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A4 Box Induction Cooker

Kerry Beal

By Kerry Beal
in Kitchen Consumer

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
16 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

You've got me still wanting one. Trying to figure out what I'll have to give up to make space for it. How big is it? With no handles on the insert, how hard is it to get it out when it is hot and full of food? My fingers are big and gnarled--they don't easily fit into small cracks.

 

I'll post photos later this morning to show you, but the little white "pot holders" in my photo above are designed to wedge in at the sides of the insert so you can get it out. The footprint is larger than I expected: very close to the footprint of my Cuisinart griddler, but without the handles.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Maison Rustique

Maison Rustique

Posted
Posted
15 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I'll post photos later this morning to show you, but the little white "pot holders" in my photo above are designed to wedge in at the sides of the insert so you can get it out. The footprint is larger than I expected: very close to the footprint of my Cuisinart griddler, but without the handles.

Does it get hot enough to replace the Griddler with it?

 

Deb

Liberty, MO

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

Does it get hot enough to replace the Griddler with it?

 

 

Keep in mind that my Griddler came out of a thrift store and I'm not sure it actually gets as hot as it's supposed to. I got a pretty high temperature with the A4 when I grilled a sandwich, judging by the time it took for the bread to brown. On the other hand, I had to flip the bread (as one would with a skillet) to get both sides browned and the cheese melted. I may have time this weekend to measure temperatures and give you a better idea as to the answer.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Maison Rustique said:

You've got me still wanting one. Trying to figure out what I'll have to give up to make space for it. How big is it? With no handles on the insert, how hard is it to get it out when it is hot and full of food? My fingers are big and gnarled--they don't easily fit into small cracks.

 

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

I'll post photos later this morning to show you, but the little white "pot holders" in my photo above are designed to wedge in at the sides of the insert so you can get it out. The footprint is larger than I expected: very close to the footprint of my Cuisinart griddler, but without the handles.

 

Here are the promised measurements and photos. As I noted above, the footprints of my Cuisinart Griller Gourmet and the A4 box are very similar. The Griddler is slightly larger because of its handle and its attached power cord. The power cord for the A4 box is removable and can be stowed inside the tray along with the other accessories.

 

20241213_091528.jpg

 

The dimensions of the A4 box, as it sits right now and counting handles and knobs, are 15" wide (no photo), 6" tall,

 

20241213_092407.jpg

 

and 10" deep.

 

20241213_092311.jpg

 

So you could stow it in a cubby that's, say, 16" by 11" by 8". If you get the accessories, which I'm still planning to get (the deep dish tray, muffin tray and octopus tray) when they come available, of course there will be a bit more space required. I have no idea how well all those things will nest. The photos and dimensions I'm giving here are the box with both of the included trays inside it.

 

As for removing a hot tray: that may require a bit of fiddling. The fits is fairly tight, but there's a deliberate gap between the rim of the tray and the edge of the box. That gap is intended to allow the thin side of the little silicone "pot holders" at either edge.

 

20241213_093205.jpg

 

It took a little bit of wiggling to actually get the skinny holders worked into their slots so I could grab the pan.

 

20241213_092634.jpg

 

A spatula would probably be helpful for lifting the pan slightly to get the pot holder seated. I wouldn't want to try that with a fully loaded and sloppy tray. Now I understand the cautionary note in the manual, that recommends putting some larger pot atop the tray if there's a lot of liquid.

 

Actually, it may be possible to make some sort of sling around the edges of the tray so you could lift it out by its handles. You know, those silicone turkey lifters, maybe? Here's what the interior, and the bottom of the tray, look like.

 

20241213_095613.jpg

 

Let me know if you have any more questions. FWIW I'm not sure I would get rid of the griddler to get this, but I've only started putting it through its paces. It's going to be wonderful for travel (although larger than the school lunchbox I'd originally expected) and it would be good in a small kitchen, especially if you're usually cooking for only one or two people.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Does it come with a manual?

 

It's a very small instruction booklet. No recipes, but it explains the controls and gives the usual legal cautions. (Incidentally, one of the notes is that the trays should be washed by hand.) If your "Anna's" box doesn't arrive with the instruction booklet, let me know and I'll PM it to you.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

@Maison Rustique, and anyone else who's interested or wants a laugh, here's my suboptimal storage solution for now. I made space for it in this already-full roller cart:

 

20241213_103901.jpg

 

Granted, some of the excess is because the Princessmobile is gone and so far hasn't been replaced yet, but I can also see that I need to start getting rid of excess baking and preserving supplies. (I don't need 2 chinoises any more!) But for the moment, the A4 box has a home off the counter, but easy to reach:

 

20241213_103713.jpg

 

Go ahead, folks -- laugh! But this does show how compact the unit is. And I know that Maison Rustique, like me, is busy rearranging her life and needs information.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted
Just now, Smithy said:

 

It's a very small instruction booklet. No recipes, but it explains the controls and gives the usual legal cautions. (Incidentally, one of the notes is that the trays should be washed by hand.) If your "Anna's" box doesn't arrive with the instruction booklet, let me know and I'll PM it to you.

Thank you.  Interesting about the tray washing.  In the videos I've watched, they say they can be washed in the dishwasher.  Must be a marketing talking point.  I'm looking forward to getting mine, but that is unlikely to happen before late January.  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying reading the comments.  Nice to get the extra trays, too.

 

 

 

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, ElsieD said:

Thank you.  Interesting about the tray washing.  In the videos I've watched, they say they can be washed in the dishwasher.  Must be a marketing talking point.  I'm looking forward to getting mine, but that is unlikely to happen before late January.  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying reading the comments.  Nice to get the extra trays, too.

 

 

Given that it's a Teflon-type nonstick coating, I don't see why it couldn't go into the dishwasher. Maybe I misunderstood which inserts should be hand-washed. I'll look again, but as you can see it's all put away right now. 🙂

 

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

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"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

chromedome

chromedome

Posted
Posted
On 12/12/2024 at 5:38 PM, Smithy said:

I very much like the broad, flat, rather shallow pan for doing this sort of work. It allowed water to evaporate from the spinach quickly, and allowed me to stir the greens easily because the pan is so broad and shallow. [...] Given the pan's size, it will be easier to wash than the skillet I might otherwise have used.

 

The moment the A4 made its first appearance here on the board, my mind immediately said "That looks like an induction version of my old electric skillet..." so these comments made perfect sense to me.

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“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
On 12/13/2024 at 10:47 AM, ElsieD said:

Thank you.  Interesting about the tray washing.  In the videos I've watched, they say they can be washed in the dishwasher.  Must be a marketing talking point.  I'm looking forward to getting mine, but that is unlikely to happen before late January.  Meanwhile, I'm enjoying reading the comments.  Nice to get the extra trays, too.

 

 

 

 

I just finished heating a slice of panettone in it, and had time to reread the instruction booklet. I'm pretty sure I just misunderstood. It says that under no circumstances should the base be put in the dishwasher (very sensible!) but nothing that I can find now advises against dishwasher treatment of the pans. And I agree that their website says very clearly that the pans are dishwasher-safe.

 

Incidentally, this was a fine way of heating the slice -- but I haven't tried microwaving for comparison's sake.

 

20241215_112100.jpg

 

20241215_113724_1.jpg

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

@Smithy  I've always handwashed.  The pans are very easy to clean.   For some reason I never even considered using the dishwasher for it.

 

I agree that so far, at least, the pans have been easy to clean. I'm trying to correct an earlier misstatement.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted

Ordered Tue night, got here Friday (12/13) via UPS. Was around $45 all-in. Hope the accessories go back in stock - I’d like the soup container.

  • Like 5
Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
53 minutes ago, Vapre said:

Hope the accessories go back in stock - I’d like the soup container.

So would I. The other two trays also look useful...or at least fun to play with. 🙂

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted
31 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

Does anyone remember the code to get it free and just pay for shipping?

Anniversary5

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Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Smithy said:

So would I. The other two trays also look useful...or at least fun to play with. 🙂

Agreed, could do some nifty baking, etc. with them.

  • Like 1
Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, ElsieD said:

What are the temperature graduations?

 

According to the manual,

Warm = 149 - 176F (65 - 80C)

Low = 212 - 266F  (100 - 130C)

Med = 320 - 392F (160 - 200C)

High = 374 - 482F (190 - 250C)

 

Other than the On/Off point on the knob, there are no detents so I'm guessing that these temperature ranges depend on where exactly you set the dial. But I don't know that for sure. It might be more related to which particular pan one is using, or it might even mean that the temperature control is not very uniform from one unit to the next!

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted (edited)

IT'S  SMITHY'S  FAULT

See the evidence

 

I bought an A4Box.

Love watching what everyone is cooking.

There is No Room in the kitchen.

Gawd help us. 🤪

 

 

Edited by TdeV
Grammar (log)
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AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

post me about it . . .

 

sitting here, looking at the kitchen area, contemplating where/how I could put in additional shelves/storage . . .

 

I do woodworking, got many mill sawed boards all stickered up and ready for use . . .

I'm sensing all my ideas will begone by DW 'what?' . . .

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