You take a steak’s temperature. Do it for your banana bread, too.

For you, dear readers, here's another Valentine, prompted by Tim Carman's #ThingsWeLove ode to his meat thermometer in WaPo Food this week: Did you know you can use the device to check the doneness of other foods, too?

I've seen chefs do this with breads and custards, so I suppose you might say it's another reason I'm happy to watch them in their element. Think of the baked goods you're always hesitant to pull out of the oven — browned, with dense interiors. Or a perfectly intact piece of fish you just hate to flake into with a fork. A straight-from-the-freezer casserole whose core is inscrutable. When you're not satisfied with a recipe's description of "until just set."

We’ve collected a few temps beyond the easy-to-find meat/poultry ones. Temperatures should be taken at the center, without touching any bone or heated surface. Clip ’n’ save:

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Salmon, halibut, cod, tilapia, red snapper: 130 to 135 degrees (stuffed, 165 degrees)

Tuna: 125 degrees (ahi tuna, 115 to 120 degrees)

Shrimp, scallops: 120 degrees

Lobster: 145 degrees

BAKED GOODS

Quick breads such as banana bread, corn bread, coffee cake: 200 degrees

Cakes and cupcakes: 205 to 210 degrees (devil’s food and red velvet, 205 degrees)

Molten chocolate cakes: 160 degrees

Breads and rolls: a minimum of 190 degrees; 205 to 210 degrees for some sourdough or sturdy varieties

Bread pudding: 160 degrees

Sweet potato, pumpkin, fruit pies: 175 degrees

EGG-BASED

Sauces: 160 degrees (hollandaise, 145 to 150 degrees)

Quiches: 165 to 185 degrees (depending on filling add-ins)

Custards: 175 to 180 degrees

GENERAL

Baked potatoes: 210 to 212 degrees (boiled, 200 degrees)

Casseroles, leftovers: 165 to 175 degrees

Ground meats (meatloaf): 160 degrees

Why, you could practice those new thermometer skills on these dishes, from our Recipe Finder:

Crispy Salmon Cakes (155 degrees); Scallops, Tomato and Chorizo (120 degrees)

Bread, Cheese and Chive Puddings (175 to 180 degrees); Praline Tiramisu (ditto — and a great make-ahead Valentine's Day treat)

Slow-Rise, No-Knead Light Wheat (or White) Bread (190 to 200 degrees)

Chocolate Babka (190 degrees)

Top recipes of the week

We see holiday-motivated cooking in readers’ most-viewed recipes online:

1. Dorie Greenspan's Creamy Chocolate Tartlets. A three-ingredient filling goes into shells you can make or buy.

2. Skinny Corn Bread. Only 7 grams of fat per serving in this version from Oprah Winfrey's new Weight Watchers cookbook.

3. El Rey Nachos. A simple cheese sauce that doesn't congeal, and DIY chips = great match.

4. Crunchy Salad With Curry Lime Vinaigrette. Lots of chopping and a terrific dressing; also from "Food, Health and Happiness: 115 On-Point Recipes for Great Meals and a Better Life" (Flatiron Books, 2017).

5. Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Bark. An easy, any-day treat from Ellie Krieger.