The Best Kitchen Gadget to Prevent Salmonella Is a Good Meat Probe

防止沙门氏菌的最佳厨房利器：一支好用的肉类温度计

It is the summer of salmonella, it seems. Multiple overlapping salmonella outbreaks now sprawl across at least 30 states as of late August, even as cases of prodigious-poop-causing parasite cyclospora seem to be receding. Hundreds have been sickened, and simultaneous recalls are in effect for products as diverse as eggs, granola, jalapeño peppers, greens powders, nut butters, and dog food. 这似乎是一个“沙门氏菌之夏”。截至8月下旬，多起相互重叠的沙门氏菌疫情已蔓延至美国至少30个州，尽管导致严重腹泻的寄生虫——圆孢子虫（cyclospora）的病例似乎正在减少。已有数百人患病，鸡蛋、格兰诺拉麦片、墨西哥辣椒、蔬菜粉、坚果酱和狗粮等多种产品正同时被召回。

Salmonella, and its attendant havoc on the GI tract, are these days a hallmark of American summer—not just in meat and eggs but, increasingly, fresh produce, as climate change brings warmer and wetter summers. Foodborne bacteria enjoy the same weather as corn and tomatoes and are happy to hitch a ride. 沙门氏菌及其对胃肠道造成的破坏，如今已成为美国夏季的标志——不仅存在于肉类和鸡蛋中，随着气候变化带来更温暖潮湿的夏季，新鲜农产品中的检出率也日益增加。食源性细菌和玉米、番茄一样“喜欢”这种天气，并乐于搭上便车传播。

“When we see warmer temperatures, that is going to create conditions that are favorable for bacteria like salmonella or parasites like cyclospora to grow,” Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert at NC State Extension, told WIRED this month. 北卡罗来纳州立大学推广中心（NC State Extension）的食品安全专家艾伦·舒梅克（Ellen Shumaker）本月告诉《连线》（WIRED）杂志：“当我们看到气温升高时，这将为沙门氏菌等细菌或圆孢子虫等寄生虫的生长创造有利条件。”

Luckily, there’s already a simple preventive technology known to be wildly effective against salmonella. It’s called “cooking.” While anything above the USDA-recommended food-safe temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit can kill salmonella if cooked for long enough, the bacterium is dead nearly immediately above 165 degrees. 幸运的是，目前已经有一种简单且被证实对预防沙门氏菌极其有效的技术，它叫作“烹饪”。虽然只要烹饪时间足够长，任何高于美国农业部（USDA）建议的140华氏度（约60摄氏度）食品安全温度的环境都能杀死沙门氏菌，但在超过165华氏度（约74摄氏度）时，这种细菌几乎会立即死亡。

Heat is the last, best line of defense against salmonella. I’m the WIRED Reviews team’s lead reviewer for cooking technology, and I consider my food thermometer the single most important food safety item in my kitchen. 高温是抵御沙门氏菌的最后一道、也是最好的一道防线。作为《连线》评测团队烹饪技术的首席评测员，我认为食品温度计是我厨房里最重要的食品安全工具。

And yet, while most Americans own a food thermometer, more than 70 percent don’t regularly use it to assess food temp, according to a recent food safety survey. This is a statistic that would terrify my mother. 然而，根据最近的一项食品安全调查，尽管大多数美国人都拥有食品温度计，但超过70%的人并不经常使用它来测量食物温度。这个统计数据要是让我母亲知道，她一定会吓坏的。

I have convinced myself that the problem is that your thermometer is terrible. A lower-cost thermometer, like this $14 quick-read thermometer my editor has in her kitchen, will give you an accurate enough internal temperature for your meat or lasagna. But it’ll take as long as seven or eight seconds to get a useful ballpark reading, which can feel like a lifetime when hovering over a pan or an open oven door. 我深信问题在于你用的温度计太烂了。虽然像我编辑厨房里那种14美元的快速读取温度计，也能为你测量肉类或千层面提供足够准确的内部温度，但它需要七八秒钟才能给出一个大概的读数。当你站在平底锅前或打开烤箱门时，这几秒钟简直像过了一辈子。

The best meat thermometer is the one you’ll actually use. For more than a decade, the WIRED Reviews team has been recommending an instant-read food thermometer that costs seven or eight times the price of a “fast-read” thermometer on Amazon. 最好的肉类温度计就是你真正会去用的那一个。十多年来，《连线》评测团队一直推荐一款即时读取食品温度计，它的价格是亚马逊上那些“快速读取”温度计的七八倍。

The reason is simple: speed. The above Thermapen One offers a stable digital readout of food’s internal temperature within just a couple seconds. This difference is pivotal, because it means you’re likely to actually use it rather than dread using it. This gives the Thermapen a much better claim to hang out in the important real estate next to the stove rather than jumbled somewhere nearby in a drawer. 原因很简单：速度。上述的Thermapen One能在短短几秒钟内提供稳定的食物内部温度数字读数。这种差异至关重要，因为它意味着你更有可能真正去使用它，而不是因为嫌麻烦而抗拒。这使得Thermapen更有资格占据炉灶旁的重要位置，而不是被杂乱地塞在附近的抽屉里。

What Food Temperatures Can Kill Salmonella?

什么温度能杀死沙门氏菌？

If you’re looking for the maximum reduction in your risk of salmonella, you need to “introduce a kill step,” said Jerold Mande, an adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health. And in the case of bacteria, your kill step likely involves temperature. 哈佛大学公共卫生学院营养学兼职教授杰罗德·曼德（Jerold Mande）表示，如果你想最大限度地降低感染沙门氏菌的风险，你需要“引入一个杀灭步骤”。对于细菌而言，这个杀灭步骤通常涉及温度。

Salmonella and other dangerous bacteria thrive, and propagate, in the temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. To be safe, food must be either placed in the fridge or cooked and held at temps higher than 140 degrees. 沙门氏菌和其他危险细菌在40华氏度（约4摄氏度）到140华氏度（约60摄氏度）之间的温度下会大量繁殖。为了安全起见，食物必须存放在冰箱中，或者烹饪并保持在140华氏度以上的温度。

To kill bacteria, the FDA recommends that red meat be cooked to 145 degrees or above and rested for three minutes. Eggs and ground meat should be cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Poultry should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 为了杀死细菌，美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）建议红肉应烹饪至145华氏度（约63摄氏度）或以上，并静置三分钟。鸡蛋和绞肉应烹饪至160华氏度（约71摄氏度）或更高。禽肉则应达到165华氏度（约74摄氏度）。

Wireless Options

无线选择

For stovetop purposes, an instant-read thermometer like the Thermapen One is going to have the most utility. But for oven-cooked meats, for air-fried wings, and even for thicker produce like potatoes or layered dishes like casseroles and lasagna, I tend to prefer a wireless temperature probe. 对于炉灶烹饪，像Thermapen One这样的即时读取温度计最为实用。但对于烤箱烹饪的肉类、空气炸锅炸鸡翅，甚至是像土豆这样较厚的农产品，或是砂锅菜和千层面这类分层菜肴，我更倾向于使用无线温度探针。

The most reliable I’ve used, especially if you also plan outdoor cooks in thick-walled smokers, is the Typhur Sync Gold series, which offers the best mix of easy use and admirable signal strength. In addition to being a food safety tool, the Typhur’s predictive function can be a useful helper in hitting precise temp targets on long cooks, and the Sub-GHz (915 MHz) signal can travel a good ways down the block before fading. 我用过最可靠的产品是Typhur Sync Gold系列，特别是如果你还打算在厚壁烟熏炉中进行户外烹饪时，它在易用性和出色的信号强度之间取得了最佳平衡。除了作为食品安全工具外，Typhur的预测功能在长时间烹饪时能有效帮助达到精确的温度目标，其Sub-GHz（915 MHz）信号在衰减前可以传输很远的距离。

But if you’re just planning to cook indoors in a space with a good Wi-Fi signal, I’ve also found the TempPro TempSpike Pro ($130) to be convenient at a lower cost, with a digital temperature monitor that has a magnetic back so I can mount it on the fridge. The app’s not as fancy as Typhur’s, and the signal range also isn’t as good if you’re trying to take this outside. But the accurate ambient temperature readings are a lot more precise than the thermostat in my range oven; the internal temps are likewise reliable. But especially, the TempSpike’s fridge-mounted digital temp readout makes it the probe I often reach for. 但如果你只是打算在Wi-Fi信号良好的室内烹饪，我也发现TempPro TempSpike Pro（130美元）性价比更高且使用方便，它配有一个带磁性背板的数字温度显示器，我可以把它吸在冰箱上。虽然它的应用程序不如Typhur华丽，如果你想带到室外使用，信号范围也不如前者，但它准确的环境温度读数比我烤箱自带的温控器要精确得多，内部温度测量同样可靠。最重要的是，TempSpike可以吸附在冰箱上的数字显示屏，使它成为我最常拿起的探针。

And (say it with me): The best meat probe for food safety is the one you actually use. 最后（跟我一起说）：为了食品安全，最好的肉类探针就是你真正会去用的那一个。

More Food Safety Gear

更多食品安全装备

Lately, increasing reports about tomatoes and onions and jalapeños had me worried: Do I need to use a meat thermometer for veggies now? 最近，关于番茄、洋葱和墨西哥辣椒的报道越来越多，这让我很担心：我现在需要用肉类温度计来测量蔬菜吗？

Deaths from acute food-borne illnesses range from the hundreds to the low thousands in the US, and foodborne illnesses have declined significantly since the turn of the millennium. Compared to the long-term chronic disease risks of avoiding fresh produce and eating processed foods, the acute risk posed by your lettuce and carrots can look comparatively insignificant, Mande said. 曼德表示，在美国，急性食源性疾病导致的死亡人数在数百到数千之间，而且自新千年以来，食源性疾病的发病率已显著下降。与因避免食用新鲜农产品而摄入加工食品所带来的长期慢性病风险相比，生菜和胡萝卜带来的急性风险看起来相对微不足道。

This said, each person’s risk tolerance is, well, personal. This is true especially if you’re a parent, or an older or immunocompromised person. 话虽如此，每个人的风险承受能力毕竟是个人的事。特别是如果你是家长，或者是老年人或免疫功能低下者，这一点尤为重要。