Got my Control Freak Home yesterday and used it to make a whole steak dinner: blanched broccolini, caramelized onions + potatoes, steak, and a bordelaise sauce.
Some things that stood out to me:
- I really see the vision now. I don’t have to think about the heat going into the pan, I just think about how hot I want the pan and food to be—and then I set it and forget it.
- I’ve got a very high power gas stove so I wasn’t sure I’d care about the sheer power of induction. I was surprised to discover that what I really appreciated was its ability to hold low precise temperatures and move between them quickly. For example when I was working on the sauce I could very quickly move a small amount of liquid between boiling, simmering, and holding temps. On my gas stove, all my burners are too hot to do that well and I end up moving my pan on and off the heat a lot.
- It makes some weird noises that I found a bit concerning, especially when I used a small unstable pan. Clicking/whining etc.
- Cleanup is so easy.
Edit: Made some jambalaya today and noticed another thing that’s really neat—on a gas burner, maintaining a simmer requires lots of fine adjustment to account for the type of pot, the volume and type of liquid, and whether it’s covered. Often I cover a pot and let it simmer, only to discover 20 minutes later that I’m at a rapid boil. With the control freak I just set it to 205º and I’m done. None of the other variables matter.
