I have a problem. The timer on my oven is broken. Truth be told, I'm relieved because it went out in a blaze of glory - by which I mean that it made its high pitched beeping sound for about 2 days straight. By unplugging the oven, I was able to shut it off temporarily that was only a temporary solution, as I still wanted to use the oven. Now that the timer has passed on and I still have a functional oven, I am forced to rely on a temporary timer until I buy a new one.
I saw on Apartment Therapy: Chicago, they had picked out a list of the top ten kitchen timers, including the Michael Graves Alessi(bottom left, above) for $29.50, the Eva Solo Magnetic (right, above) for $33 and an Old fashioned aluminum timer for $24.99. To be honest, even though the Alessi timers are cute, I don't like any of them. I need a digital timer with a good alarm and neither of their two digital picks (an Oxo and a Taylor) mentions anything about their alarms in their product descriptions.
Digital timers not only come with better alarms than dialed timers, but they're much more accurate in terms of the times you can set them for. You'll never have to approximate, like you do with dials. I'm currently leaning towards the Big Digit Kitchen Timer (top left, above) or the Bonjur Timer, based on alarm noises alone. Is there such a thing as a best timer? What timer do you use?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-12-2006 @ 7:07AM
Alex said...
I use my mobile phone (or my housemate's) ... it's digital, can be plugged into the mains or run on battery, and you can usually set the alarm to be anything you want.
And you don't have to buy something new!
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5-12-2006 @ 8:23AM
Laura said...
I use the timer on my Pyrex Digital Thermometer. It's got a very nice alarm feature. I actually have two of them, which makes it convenient. I accidentaly stuck the thermometer portion in the socket of one of the devices. It totally ruined the thermometer aspect of it, I suppose it shorted something out. But the timer still works splendidly. For $19.99 it was well worth the investment. Fast readout, oven safe, great timer.
I've babbled long enough, heh, but that's what I use.
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5-12-2006 @ 9:36AM
Lori said...
I love my Pampered Chef Kitchen Timer. It's a digital timer with a magnet, stand and clip so it can go anywhere. And no matter how many times I drop it keeps working!
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5-12-2006 @ 10:47AM
tr said...
i use this pretty sweet timer i got at ikea a few years ago.
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&productId=32271
the cool thing is, it sticks on the refrigerator, and it functions differently which ever side is facing up. so there are 4 sides; if i rotate it so the hourglass is at the top, it's a countdown timer in minutes and seconds; the next side is a countdown timer; the next side displays temperature; the final side is date and time. and it was only 4.99!
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5-12-2006 @ 10:56AM
Rob said...
I bought a combination timer/meat thermometer at Ikea just last week. It's magnetic with a removable temperature probe and costs only seven dollars.
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12&langId=-1&catalogId=10103&productId=68169
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5-12-2006 @ 12:05PM
Nicole Weston said...
These are all such great suggestions, everyone!
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5-12-2006 @ 7:22PM
Bob said...
Just make sure it has a reset button. Last timer I bought requires you to press hour-hour-minute (or some such combination) to reset it when paused with time left, frankly, I just pull the battery out.
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5-13-2006 @ 7:07AM
Alanna said...
I have an old West Bend three-way timer -- perfect when you've got 1000 things going on at once. But mostly I use the microwave timer ;-)
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5-13-2006 @ 10:00AM
Nicole Weston said...
I've been using the microwave timer some, too, Alanna. The only problem there is when I want to microwave something while I'm cooking. Or reheat my coffee.
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