You may be surprised to find that the handheld infrared thermometer in your toolbox has many more uses that just your car. You can use a Mini Temp infrared thermometer in the kitchen. Because of its small compact size, it makes a great way to measure food in the kitchen. However for this job, I would not use the one right out of my toolbox! You can use this handy little device to measure the surface temperature of just about anything, including food. The beautiful part about using the mini-temp infrared thermometer for cooking, is you do not make direct contact with the food. However, one limitation is that it cannot measure the internal temperature of food, just the surface reading. In a commercial kitchen, they are wonderful for measuring the surface temperature for stored food. Its an easy to make sure your stored food is at a safe temperature. There is no risk of cross contaminating food. The device is held away from the food and measures the temperature without ever actually touching it. To get a reading, a user would aim the pistol grip thermometer at the dish or food about 2 feet away and press the trigger. The digital read out will then tell you the temperature. Wine buffs have also discovered these wonderful devices as well. If you really want to impress friends at your next party, just point your Mini-temp infrared thermometer at the label on the wine bottle ( you have to get a reading from the label, because the glass will refract the infrared beam.) and presto instant wine temperature!