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"In my life before Good Housekeeping, back in the good old days when salmonella wasn&amp;#039;t a household word, I prided myself on being able to judge food doneness without a thermometer. But in truth, there were many instances when roasts had to be popped back in the oven because they were too bloody, even for my rare-meat loving family, or turkeys were slathered with gravy because the meat was overcooked and dry. Once I joined the magazine however, I assumed the mantle of responsibility to communicate to all of you how important it really, really is to cook food to safe temperatures-which means high enough to kill any disease-causing bacteria that might be in the food. And the only way to do that is with a thermometer. And after awhile I bought one for my home kitchen and a while after that, I actually began to use it.  Today, a crock full of instant read models sits right next to my stovetop and I can&amp;#039;t cook without them! I&amp;#039;ve become thermometer happy---I use one for everything! And not only because it means I&amp;#039;m keeping my family safe but because it means food is perfectly done. A boneless, skinless chicken breast that&amp;#039;s cooked to exactly 165\u00B0F is just right. I can serve lamb chops, rosy rare every time. I even use it to make sure the lasagna is hot in the middle and I confess stuck one in Italian sausages last weekend to make sure they were cooked but not overcooked to the point of being dry and crumbly inside.  And I still rely on simple analog models...I find them easier to use and read than digital ones. There&amp;#039;s no battery to replace or teeny little buttons to push. My favorite is the Taylor Classic Instant Read 1&amp;quot; Dial Thermometer shown here.  One rule I follow religiously and insist you do too: In between readings rinse the shaft off very well in hot water to make sure that any bacteria that might be in the food before it&amp;#039;s fully cooked isn&amp;#039;t then transferred back into it the next time you take a reading. Click here for a chart with the USDA&amp;#039;s recommended safe minimal temperatures for various foods. And I hope you become thermometer happy like me. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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