Control on a Cook Top

I would love a portable, induction cok top with a wireless probe to control Temps with a high degree of precision from 115-f through says 400-f. I would like to be able to use it for an accurate water bath, deep fryer, griddle, etc. Maybe a hub sort of set up.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paragon-induction-cooktop#/

Understand the need for versatility and flexibility in a working kitchen that a separate unit gives. This is a fully portable single burner and you can set from 86-482°F in 1°F Increments. For the 'Hub' comment, do you want freedom to use your own cookware?

fisher23

There is one on a crowdfunding site that's looks interesting.

douglas_bd

I see a big benefit for sugar work in the mid range. At the higher end, deep frying, especially if it can respond to recover temperature quickly. At the low end, with enough accuracy, you could run a sous vide setup direct in a pot for say salmon poached in olive oil, or lobster in butter without mucking up your circulator.

Yes, Paragon looks interesting. They have certainly focused on a consumer level introducing SousVide in a simpler way. At a prosumer/commercial level would you like to have precise pan holding temperatures without the probe?: I've found that garlic burns over 275°F using Pan Control.

Brian, Great range of temperature examples: For a unit to perform over this range it needs very fine increments of power and control. Using customized PID control, as with PS Sous Vide Circulators, was the only way to go. Physics plays a big part in the calculations, recovery time in deep frying, given a full 1800W still depends on the volume of Oil and Load added, so an adaptable control for all tasks is important. Having control over the rate of change, the speed to set temp or speed of recovery is useful: Slow heat up for Cheese making or Crispy Skin Fish in cold pan up to 340°F... for this 'intensity' control was added. Do you have any examples you know where the transformation of the ingredients can vary based on the heat up rate? In braising does the slow heat up (to the correct connective tissue breakdown temp) effect the result?

fisher23

Personally I would prefer without the probe. I like the fine increments of power for precise temperature control. Most induction hot plates have very finite limited temperature control with limited settings.

Yeah. You don't want to be restricted or forced to use the product in way that removes creativity. My favourite thing it gives is the experimentation:Finding different results in caramelising onions from pan temp of 248-320...

The small increments and full randge are the most important features for everything from sugars to the making of stocks (there was a post about a another recently and the use of a rpessure cooker recently where there was no "good" temp because increments were spread too far). Using our own cookware would be nice, but I think for many induction compatable cookware isn't an issue that it once was.

I love the range and precision. As for using my own cookware - that would be ideal. Precision/control is my first concern followed by the ability to reduce extra parts, both for space saving and portability. If in using it's own tank, for example, greatly improved a water bath and/or deep frying setup but I could still use my own skillet on the burner, sauce pans, etc, then I could live with that.

As an enthusiast, and with the proliferation of quality cooking tools such as circulators in recent years, I've amassed a lot of kitchen gadgets and I a weary about cluttering up my kitchen. I also find it a pain to drag along multiple units when cooking dinner parties at friends home or a the cottage. If I could have a multi function unit that gave me the precision I've become accustomed to with minimal extra parts, that is something I would jump on.

There was a recent Kickstarter campaign that offered such a hub model - The SmartHub by Oliso - that I was going to back (Portable induction cooktop hub with a water tank attachment). There were two main drawbacks that in the end prevented me from backing int: the tank attachment was only suitable for a water bath because it's temperature range was on the lower end - they indicated that they would be designing a high temp tank for deep frying. Separate tanks is a huge drawback to the all-in-one/multipurpose tool. The second drawback is the induction burner couldn't rapid boil water (I believe it took 10 mins).I there assume that would mean its recovery time for a frying unit or water bath would also be poor.

I agree, if it's just induction compatibility, that isn't a problem.

I saw that and gave it a sreious look. It also had large temp increments when used as induction top......the time to boil was another big concern as that almost goes against one of the big benefits of induction.

bkeene12

I like the idea of experimenting with precise temps to see its effect on the final product. Some instruction in this area would be needed though but certainly sounds interesting. I second the idea @Brian_Douglas_35255as had with poached salmon and lobster. That would be pretty cool.

ttpoker

David: Have you looked into the Thermomix? If I had a choice between purchasing a temperature controlled cook top as you propose, or a Themomix styled unit that allows me to pre-program ranges of temperatures for periods of time while automatically stirring - I would chose the latter (assuming price was not a concern). For example, imagine heating milk to 150f, with stirring starting at 140 to avoid creating a film. Then an alarm beeps which notify me that its time to add a new ingredient - I press a button and now the temp rises to 205F and holds for 20 mins while stirring continues. At the tail end, the heat source is removed and stirring continues until the temp drops to 110f. Of course this is a pie in the sky dream solution, but I hope my dreams become reality someday.

@In theCards Thermomix is in the US. I can provide contact info for the person that reached out to me if you like (I already have one from Spain-via ebay but had contacted the EU office so they already had my info-no affiliation/financial interest).

ttpoker

I've looked at the Belini Kitchen Master as an alternative to a Thermomix. Much more affordable, and doesn't use door to door salespeople for in-home demos which drives up the cost of Thermomix. Of course we have gone far off topic, lets let David get back to his focus for Breville|Polyscience. Sorry David!

I believe you don't have to have a demo in the US but would need to ask. I think they are running $1200 which isn't cheap but less than north of the border an overseas. That's also why I went ebay route and a use a step down transformer. Fwiw. David, there is some consideration here if the hub can add things like auto temp adjustments and accessories like attachable stirring rods. Not sure how feasible all that is, but perhaps a consideration.

To Brian's point: you can use probe control to directly control the temperature of the ingredients so you have the flexibility to cook whatever you like: sous vide direct in a pot for your salmon poached in olive oil, or lobster in butter without mucking up your circulator.

To Todd and In theCards: Thermomix has had enormous success domestically in other parts of the world. It does a great job of automating some tasks that the domestic user would find tricky: The milling blade turns wheat into flour for example. Not to diminish the Thermomix but The Breville|Polyscience Cook Top is quite a different product offering: For precision and flexibility Thermomix falls short in temperature range (Max 248F) and Temperature steps are quite large. So it cannot perform sugar work for example...On the other point about pre-programming temperature steps or phases this is something I love to hear: The first version will have single stage pre-programming and on getting feedback we can see how we can best implement multiple steps. As for automatic Stirring on a cooktop, well wow, what an idea and a challenge...I'll go away and think about that...!

David, I've often thought about the magnetic stirrers we've used in the chem labs at my university and wondered if you could pair this with the magnets used to heat the pan. I would think a paddle that scrapes the rim of the pot would be quite difficult to achieve - although fantastic. But some small magnetic stirrers to, say, aid in keeping a sauce emulsifed.

Nice! I've seen this work on a small scale/low viscosity/density at small scale for labs but not on say 1qt of hollandaise...have you seen anything that works to physically vibrate at the natural freq. of the ingredients?...

Daniel_153642

I am backing this as I was also backing another of their products. This one looks very versatile, price point is good, and it's being backed by GE/Microfactory which with crowd funding points to actually being built.

What I'm curious about is how that would stack up to the Breville/PS version.

ttpoker

I'm sure they would be interested to hear that at The French Laundry, I heard they no longer cook their lobster tails poached in butter controlled by a Polysci immersion circulator because it was a nightmare to maintain and clean.

Andrew_373761

Hey man, are you one of the creators of the Conrol Freak? Your description of your hypothetical product really describes it...

Andrew, Sorry for late reply. Yes, Been Busy! You should have seen the product out now. Let me know if you have any comments/feedback? Thanks.