Minute minder

A short-term alarm clock , egg timer , kitchen alarm clock or signal clock is an alarm clock for everyday use that measures short periods of time, typically up to 120 minutes, and displays them with an acoustic, optical or mechanical signal . The display takes place as a countdown to the end of a preset period or as the time elapsed since the start of the measurement.

use

A typical application in the household is the monitoring of cooking times, the expiry of which is indicated by an acoustic signal . For kitchen use, many of these clocks have a thematically matching design (chicken, paprika or similar). Minute minder can also be provided with an electrical switching output. This enables use in laboratory setups, as a laboratory clock in a private photo laboratory or for controlling a hobby drying oven.

They are offered with a simple mechanical movement or with a quartz movement . The hourglass is especially useful for cooking eggs . Hourglasses used to be filled with quartz sand, which requires special processing, but nowadays with fine-spherical glass beads.

Egg timer

There are various explanations for the origin of the term egg timer for short- term measuring devices . One explanation says the term goes back to the use of the clock in the time-sensitive cooking of eggs. According to another explanation, the term comes from hourglasses in which eggshell crumbs were used as a filling material.

Advanced features

In addition to the classic minute minder, there are now also egg timers with extended functions. Egg timers are offered that can be cooked in water and take on a certain color as soon as the eggs are ready. There are also models that do not trigger the alarm by beeping, but rather play a melody.