Buy yourself a digital thermometer tonight and you are in for four days of either Easter chocolate fun when it rains or meat roasting and barbecuing when the sun finally pops out. Two types of thermometer are commonly used to temper chocolate. First, there is the long, classic glass dedicated thermometer with a non-mercury column. The second option is a digital food thermometer. Although the latter looks less classy, my vote goes for it. The classic chocolate tempering one, while extremely precise, has a low and narrow temperature range which limits its use. It is also highly breakable (drop it and you are done), which is pretty much a disqualifier in my house. Digital thermometers on the other hand are more resistant to a bit of rough handling and most have a wide temperature range making them a highly versatile option for various uses such as cooking meats or making candies. When buying a digital thermometer you need to consider the use you want to make of it. For tempering chocolate you want an instant read one, with a high accuracy, short response time and temperature readings in the 20-50 degrees C range. Meat roasting, barbecuing, candy making and oil frying will take you to much higher temperatures, so if you want your thermometer to cover all these uses, check it can measure accurately a range starting from about 0 degrees C to at least 250 degrees C. Most instant-read thermometers are not oven- resistant so they cannot be left in the meat as it cooks (i.e. only spot checks are possible). For this there are special "leave-in" digital thermometers with a separate probe that can be left in the meat, while the reader is left outside. Some of these newer digital models now claim a 3 sec time accuracy, which is good enough for candy making and chocolate tempering. I added two models in my Tasty Shop, the classic analog thermometer for careful chocolate addicts, and a multi-functional, oven compatible digital one which will not only help you with your chocolate experiments but will also become your best friend for cooking meats. Have fun!