Another player enters the sous vide field: Paragon Induction Cooktop

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@JoNorvelleWalker  What temperature did you set the Paragon to?

 

I set the Paragon to rapid precise at 375F.  The top of the Lodge aebleskiver pan didn't get that hot.  The Lodge does not have much metal in contact with the Paragon.  I was surprised and pleased that the pan worked on the Paragon at all.

 

I don't remember my surface thermometer reading but the cooking temperature was probably about 350F-360F.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

It pays to read the manual.*  Last night I was deep frying chicken and potatoes.  As I added my potatoes for their second fry the Paragon beeped and crashed.  I assumed the charge on the battery of the Bluetooth adapter had run out.  But no, there is a light to indicate that condition.

 

All I would have had to do to continue cooking was to press the start button within one minute.  I feel like a Boeing pilot.

 

 

*In particular the Safety Note on page 5.

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Nothing ground breaking, but last night I made bouillabaisse in a Le Creuset.  I'm sure the stovetop would have sufficed, however I chose to use the Paragon.  No mat, no probe.  Simple, dumb induction heating surface.  Even so the Paragon made my little 24 cm Le Creuset seem responsive.

 

[Anna N]

26 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Even so the Paragon made my little 24 cm Le Creuset seem responsive.

Induction will do that.😂 can’t remember life without induction. 

[fledflew]

For those that ordered a Paragon from RC Willey, did it include the mat or instructions?  I finally got around to unpacking mine and there are no instructions or mat.  On the RC Willey product page, it shows a picture of a pan of bacon using the mat and both the description section and feature section mention the mat.  I was under the impression that the mat was included, but I don't have instructions to verify what should be in the box.  

[lemniscate]

3 minutes ago, fledflew said:

For those that ordered a Paragon from RC Willey, did it include the mat or instructions?  I finally got around to unpacking mine and there are no instructions or mat.  On the RC Willey product page, it shows a picture of a pan of bacon using the mat and both the description section and feature section mention the mat.  I was under the impression that the mat was included, but I don't have instructions to verify what should be in the box.  

Mine had the mat.  But the instructions really didn't show the use of the mat, just the external controller.

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, fledflew said:

For those that ordered a Paragon from RC Willey, did it include the mat or instructions?  I finally got around to unpacking mine and there are no instructions or mat.  On the RC Willey product page, it shows a picture of a pan of bacon using the mat and both the description section and feature section mention the mat.  I was under the impression that the mat was included, but I don't have instructions to verify what should be in the box.  

 

I ordered from RC Willey.  It did include the mat. Included instructions were fairly minimal: a tri-fold red "quick start" card, a temperature card and a 12 page manual that's not particularly detailed.

Do go through all the packing materials carefully as I know there was some part that I almost threw away because I thought it was part of the packaging. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My Paragon came with the mat and instructions.  (Though I have unpacked only one of the three Paragons I have.)  I thought the instructions were quite adequate.  Just be sure to read them.

 

But I seem to remember reading the original version of the Paragon did not have a mat.  Check if the instructions say anything about a mat.  Maybe you received an old model?

 

 

[fledflew]

I took all the packaging out of the box and checked again - no mat and no instructions.  I'll give the seller a call today to get this sorted out.  Thanks for all your help!

 

[fledflew]

RC Willey's customer support was very helpful in setting up an exchange after explaining my situation to them.  I was in Las Vegas for the long weekend so opted to just do the exchange in-store/in-person since they have locations there and receiving shipments at my apartment is tricky.  With the exception of the 40 minute wait in their pickup area after the paperwork was processed, it was quite painless and I now have a paragon with all of the parts (fingers crossed that everything works).  I should have a chance to play with it sometime within the next week or so.  Thank you all again for the prompt feedback last week.  

[lemniscate]

The Paragon is still ~$70 on the RCWilley site, BUT no longer available for online orders, in-store purchase only.   Shame, I had been kicking around grabbing another one.  I am no where near an RCWilley store.

[fledflew]

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

The Paragon is still ~$70 on the RCWilley site, BUT no longer available for online orders, in-store purchase only.   Shame, I had been kicking around grabbing another one.  I am no where near an RCWilley store.

 

I will be back in Las Vegas again in Mid-January.  If they still have them in stock and you're still interested in one, I can always pick one up for you and get it shipped out.  I have yet to play with my replacement since getting it this past weekend (first one was missing parts).  

[lemniscate]

2 minutes ago, fledflew said:

 

I will be back in Las Vegas again in Mid-January.  If they still have them in stock and you're still interested in one, I can always pick one up for you and get it shipped out.  I have yet to play with my replacement since getting it this past weekend (first one was missing parts).  

 

I'll think about it.   You and I are in the same Metro area.   I just bought the A4 induction so I might have reached my 2020 limit on kitchen stuff already!

[chromedome]

13 hours ago, lemniscate said:

 

I just bought the A4 induction so I might have reached my 2020 limit on kitchen stuff already!

 

LOL Might want to move that post to the humor thread...

[chefmd]

This is 8 inch cast iron pan on Paragon.  It seems to be heating much more in the center than on periphery.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, chefmd said:

This is 8 inch cast iron pan on Paragon.  It seems to be heating much more in the center than on periphery.  

 

I have noticed similar.  Has not bothered me.  There is always the Control Freak.

 

[patris]

I took the plunge and bought one a few weeks ago - I could not resist the price. It has taken the place of my old Burton unit and I have not looked back. So far I have used it primarily for eggs (specifically that wonderful fried pita and scrambled egg dish that @Anna N found) and grilled cheese sandwiches, which are so foolproof it’s dangerous.

 

Tonight I wanted to put the probe through its paces so I decided to make a batch of @Kerry Beal’s EGCI caramel. Typically when I make it on the stovetop, the sugar/glucose hardly colors at all during the first cook (to 145c/293f), and the final product is a light-to-medium caramel color. Using the Paragon on Rapid Precise, it developed quite a bit of color in the first phase of cooking - distinctly amber with a definite toasted sugar fragrance - and was quite deep in color by the end of the second stage (121c/250f). I ended up sticking my usual probe thermometer in the pot as it cooked, and when the paragon finally reached 250 my trusty probe read 273! The final product is quite dark - several shades darker than normal.

I kept a little bit outside the frame to check flavor and texture. It has quite a dark caramel flavor, not bitter but getting close. I was pleasantly surprised by the texture, which is chewy and not too stretchy and dissolves quite quickly without getting stuck in the teeth overmuch.

 

I figured it was possible my probe was affected by the induction, so I put some water in another pan and set it to 212 on Rapid Precise, with both my probe and the Paragon probe. When the water was at a full boil my thermometer read 212, but the Paragon didn’t get above 210 even after several minutes. Not sure if that’s an acceptable variation, but I think I will stick to my stovetop for my next batch of caramel.

 

[Kerry Beal]

8 minutes ago, patris said:

I took the plunge and bought one a few weeks ago - I could not resist the price. It has taken the place of my old Burton unit and I have not looked back. So far I have used it primarily for eggs (specifically that wonderful fried pita and scrambled egg dish that @Anna N found) and grilled cheese sandwiches, which are so foolproof it’s dangerous.

 

Tonight I wanted to put the probe through its paces so I decided to make a batch of @Kerry Beal’s EGCI caramel. Typically when I make it on the stovetop, the sugar/glucose hardly colors at all during the first cook (to 145c/293f), and the final product is a light-to-medium caramel color. Using the Paragon on Rapid Precise, it developed quite a bit of color in the first phase of cooking - distinctly amber with a definite toasted sugar fragrance - and was quite deep in color by the end of the second stage (121c/250f). I ended up sticking my usual probe thermometer in the pot as it cooked, and when the paragon finally reached 250 my trusty probe read 273! The final product is quite dark - several shades darker than normal.

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[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

Wonder if you changed to not so rapid not so precise 

 

As reported earlier in the thread with the Paragon set to 375F (190C) in rapid precise mode, I measured 201C with my thermocouple.  That accuracy was more than acceptable for my purpose.  For applications where accuracy is important I would not suggest using rapid mode.  (The instruction booklet says the same thing.)

 

[patris]

No doubt I should have more closely RTFM. I will play around with it some more, but keep the caramels on the range for now.

[blue_dolphin]

On 12/2/2019 at 1:52 PM, lemniscate said:

The Paragon is still ~$70 on the RCWilley site, BUT no longer available for online orders, in-store purchase only.   Shame, I had been kicking around grabbing another one.  I am no where near an RCWilley store.

 

An RCWiley ad for the Paragon keeps popping up for me. When I click through, it shows as available for shipping. 

[DesertTinker]

57 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

An RCWiley ad for the Paragon keeps popping up for me. When I click through, it shows as available for shipping. 

I see it too, it’s too late for Christmas delivery, but still shippable.

[lemniscate]

Since I got the A4box, I'm out for a while on new acquires, I hope (self restraint, ain't) 

[Anna N]

 

Santa just made me a member of the Paragon club!  And for half an hour I have been tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to turn on the sensor. I don’t know about anybody else but I didn’t see anything about needing to charge the sensor before trying to turn it on. I haven’t had a thing to drink yet this morning even though it’s Christmas.  

[patris]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

 

Santa just made me a member of the Paragon club!  And for half an hour I have been tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to turn on the sensor. I don’t know about anybody else but I didn’t see anything about needing to charge the sensor before trying to turn it on. I haven’t had a thing to drink yet this morning even though it’s Christmas.  

 

Yippee and Merry Christmas!  I think I understand what you are saying, but forgive me if I am telling you to do something you have already tried. There is a little button on the right hand side of the sensor - facing away from you if you have the mat on and the sensor on your right. Press that in for a second; the bluetooth icon will flash three times on the face of the sensor and the display on the unit will flash "Sync". From there you should be able to select your cooking mode and get started.