Anyone who has done a lot of cooking has probably had this experience; you forget that something is cooking and then you have a pot filled with some charcoal flavored goo, or the fat catches fire and you have to paint the kitchen.

The idea is a small ball that you throw in with the food. It warns you when the temperature gets too high because nearly all water boiled off or the fat is close to its boiling point (two separate models). It won’t save your food, but it will save you the scrubbing and/or kitchen painting.

The simplest version would be a wax based mechanism that pops once when it gets too hot, like the turkey poppers. Instead of just popping it would have to make a loud *bang* though. Advanced devices could make extended sounds or other alarms. Bluetooth probably won’t work from inside a pot because of metal shielding. Ultra sound could penetrate the pot and reach a receiver outside.

Even the simple devices are reusable until they go off the first time (can be washed like all other kitchen utensils).
-- kbecker, Jun 27 2004

Egg Timer http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Egg_20Timer
done on eggs [FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Ah, right. I was just about to get all uppity with you (I come from Lancashire).

I get the fat temperature one being in the pan but why a loud BANG!, why not an increasingly loud beep or something dull like that ? and why does it only activate once the critical temperature has been reached, why not a warning as that temperature is approached? But what's the deal with the water one?. Could you not fit a hygrometer to the pan rim or something. Once humidity falls below a certain level, the alarm sounds.
-- squeak, Jun 28 2004


//why a loud BANG// I think that would be the simplest solution, for disposable devices. Advanced models with a battery could give a more sophisticated warning.
-- kbecker, Jun 29 2004


I remember once coming home (to my mother's house) to find a dozen fireman pouring in through the front door, and smoke pouring out. She had left some chicken on the stove too long.

Ideally, you would want the hot plate to turn off automatically, rather than just sound an alarm.
-- DrCurry, Jun 29 2004


DrCurry some really good food can be and should be simmered for hours,
-- engineer1, Jun 30 2004


How about a kitchen timer? Or sheltered housing? That's what I'd recommend for people who are too mentally-challenged to cook a turkey
-- ivanhoe, Jun 30 2004



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