cooking, how things are changing, and when exactly your food will be done to your exact specified temp.

You eat more than just the center of the food. So you need a thermometer that measures all the temperatures!

Wait, you leave it in the food the whole time?

Yes! That’s the biggest advantage of using ANY wireless thermometer. You can see the internal temp at any time while cooking, without sticking your head or hands or anything else in the oven (or grill or wherever).

This is also known as a “probe” or “leave-in” thermometer.

Because of our “extra” sensors, the Predictive Thermometer does a lot more than other probes.

It finds the lowest internal temp (TrueCore™), even if you poked past the center. You can't miss!

It tells you the real cooking temp at the surface (TrueSurface™). That shows you how much heat is actually getting into the food, so you can adjust your coals (or otherwise tweak the temp).

It’s all about getting more consistently delicious results, no matter what you cook.

Why should I care about the surface temperature?

The Predictive Thermometer is the only thermometer that can locate and measure the temp at the surface of your food (TrueSurface™).

That's the secret to consistent, precision cooking.

The temperature at the surface of your food is the best measure of heat being applied.

The surface is nowhere near as hot as the surrounding oven - that's because your food sweats. As it does, the evaporating juices cool the surface to a lower cooking temperature.

How much? It's hard to say, and that's why we measure at the surface.

By measuring surface temp, you can adjust your oven or smoker to control the true cooking temperature, bringing a precision to your cooking that was previously only possible with sous vide.

We love surface temperature cooking so much that Chris made a video about it before we even started building the Predictive Thermometer.

(Thankfully, we managed to get rid of all those wires.)

Don't I only need to know the temp at the center?

Until now, that was the only thing you could measure. For perfect results, you want to measure that and more.

The Predictive Thermometer measures the center (core) temp, the surface temp, the ambient temp, and everywhere in between.

What’s more, our extra sensors (8 total!) allow us to find the center, even if you miss it. This often happens with compact food like a filet mignon or with irregular food like a whole chicken.

All wireless thermometers have a minimum insertion depth (ours is 2in/50mm). If our tip sensor ends up past the center, the lowest reading from the other internal sensors reveals the true core temp.

In that situation, any other thermometer would misread the temperature, making you think the food is overdone when the center is still underdone. Tragedy!

With our True Core technology, near misses are not misses. In fact, we recommend you push the tip a bit further than the visual center. We'll find and instantly report the lowest temperature so you can be totally confident it comes out just right.

Why do I need an ambient sensor? Isn’t that just the oven temp?

Nope. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the oven temp to be off by 100ºF or even 200ºF!

New Predictive Thermometer users are often appalled by this. We’ve gotten emails saying “This can’t be right!” But it is.

As it heats up, water inside your food evaporates into steam (212ºF). The steam tends to linger near the food, mixing with the hot oven air, and creating an invisible fog which - while still quite hot - is significantly cooler than the rest of the oven.

This is not actually bad news (it helps your food cook more evenly) but it is surprising to most people.

Because the Predictive Thermometer measures the ambient temp near your food, it captures the effect of this boundary layer.

If you want to see + hear more about this, Chris made a YouTube video that explains it really well. It also shows how convection (airflow) affects ambient temp. (Skip to 5:26 if you’re in a hurry to get back here.)

[Warning: video may make you hungry.]

Any other important differences?

Our thermometer is a lot more slender than most other wireless probes. Easier stabbin’. Smaller holes.
Wireless is designed to simply work, without the fussy “pairing” process.
With the Combustion Display, you don’t have to depend on your phone or rely on your internet provider. (Though we also have a very nice mobile app).
Unlike other wireless thermometers, it can give you an instant read. (Time-to-read is less than 4 seconds–about the same as dedicated instant-read thermometers used in most professional kitchens.)
Quickest read time. Many times faster than other wireless thermometers. (By the time you see their reading, it's more than 30 seconds later!)
Automatically finds the lowest internal temperature, giving you an instant and accurate core temp even if the tip is inserted "too far."
Unlike other wireless thermometers, it has 8 sensors, so you get the full temperature from edge-to-edge.