Heston Blumenthal Precision Digital Dual Probe Oven Thermometer with Timer

This is a nice piece of kit which does let itself down in a few key areas (see end of review) - you should definitely take these into account before buying the device but, on balance, I still rate it four stars "I like it" and here is why...

As a manual temperature monitor (i.e. not using the alarms or the timer) it is great.

For example, I've used the dual probe configuration to monitor the internal temperature of my oven with one probe and the internal temperature of a joint of beef with the other and, in so doing, have been able to hold the oven at 60 degrees Celsius (Fahrenheit is also an option) and then remove the meat when it reaches 55 degrees, the perfect way to handle slow-roasting meat a la Heston which really worked a treat.

It also comes with a digital timer (which I don't see the point of as I have timers on my cooker, my watch, my mobile etc... and have not used) and a list of pre-set temperature alarms to notify you when a probe hits a certain temperature (which are limited and strangely calibrated - see the end of the review for details).

In fairness, even the alarm does have some good uses. I've inserted one probe into the center of a joint of pork and the other into the center of a King Edward potato and set the alarm for the first to "medium pork 71 degrees" and no alarm for the latter and cooked both in a 210 degree oven with no problems. The alarm goes off when the pork hits 66 degrees (see negative points for a caveat) and you then monitor it up to 71 degrees before removing from the oven (you can leave the probe in to see just how long a piece of meat like this holds its temperature for while resting too) and the potato was done when it hit an internal temperature of 110 degrees.

The probe is also great for monitoring the temperature of a custard, a caramel or hot oil. I'm not so convinced about using it when cooking a steak in the Heston style (flipping every 15 seconds) which I still prefer to do by eye, by time and by touch.

You can monitor lower temperatures too (quite interesting to insert the probe into the meat straight out of the fridge - about 6 degrees - and see just how long it takes to come up to a more suitable temperature for going in the oven - about two hours to get up to 11 degrees in an 18 degree kitchen).

It is nicely built, shows temperatures to .1 degree accuracy and I had no problem getting the wires to fit around the door in my oven. All in all a very competent piece of kitchen hardware, with unfortunately a couple of issues which could so easily have been fixed docking it a five star score...I've bought one for my in-laws and am trying to teach them a little more confidence in meat cookery...

Negative Points

- the worst thing is that you can only set the alarm to go off at certain pre-set temperatures, the lowest of which is 60 degrees C. This is described as "beef rare". I'm sorry Salter, but if you look to page 139 of Heston Blumenthal at Home you will see a beautiful illustration of what temperature Heston regards different degrees of doneness to be, bleu is 45 degrees, rare is 50 and medium is 60. This is a very poor discrepancy given this exact product is placed in the book and his name is all over it. Either it should match or you should be able to set your own alarm temperature. In reality, of course, this just means you need to keep a closer eye on the temperature yourself - you can still whip the meat out at whatever temperature you want.

- the controls are a bit fiddly. In particular, if you do use the alarm (e.g. for cooking a joint of pork) then 5 degrees below your target temperature it starts to beep and flash to let you know you should pay attention and I can't for the life of me work out how to shut it up other than turning the whole thing off and on again (which works OK but seems a bit of a design flaw)

- if your oven door seals very tightly then this is not going to work for you as the probe goes in the oven whilst the monitor stays outside and the two are connected by a thin wire. If you think this might be an issue I'd recommend getting a piece of speaker wire and putting one end in the (cold) oven and the other outside and shutting the door. If this cuts, damages or marks the wire you should steer clear of this device!

I use a digital oven thermometer with alarm a lot - you push the probe into the food in the oven and it gives a read out of the internal temperature of the food so you can cook your meat to perfection. The alarm can be set to go off when it reaches the correct temperature.
Natually when my old one packed up I looked at this and thought 'brilliant' - Salter & Heston Blumenthal - should be a great product with 2 probes I can monitor 2 dishes at once.
It is a well made solid product with a good clear display and a smart metallic finish.
BUT what I didn't realise was that the temperature alarms cannot be set to the temperature YOU want but are all preset at the factory, which would be fine if they were anywhere near the temperatures I would actually use in cooking - they aren't.
For example the setting for 'Rare Beef' is 60°C - well I'm sorry Heston but my steak would be medium to well done at 60°C. I cook steak to a max of 50°C for rare and 45°C for a joint of beef which is then covered and rested for at least 30mins.
So sadly until they change this to allow the temperature alarms to be set to what YOU want it gets the thumbs down from me.

Unlike another reviewer I had no problem using this with an Aga; the wires emerged quite happily out of the Aga roasting oven to the display unit. What I do take issue with are the pre-set temperatures: Beef is certainly not rare at 60C and my recipe book insisted that ham should reach 75 C not 60 to be cooked. With the turkey I used both probes, one in the breast and one in a thigh. Perhaps understandably the breast reached temperature first but I was unable to turn off the buzzer which continued to bleep. It simply would not shut up so I ended up disconnecting the whole thing. The idea is good but refinements are urgently needed.