#Reader Survey: Do You Use a Kitchen Timer?

For us, a timer is as indispensable to cooking as knives and measuring spoons. We use ours for everything from timing hard boiled eggs to the final rise of our bread dough.

Are you the same way, or do you tend to go by instinct?

We received the Polder timer pictured above as a present. It has count up and count down features, and the keypad makes it easy to input cooking times. Plus, it has magnet on the back so we can secure it where it's out of the way yet still handy.

However, we're just as likely to use our oven's timer, particularly for timing longer things like braises and roasts. Using both the oven time and our portable timer is convenient when we're cooking multiple things at once.

(Or there's always the Polder triple timer for the ultimate multi-tasker!)

We've also seen friends use the count down or alarm clock features on their cell phones to remind themselves of cooking times. Maybe there are special kitchen management apps for the iPhone soon to come?!

How do you keep tabs on your kitchen projects?

• Buy the Polder timer for $15.00 on Amazon .