Anna N

Duh! I went back through all the stuff that came with the Paragon and lo and behold there was the card with probe temperatures on one side and mat temperatures on the other. My bad. Thanks, @blue_dolphin Now I have another question. Has anyone found any value in the app for this product? I have it downloaded but I cannot get it to connect with Bluetooth on my phone. I will only continue to try to solve this problem if it sounds worthwhile.

Hmmm. Don’t remember seeing anything like that! I must go through the literature again. There wasn’t very much of it so it’s hard to understand that I could miss this. Anything is possible. Thank you.

May I ask where you were able to access this information?

From the photograph it seems the width of the spacing between is even greater on the stainless steel grill than on the nonstick grill. I was expecting something that would look much more like a cooling rack so that small shrimp or other small items would not fall through.

Thank you. I have no fig butter but I have fig marmalade and suddenly my mind is weighing the odds. I have at least two blue cheeses. Guess I’m going to have to make some caramelized onions very soon. I just checked back and learned that @Kerry Beal used a temperature of 130°C for her grilled cheese sandwiches up north. I knew it had to be different from what you are using because it took much longer and gave her a lot of freedom to do other things while she waited for the sandwich. It translates to about 265°F so much cooler than you are using.

Click. much of the information in this article is news to even me. I tend to be of the opinion that the rest of the world is mad and only those of us in Ontario and get our milk in bags can claim any level of sanity. whatever at various times the subject has come up so I hope a few of you might enjoy this.

I still have some hopes. While we were up north in Manitoulin Kerry used the Control Freak. I know they are not in the same league but the idea is the same. What impressed me then was the simple way in which Kerry was able to make a grilled cheese sandwich without standing over it. Even though I am not a huge fan of grilled cheese sandwiches the idea that you could do this without risk of cremating the bread impressed me greatly. When I tried this with the Paragon I couldn’t even get the mat to work at all. I think I have finally solved that problem so I might try the grilled cheese once again. I can make it edible as long as there are enough caramelized onions involved and no ketchup within 14 miles😋 but also in my research I came across some information for making creamy scrambled eggs using the Control Freak. I will see if I can find the link and post it as an edit later. Click. Edited to to add the promised link.

Wish I had had spinach but I didn’t. I don’t know that I would want to cut down the richness. I think it’s better to have less and enjoy it than try to modify its claim to fame. It was sort of like an orzotto/risotto? I suppose you could cook the orzo separately and just toss it with a little butter but that would just not be the same. In the end you will have to do what you think is best for your taste.

Not a problem. Click.

Not often do I think of the Joule as a reheating device. I turn mostly to the CSO (Cuisinart steam oven) for that function. But sometimes I want to reheat something that I think is too delicate for even the trusty CSO. Yesterday evening I made butter poached shrimp, scallops and orzo. Yes the orzo was also butter poached. It was incredibly rich. Too rich for me to finish the whole thing. But the leftovers made a great breakfast. 50°C times 20 minutes in a re-sealable bag.

I am thinking it is a berry bowl.

And perhaps that is why you are much more enamoured of it than I am! I have had induction cookers for years and now have a full induction range so that part of it does not impress me one little bit. It was the other things that I thought might be a lot of fun. I think everything about it is now working as it should if not as I wish it would! Your input Has been helpful. Thank you.

Well I managed to get the mat working. But I suspect my physics knowledge is sorely lacking. I had in my head that if I could get a pan to 100° then that heat ought to transfer to some water in that pan so that it would boil. Apparently that’s not the way it works. So somebody please instruct me on why I care what precise temperature the pan is. I have no wish to cook and eat a stainless steel pan. Further I thought that I could use the temperature probe to keep water at a low enough temperature to safely defrost things as I do with my Joule. But the lowest temperature I am allowed to set is 27°C. The Joule at least goes down to 20°C. I think I’ll have a scotch or three.

Speaking only for myself could it be variable quality of the operator?

Bingo. I don’t feel so bad now. I don’t think it’s a setting I will be using very often. As for it not holding a charge I will admit to not turning off the Bluetooth. I shall try that. It all seems so very complicated compared to, for example, the Joule. The day I did not report on my actions I could not get it to stay on mat setting. It kept reverting to direct. I think that may have been due to it not being synced. I think I need an attitude adjustment. Thanks very much for your useful input. @Smithy Din’t take my word for things. I’m just miserable sometimes if everything doesn’t go my way. And it’s not going my way with this toy.

I don’t think I have the patience to deal with the Paragon. I couldn’t even bring myself to post about the last time I used it. I was so frustrated I wanted to throw it across the room. But today I thought I would give it another go and see where it got me. The last time, the one I didn’t post about, I tried to use The gentle mode. All I wanted was water at 84°C. The damn thing stalled at 80° after 40 minutes and I just lost my patience. This morning I tried again using gentle mode and a different pan. First Of all the sensor had lost all its charge although it hadn’t been used and was one would think fully charged. As a consequence I had to wait until it had a minimum charge before I could sync it again. Really? I’m going to blame this on a premature birth. They should’ve let the engineers have it a bit longer before handing it over to marketing! Today I tried a different pan. I started out with water at 35°C. Yes, I could certainly have started with warmer water but I’m testing this unit out to see what it’s capable of. Apparently not much. After 56 minutes timed with a stopwatch it finally reached 84°C. I checked it against my thermal probe and it was only slightly higher than that at 84.5°C.Nevertheless, my four minute poached egg was well over cooked. I don’t blame the unit for that but obviously 84°C in four minutes does not work out to a properly poached egg. Something that takes 54 minutes to reach temperature doesn’t work well for breakfast. It was almost lunchtime before I got my (overcooked) poached egg. Is it just me or is everyone else having a great time with this unit? Am I too critical? That could be.

I have a full induction range! I can’t use it mind you because the surface is covered by the PAG and the A4 box! There is no room for the Paragon there so it is occupying the only prep area that I have in my kitchen. Something has to give. Whether or not this is the way of the future I don’t know, but for the longest time I had two induction hobs that sat on top of my ridiculously useless electric range.

Yep! The best!

I am amused because I just wish it were smaller! There is only me and about half the size would suit me fine.

This is the way I see it. A sharp knife does what I want it to do. A dull knife will do whatever it wants to do. It is uncontrollable and hence dangerous. Obviously you see it differently. Vive la difference.

I second that!

I am with you.

Cheese knives? Buttons? What ever are cheese buttons?

Perhaps I didn’t make myself very clear in fact I know I didn’t. But the CSO all functions I believe require that you set a time and once that time is up it will shut off. I could be wrong on this but that’s the way I’m pretty sure it works.

Thanks! I will have to give that a try.