horseflesh

What a great review! And recipes too! I'm especially glad you discussed the plastic gear issue. If I was buying today I think I'd choose the lesser known Nemox even though it's more expensive, because I've always worried about "playing chicken" with the Musso. It's hard to find good ice cream info, thanks @paulraphael!

I had some Costco credit and a need for affordable new pans so I decided to try the Henckels knock-off of Hexclad pans: Hxagon. https://www.costco.com/henckels-hxagon-3-piece-skillet-set.product.4000209381.html A cheap knock-off of an overrated pan, how good could it be? Well, so far I think they are ... Not bad. When searing in the biggest pan, and then making a pan sauce, it was easy to see the heat was pretty even. I was actually very pleased with how my seared pork tenderloins came out. And when I made some caramelized onions in the medium pan, it was ... Fine. No complaints. They are not really non-stick, but low-stick. An egg cooked without oil or butter will not slide around, but can be loosened without destroying it. (I knew this going in but those who are hoping for full Teflon slipperiness will be disappointed.) The pans are easy to clean... In slipperiness and ease of cleaning they seem similar to Circulon hard-surface non-stick pans. These pans also have a perfectly flat and non-textured bottom which makes them good for the Control Freak. The smallest pan isn't quite heavy enough to push down on the CF temp sensor, though. Even with a single egg in it, the small pan sits at an angle, resting on the springy sensor without fully depressing it. It needs just a little more weight to sit flush, so depending on what I am doing with the tiny pan I may need to keep a wooden spoon resting on the edge to maintain good temperature control. For the money these seem to be reasonable pans. If anything interesting happens down the road I will post a follow up.

ChefSteps flogged the heck out of the new CF before it went on sale and their staff was participating in forum chats about it. I doubt ChefSteps would help with a warranty claim but IMHO there is a good chance that they can answer questions. ChefSteps has countless videos featuring the CF as the cooktop too, and they may be able to help with questions about cookware. It's a contact form. Try it out. If you are not satisfied I apologize in advance for wasting your time with the link.

ChefSteps support is good, maybe they can help. https://support.chefsteps.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

The poster frame on that video shows a pan that I have, haha. It's the cheapest possible frying pan from a restaurant supply store. And indeed, it barely works on induction.

For a simple cheese sandwich, cold ingredients grilled at 350F for 3 to 4 minutes per side works fine. But that's with regular bread. (I usually put butter in the pan and plop the sandwich into liquid butter instead of trying to spread butter on the bread.) I am not picking on your bread, but it just may not perform the same.

Now this is interesting, what kind of cooking do you do below 175F?

It's possible that almond bread just isn't great for this application. Even with wheat bread I find that the bread can brown before the insides fully melt, especially with thick bread or if I am putting meats and things in there. I usually put the ingredients that will go inside the sandwich into the microwave for a moment, to get them up at least to room temperature. Then, I finish assembly and put it in the pan.

I'll see if I can figure out a way to get the phone + thermal camera secured so taking pics is easy.

I have a D'arto carbon steel pan and a thermal camera. What temperature should I set?

I have found even a small concavity to be really bad for my CF's accuracy. I had to return a pan for that reason. Emissivity setting is pretty vital unless you are measuring a perfect surface like blackened cast iron, so if you don't trust your thermometers... I find the CF temperature control to be very good but it isn't magic. It's still induction so uniformity is not perfect either. Nor is the sensor. In one thin pot I have, water boils at 212F on the dot. In a different thicker pan, the same kind of boil requires a set point of 218F. I am all about numbers too but I would put away the thermometers for now and try cooking some things and see how it goes... See if you get the results you expect, see how the temperatures look when the pan is more fully loaded.

Like @Dex said, 240V is technically available but little used here. In fact a 240V outlet is often referred to as a "dryer outlet" since that's one of the few routine uses. That Aussie 240V CF is awesome.

Since I have the original I decided to wait. There will be another sale. I am interested in getting another CF for sure, using a legacy burner is no fun any more, haha. I am sure we are all looking forward to detailed reviews from new users.

I love the dedicated time knob on the CF. I hope the timer isn't buried on the home version. There might be enough room on the touchscreen for a dedicated timer. 🤞

The Control Freak may not be perfect but its ability to hold a specific temperature is much better than on other induction burners I have tried, where that feature basically didn't work at all. I have also found temperature-based cooking to be very liberating. If I can get another cooker with the same quality temperature control for a lot less money, I am open to ideas.

That is what mine came with. I contacted support to see if there was an update because I also couldn't find more info on the web site. They assured me it was the latest. (They also said it was the last.) I've been cleaning mine with the same kitchen rag and spray cleaner I use on countertops. The display has been OK so far and I haven't been especially careful about it. But if I wanted to guarantee there were no scratches ever I'd use a microfiber cloth or an old t-shirt. You will love your Control Freak!

After a couple of weeks with the Control Freak, wow, am I happy I got this thing. I am starting to understand why some people on the thread just stopped using their gas cooktop and put Control Freaks up there instead. More than once I found myself saying, "I wish I bought two." Maybe next year if the same deal comes along again!

It's hilarious that my first question when I got the Control Freak was, "how do I just boil water?" Thank you for the links and advice. And for compiling that list of temps, @CanadianHomeChef In my bookmarks I also found this list of temperatures, which perhaps came from earlier in this thread. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1azCSYUU4I25VbHfaPnhOvF_fHplbhMvy/edit#gid=1369374172 (And that list references this cool Breville infographic and some other sources. Thanks, whoever made this!) I have only used my CF a few times now, for boring things like ramen and making quesadillas, but I can already see how thinking in terms of temperature and not power is going to be so cool. Now I have to scan the thread for cookware recommendations, as the only induction pans I have are mediocre. Edit to add: I reformatted the official Breville temperature chart to be easily printable on a portrait page, at maximum size. This did require removing the header and branding (forgive me, Breville). It's attached. Breville Control Freak temperature chart official (resized for printing).pdf

Got my Control Freak! I have just barely plugged it in but it's obvious it is going to require a very different way of doing things. What do you set if you want water to boil ASAP? Maximum speed and 212F / 100C? What if you want water just barely simmering? Technically, that water is still at 100C right? I can imagine the true target temps would depend on your pan too, and how it conducts heat to the central spot. Edit: I see it prints guides like "simmer" and "high" so for crude tasks like boiling and simmering you can just go my the overall percentage?

The Control Freak is 20% off at Breville's online shop right now ($1200). I have a unique coupon that actually stacks and brings it down to $900. I gotta sleep on it, but this may be the year I pull the trigger. I doubt I'll find a better price. EDIT: I did it. Now, where are cool Control Freak user groups and resources, besides this thread?

Hey @Steve Irby one more quick question about your JVR... I cannot figure this out from the manual. When it is pumping down, can you use the Stop button to stop pumping and immediately begin sealing? Or, does it only abort the cycle? I am hoping for the former as when sealing liquids I find it easiest just to watch what is happening, and seal instantly if there is an overflow risk. Edit to add: If I understand this JVR video correctly, at 5:27 he says that hitting the Down button during pumping will skip ahead to sealing. That's exactly what I was hoping for.

This is great to hear, thanks!

@Steve Irby another year has passed, how do you like that JVR Vac100? My mom is looking for a vacuum sealer, so I'm looking for recommendations on units a lot like this, with a good compromise between counter space occupied and interior space... And an oil pump. I've been out of the chamber sealer shopping game since I got my Minipack about 10 years ago so I don't know what the current value picks are... If anyone has suggestions, please lay 'em on me.

That pic from the Prodigy manual could be done in the Control Freak, it's just software if you have the right sensors, which the CF does. In fact, not having a CF yet, that is the kind of thing I thought it also did in addition to temperature control.

Thanks for the alert @CanadianHomeChef. Man, I have been wrestling with this decision for a couple of years now... Quick, someone come tell me that a Hatco or a Vollrath is a better value...