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Kitchen 3-5 / Week 08 / Tuesday
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Week 08 · Time and Temperature

Tuesday

Read the thermometer
// Timers, minutes and the thermometer
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: Read the Thermometer

Lizzy the Lizard holds up a long, thin tool. "This is a food thermometer," she says.

Bennie looks at a cooked egg. "Can I tell it is done by the color?"

"What do you notice?" Lizzy asks. "Color does not tell the whole story."

Riley points at the numbers. "Here is a hint," he says. "Numbers do not guess."

Degrees on a thermometer

A thermometer measures how hot or cold something is.

It shows a number of degrees. In this course, we use degrees F.

A bigger number means hotter. A smaller number means colder.

A grown-up holds the thermometer in the food. You read the number.

Safety first
A grown-up handles the thermometer in hot food.
You only read the numbers. Keep your hands away from hot pans.

Numbers every cook knows

PlaceTemperature
Fridge40 degrees F or colder
Freezer0 degrees F or colder
Danger ZoneBetween 40 and 140 degrees F

Germs grow fast in the Danger Zone.

That is why cold food goes back in the fridge.

You cannot tell if meat or eggs are cooked by their color.

A food thermometer tells you.

READ THE NUMBERS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The fridge reads 37 degrees F. Is it cold enough?
The fridge reads 45 degrees F. Is it cold enough?
Which number is in the Danger Zone?
StatementTrue or false?
A freezer should be 0 degrees F or colder.?
You can tell eggs are cooked by their color.?
Germs grow fast between 40 and 140 degrees F.?
A grown-up holds the thermometer in hot food.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEKnowing these numbers helps keep food safe.
A fridge should be ____ degrees F or colder.
The Danger Zone ends at ____ degrees F.
How many degrees from 40 up to 50?
PUT THE TEMPERATURES FROM COLDEST TO HOTTEST
  • ?0 degrees F
  • ?35 degrees F
  • ?40 degrees F
  • ?100 degrees F
  • ?140 degrees F
WHY THIS EXERCISEOrdering numbers is how you read a thermometer from bottom to top.
On paper, draw a tall thermometer. Mark 0, 40 and 140. Shade the Danger Zone.
Which tool tells you if food is cooked? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEColor can fool you, but a thermometer shows the number.
Try it
Find a thermometer at home with a grown-up.
It might be in the fridge or on a wall.
Read the number out loud. Is it hot, cold or in between?

Number reader! Tomorrow is Kitchen Lab. You will test your timer sense.

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