Determining pre-boil gravity

I have been brewing for some time now and I still can't figure out a good way of cooling down the wort to around at least under 90F to stick my hydrometer in to get a pre-boil gravity reading.

This is what I do, I take my first runnings and then put them in the boiler and start heating. Then I add my second, and sometimes third runnings, into the boiler and stir the hell out of it for around 1 minutes. Then I take a cup of wort out and try to put it in the freezer to cool it down but that takes forever. By the time it cools to around 100F I'm almost mid boil.

My question is how to get a pre-boil gravity reading using my hydrometer quickly!!!

You need a refractometer to read the hot side of you mash... After fermentation begins use hydrometer

Is a refractometer really the only option. I don't have a problem buying one but what was done before refractometers became so popular.

I put my hydrometer in the warm wort. 160F or so and use a temp table located in ray Daniels designing great beers.there could be one online, if you can't find one I could type it out on here. Its pretty accurate. Its about one or two points different from the cooled wort at the end.

Is there a reason your trying to get it at least under 90F? Is there something I don't know?

Small mason jar and ice bath.

Fill the jar...~6oz or however much you need for a sample, seal it up and drop it in some ice water. Shake it a little. Chills down muy pronto.

The reason why I'm trying to get to around 90F is because I heard that hydrometers are notoriously inaccuracte at high degrees like 130F or 140F.

Thanks for the advice TyTanium. I will try that

Well, you can put it in an ice bath. That's faster than freezing. And you can put the ice bath in the freezer.

===VVVVV====

What yooper says below. The hydrometer jar would have a lot more surface area than a glass and a pitcher would hold the ice better than a bowl. Wish I'd thought of that...

If I'm using a hydrometer, I put the sample in a tall pitcher with ice water around it, and stir gently. It cools in 5 minutes or so- much faster than in a freezer.

Indeed gentleman, I will put the sample in the hydrometer tube and put the tube inside of a ice bath pitcher. That should do the trick. Thanks for the advice and maybe one day i'll get a refractometer.