AcuRite 80th Anniversary: AcuRite and Summer Cookouts Still Going Strong!
With Memorial Day 2023 in the rearview mirror, and as our 80th anniversary year moves into June, it’s safe to say that summer has arrived! Whether it’s your favorite season or you’re counting down the days until the winter solstice, summer is here; and it’s bringing its pastimes with it. Warm weather, beach days, hiking, camping, and of course — cookouts! Yes, summer cookouts — or barbeques, as some like to call them — are an undeniable part of American culture, just like AcuRite (an award-winning company that helped U.S. forces during WWII)!
While nobody necessarily needs a reason to hold a cookout, summer certainly heightens their occurrences with aid from warm weather and holiday celebrations. Just as no cookout is complete without a grill, food, beverages, family, friends, and music, AcuRite cooking gadgets are just as vital! You may know that we currently boast a line of kitchen and cookout tools, but did you know we had helpful kitchen instruments back in the day, too?
The AcuRite Barbeque Cooking Set
It’s true! In the 1960s, AcuRite produced and sold a Barbecue Cooking Set. Complete with a roast meat thermometer, skewer, and unbreakable nylon baster, these sets were very popular housewarming or wedding gifts.
The roast meat thermometer was essentially a glass tube thermometer — which we were experts on — mounted to a handy-dandy chart helping you determine what temperature your particular cut of meat is at. You would use the skewer to puncture the meat before inserting the thermometer into the newly created crevice. Whether you were cooking fresh pork, cured pork, lamb, veal, or beef, this thermometer was a cheat sheet for perfectly cooked meat!
And to help moisten your meal, the unbreakable baster was a welcomed addition to the set. Fun fact, John L. Chaney held one of the first U.S. patents for the baster. Plus, the set came with some great instructions and storytelling on the side of the box. M, m, m... that's living!
What’s a Cookout with Drinks?
Needless to say, folks needed a beverage to wash down their delicious (and perfectly cooked!) meal. AcuRite had cookouts covered with our Wine Cellar Thermometer, Wine Thermometer, and Swizzle Stick Stirring Thermometers. The wine-focused products originated in the 1970s, and the thermometer stir sticks in the 1950s. These three products aimed to ensure the proper drinking temperature for beverages for optimal taste!
Current-Day Cookout Essentials
Cookout tools have significantly advanced since the skewer-and-thermometer method of the 1950s. Digital screens and stainless steel probes are now what AcuRite utilizes to help grillmasters throughout the nation during their cookouts. Users can now even leave their grills and receive a wireless page notifying them that their meat is now cooked to the desired temperature! For spot checks, a wired probe can directly relay temperature information to a digital display and provide audible alerts when your meat reaches your specified temperature. This particular digital meat thermometer even includes a 3-foot, 700 °F-resistant cord that’s perfect for use in grills, ovens, fryers, or even smokers!
Additionally, this simple-yet-handy stainless steel grill surface thermometer provides you with the exact temperature of your grill surface, eliminating guesswork and temperature uncertainty.
AcuRite also has cookout hosts covered when it comes to beverages! This digital display with two internal thermometers provides precise refrigerator and freezer temperatures to ensure the coldness of drinks and a safe storage temperature for food.
Of course, one of the most critical factors in cookouts is the weather. And wouldn’t you know it, AcuRite also has you covered with a bounty of home weather station options! Patented self-calibrating technology can provide a hyperlocal weather forecast, which helps you prepare for the perfect summer get-together.
So, the next time you light up your charcoal, fire up your gas grill, or get your outdoor flattop sizzling, make sure to toast to your family, friends, and AcuRite — for helping you serve perfectly prepared meats and drinks!
