According to one example, a cookware apparatus includes a vessel. The vessel includes a bottom, and a sidewall surrounding the bottom and extending upward from the bottom so as to form a fluid retaining interior region. The sidewall terminates at a rim. The vessel also includes a channel extending through a portion of the bottom and further extending upward into and through a portion of the sidewall. The channel has an opening positioned in an external surface of the sidewall. The cookware apparatus further includes a thermal sensor positioned within the channel. The thermal sensor extends through the portion of the bottom and further extends upward into and through the portion of the sidewall.