My kitchen timer gets more use than any piece of equipment in my kitchen. I use it to time everything from french press pots of coffee in the morning to recipes that I’m developing in the afternoon. I’ve gone through dozens of kitchen timers over the years and have found that some are better than others. When I’m shopping for a kitchen timer, I look for it to be easy to use, easy to read and easy to hear over whatever other sounds I might have happening in my kitchen. The Tribesigns Digital Kitchen Timer caught my eye with its sleek design a few months ago, when I was in the market for a new timer, so I picked one up to give it a try.
The timer fits in the palm of my hand, making it a bit larger than some timers that I’ve had in the past. This gives it ample room for a large, easy-to-read display that counts both minutes and seconds. The timer is set by turning the outer ring and it only has two buttons: stop/start and reset. While it might seem like having only two buttons would limit its functionality, this timer is so well designed that it doesn’t need a lot of extras. For instance, when the timer goes off, the counter begins to count up so that I can see how much extra time my baked goods have been in the oven. The timer has a persistent beep that is loud enough to catch your attention, but not so loud that it will wake the neighbors. It will beep for 60 seconds before the beep shuts off.
The timer can be set in 10 second intervals and the wheel can be turned in either direction (whichever gets you to your desired time faster), with a maximum time of 99 minutes and 50 seconds. It has strong magnets on the back that hold it in place on metal appliances. I keep mine on the door of my oven and have not had any problem with it sliding around, even though my oven door gets a lot of use.
The timer is available in two colors. I particularly like the clean look of the white timer, which both reminds me of my iPhone and happens to match my kitchen cabinets, but it also comes in a bold hot pink that is perfect if you want a pop of color in your kitchen.
What do you think?