I wouldn't call it instant read, but it's pretty fast. You do get a reading within a second, but it routinely takes about five seconds until it stops moving and you get an accurate temperature reading. I used it while doing my summer canning this year because in a lot of recipes I had to bring the fruit (or vegetables) to a certain temperature before putting them in jars. It worked great. Easy to read. Just one button to push to turn it on. You can toggle between C and F, and it stays at whatever choice you've selected, even when you turn it off and on again.