---
title: Have you checked your oven temperature?
date: 2010-01-19T17:46:31Z
modified: 2010-01-19T17:46:31Z
permalink: "https://elizabethyarnell.com/have-you-checked-your-oven-temperature/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 1335
categories:
  - Glorious One-Pot Meals
tags:
  - Amazon
  - Glorious One-Pot Meals
  - oven temperature
  - oven thermometer
author: Elizabeth
---

If you’re not getting the results you want with your [Glorious One-Pot Meals](http://www.gloriouspotmeal.com/about/gpm.htm "what are glorious one pot meals") (or your cookies, or roasts, etc.), your oven temperature is probably off.

Over the last ten years of working with fans and readers to prepare quick, easy, and delicious one-pot meals, I’ve found that more than half of the ovens in this country have thermostats that are not set correctly. That’s why I always encourage home cooks to pick up a stand-alone [oven thermometer](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000079XWG?tag=lizoneandmore-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B000079XWG&adid=1KNC9X43M0N5M9QM66YR& "oven thermometer") and use it to verify their oven’s temp every time before putting food inside.

[![I love the large numbers on this oven thermometer! Very easy to read.](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413CHB5E2PL._SL500_AA280_.jpg "oven thermometer")

](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000079XWG?tag=lizoneandmore-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B000079XWG&adid=1KNC9X43M0N5M9QM66YR&)I love the large numbers on this oven thermometer! Very easy to read without opening the oven door.I would have counseled Cookie B., a recent reviewer of [my cookbook on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/076793010X?tag=lizoneandmore-20&camp=213381&creative=390973&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=076793010X&adid=1XEM94TZVXNK9FR87YCM& "Glorious one Pot meals on Amazon"), that her results tell me **_her oven temp is way, way off_**, had she bothered to write me before posting this scathing review:

_Mediocre at Best_

_I’m an experienced and somewhat adventurous cook, but often short of time. I thought this would be a nice alternative for those nights when I don’t feel like spending an hour or more on dinner. What a disappointment — what a waste of good food. I tried three recipes, and tossed the book._

_The cookbook states that vegetables retain their crispness, rice and grains come out fluffy, etc — not so. In all three recipes I tried, the vegetables were overcooked and unappetizing, rice fails to cook properly, squash has the texture of baby food. My husband’s comment was that “everything tastes the same”, and he’s right. The foods do not retain any flavor of their own and everything is rather bland. I certainly wouldn’t serve this to company. And the meal looks as dull as it tastes (meats come out gray). These meals have no character._

_Do yourself a favor — skip this book. It’s possible (and really not difficult) to cook healthy meals that are flavorful and interesting. This isn’t the way._

Sigh. Cookie, Cookie, Cookie. Is it possible that it’s your oven, not the cookbook? Me thinks so.

I have found it quite simple to recalibrate most ovens in just seconds when verifying the temperature with a separate oven thermometer. Check your oven’s manual to learn how.

While I love that Amazon allows people to post reviews and share their thoughts about a book, I wish there was a way I could respond more directly to criticisms, particularly if I can fix the problems before they are shared with the world. I am always available for questions and troubleshooting via the [Contact link](http://www.gloriouspotmeal.com/admin/contact.php "contact elizabeth yarnell") on any of my websites, and I try to be as timely as I can manage with my responses.

Luckily, this blog gives me a place to address those unhappy customers I can’t reach directly so that I can stop fretting about them and move on! 🙂