How to use the cooking timer
- Tap a food under Eggs, Pasta and noodles, Rice and grains, Potatoes and baking, or Resting and drinks. Its time loads into the display and the Hours, Minutes and Seconds boxes. You can type your own time there instead.
- Read the line under the display. It says when to start the clock, for example once the pasta is in boiling water.
- Press Start. It turns into Pause and then Resume. Presets and boxes lock while the timer runs, and Reset unlocks them.
- +1 min adds a minute to a running timer, or to the set time before you start. After the alarm has rung, it runs one more minute.
- When the display turns green and the alarm beeps, press Stop alarm. Sound mutes the alarm.
Where the preset times come from
The presets are typical starting times, not guarantees. Eggs follow RecipeTin Eats for large eggs lowered into boiling water: 6 minutes soft, 10 hard (the egg timer has more). White rice at 18 minutes and brown rice at 45 sit inside the 15 to 18 and 40 to 45 minute ranges of the USA Rice Federation. Quinoa at 15 is the top of the 12 to 15 minutes in an Oklahoma State Extension chart. The baked potato is 1 hour at 425 °F (Idaho Potato Commission: 55 to 60 minutes) and the cookies are 10 minutes at 375 °F (Toll House: 9 to 11). Meat rest is the USDA minimum of 3 minutes, and black tea is 4 (UK Tea and Infusions Association: 3 to 4). Pasta, ramen, herbal tea and French press coffee are common conventions, so follow your package.
Worked example with the default
On load the Dried pasta preset is selected. The display reads 10:00 under the name Dried pasta, the message reads "Ready: Dried pasta, 10:00", and the boxes show 0, 10 and 0. Press Start and the display turns amber with "Timer running. The alarm sounds at 0:00." After 10 minutes it turns green and reads 0:00 with "Time is up. Taste a piece to check it is al dente, then drain."
Limits and edge cases
- Box times must be whole numbers from 1 second to 99:59:59. Minutes and seconds can exceed 59, so 90 minutes works.
- The alarm is queued when you press Start, so it should ring on time in a background tab. A phone that locks its screen can freeze the page, so keep the screen on.
- One countdown runs at a time. For pasta, rice and a roast together, use the multi-timer.
- For meat and poultry, trust a food thermometer over the clock: the USDA minimums are 145 °F for whole cuts, 160 °F for ground meat and 165 °F for poultry.
Setting the oven first? Use the oven temperature converter.
Cooking timer FAQ
How long do you cook white rice on the stove?
About 18 minutes, counted from when you turn the heat to low and cover the pot after the water boils. If the rice is still firm, cover it and cook 2 to 4 minutes more.
How long should meat rest after cooking?
The USDA says whole cuts of beef, pork, veal and lamb need at least 3 minutes of rest after they reach 145 °F. The Meat rest preset is 3 minutes.
How long should I steep black tea?
The UK Tea and Infusions Association recommends 3 to 4 minutes for black tea. The Black tea preset is 4 minutes.
Will the timer ring if I switch tabs or lock my phone?
Switching tabs is fine, because the alarm is queued when you press Start. A locked phone screen can freeze the page, so keep the screen on while you cook.
Can I run more than one timer at once?
Not on this page. Use the multi-timer to run several named timers side by side.
Sources: USA Rice Federation, USDA FSIS, RecipeTin Eats, UK Tea and Infusions Association.