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Another player enters the sous vide field: Paragon Induction Cooktop

MSRadell

By MSRadell
in Kitchen Consumer

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Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, Smithy said:

The Paragon is now down to $59.97 at RC Willey. It's looking more tempting...even though I wouldn't be able to play with it for a few months.

Looks as if it’s smarter to buy another unit than attempt to replace my damaged sensor. I can get no response from emails. 

  • Sad 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, Smithy said:

The Paragon is now down to $59.97 at RC Willey. It's looking more tempting...even though I wouldn't be able to play with it for a few months.

 

Why don't you drop by their store?

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Why don't you drop by their store?

 

 

We aren't close enough to make that practical. Shipping charges would be cheaper than fuel.

  • Sad 1

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

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted

I finally got around to trying the Paragon for deep frying.  I used this pot, the Cook N Home one that @mgaretz recommended earlier in this thread.  Not something that would be suitable for large scale cooking...or maybe even normal scale cooking but good for me.  Not too wide but deep enough to avoid splatter. 

Set it at 350°F on rapid precise and aside from a < 10 degree overshoot at the very beginning, the temp tracked with my Thermapen checks. 

 

The end result was not a success (it was declared an abomination by at least 2 esteemed members 😮) but the frying process worked fine.  At one point, I thought the food had gotten stuck to the pot because I couldn't seem to get it out but it turned out that my metal utensil was stuck on the magnet holding the probe  🙃

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

my metal utensil was stuck on the magnet holding the probe  🙃

Yeah it takes the mind a minute or three to realize what has happened. 

  • Like 2

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Anna N said:

Yeah it takes the mind a minute or three to realize what has happened. 

 

That aspect of induction cookery never occurred to me before now!

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

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

That aspect of induction cookery never occurred to me before now!

It’s not really an aspect of induction cooking.  It’s specific to the method  that Paragon uses to secure the sensor to the cooking vessel. 

  • Thanks 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

  • 2 months later...
tazerowe

tazerowe

Posted
Posted

I'll say the Paragon worked very well when doing a long-cook, temperature controlled ramen broth.  Way easier than trying to hold 190F on the stove for 10 hours, and yet it could handle higher temperatures that I don't get on my old PID-controlled crock pot for the brief boil in the middle of the recipe.  

  • Like 3
  • 2 months later...
tazerowe

tazerowe

Posted
Posted

And now, with just a handful of uses, my probe won't charge.  The low battery light just stays on, and it doesn't work plugged into the charger.  No response from FirstBuild on warranty.  Any one else have this and get anything working?

  • Sad 2
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, tazerowe said:

And now, with just a handful of uses, my probe won't charge.  The low battery light just stays on, and it doesn't work plugged into the charger.  No response from FirstBuild on warranty.  Any one else have this and get anything working?

 

I'm sorry to hear that.  Mine (knock on wood) is still working.  When I purchased it I figured I'd be SOL if anything happened to it. 

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

It might be a charging cable issue.

 

My Paragon is in use as we speak, pressure cooking Marcella beans for dinner.  I can sit here in a comfortable chair forty feet away watching the app in case the pressure cooker blows.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

Vapre

Vapre

Posted
Posted (edited)

I hope you can get it charging again, hopefully another cable/charger combination helps. Remember that you can check the battery level in the app. See my earlier post:

 

My current Paragon troubles are as follows: On a couple occasions, I have set the probe for 185F in a gallon of milk for the initial heat-up for yogurt. Both times it has hung around 180 while the milk boils furiously. I'm a little befuddled by this. In the past I'd get the unit beeping at 185, correct milk temp, and no boiling/boil-overs. The probe was around 35-40% battery, maybe a recharge will help. If anyone has any other ideas or similar troubleshooting experience, let me know.

Edited by Vapre (log)
tazerowe

tazerowe

Posted
Posted

Sadly, I've tried several chargers and the app doesn't recognize the device either.  FirstBuild's warranty claim email and website seem to be dead ends.  We'll see about social media.

  • 1 month later...
tikidoc

tikidoc

Posted
Posted
On 1/10/2020 at 12:54 AM, Smithy said:

The Paragon is now down to $59.97 at RC Willey. It's looking more tempting...even though I wouldn't be able to play with it for a few months.

 

Looks like they don’t ship - only local pick up. Anyone know of somewhere else reliable to get one? The only places that come up in my search are companies I have never heard of and can’t find much on. I’m afraid of getting ripped off. Or anyone local to an RC Wiley willing to ship a couple out?

  • 2 weeks later...
dtremit

dtremit

Posted
Posted
On 7/11/2020 at 5:12 PM, tikidoc said:

 

Looks like they don’t ship - only local pick up. Anyone know of somewhere else reliable to get one? The only places that come up in my search are companies I have never heard of and can’t find much on. I’m afraid of getting ripped off. Or anyone local to an RC Wiley willing to ship a couple out?

 

I suspect this means they are getting very low on stock -- I bought mine from RC Willey and at the time they were happy to ship it out.

tikidoc

tikidoc

Posted
Posted
On 7/25/2020 at 11:48 AM, dtremit said:

 

I suspect this means they are getting very low on stock -- I bought mine from RC Willey and at the time they were happy to ship it out.

Turns out the website says they don’t ship, but if you call them and get through to the right people (online customer assistance) they will ship. Will update when I get it...

  • Like 4
fledflew

fledflew

Posted
Posted

@tikidoc I just solidified plans yesterday to drive up to Oregon and will be passing through Las Vegas this weekend.  I was actually going to jump on this thread and see if you wanted me to grab you one.  I'm glad you got it sorted though.  I picked up (exchanged, actually) my unit at the RC Willey location in Henderson last November.  I've only used it few times (so busy with other stuff), but it's been a handy device for deep frying and long steady low temp cooks.  If anybody else wants one and isn't able to sweet talk a customer service agent to ship it out, let me know in the next day or so and I'll pick it up for you.  

  • Like 4
  • 4 weeks later...
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2020 at 11:16 AM, blue_dolphin said:

I finally got around to trying the Paragon for deep frying.  I used this pot, the Cook N Home one that @mgaretz recommended earlier in this thread.  Not something that would be suitable for large scale cooking...or maybe even normal scale cooking but good for me.  Not too wide but deep enough to avoid splatter. 

Set it at 350°F on rapid precise and aside from a < 10 degree overshoot at the very beginning, the temp tracked with my Thermapen checks. 

 

The end result was not a success (it was declared an abomination by at least 2 esteemed members 😮) but the frying process worked fine.  At one point, I thought the food had gotten stuck to the pot because I couldn't seem to get it out but it turned out that my metal utensil was stuck on the magnet holding the probe  🙃

 

 

Some while ago I obtained a deep fry basket for one of my Fissler pressure cookers.  The problem is I can find no way to use the basket with the probe.  I could be wrong but I doubt the Control Freak probe would work much better.  I tried using the Paragon mat for deep frying but the oil never got quite hot enough.

 

I'm about to go fry some potatoes, soon as I finish my mai tai, over direct heat -- in case you never hear from me again.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm about to go fry some potatoes, soon as I finish my mai tai, over direct heat -- in case you never hear from me again.

 

I would not recommend direct heat on a mai tai. Do be careful. 

 

I had the same fry basket situation.  The probe is too big to fit in between the basket and the inside of the pot so I haven't used the basket. 

 

Good luck with the potatoes.

 

 

  • Haha 1
JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I would not recommend direct heat on a mai tai. Do be careful. 

 

I had the same fry basket situation.  The probe is too big to fit in between the basket and the inside of the pot so I haven't used the basket. 

 

Good luck with the potatoes.

 

 

 

There was a comma in there.  Nonetheless the potatoes came out great.  I heated the oil (not using the Paragon) on high till the Thermapen read close to 180C.  Added the potatoes in the basket and cooked for four minutes.  Hard to ask for better.

 

  • Like 2

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

  • 9 months later...
blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, dtremit said:

I noticed when browsing appliances recently that the new GE induction ranges offer a very familiar looking, optional bluetooth cooking probe.

 

They also appear to support Hestan Cue pans.

 

Interesting they give a limited temp range of 85 - 200°F for that unit.  I've used the Paragon for deep frying and jam making without issue.  Wonder if they had problems with those higher temps. 

JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Interesting they give a limited temp range of 85 - 200°F for that unit.  I've used the Paragon for deep frying and jam making without issue.  Wonder if they had problems with those higher temps. 

 

My guess is Celsius.  Nowhere that I could see did they mention Fahrenheit.

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

blue_dolphin

blue_dolphin

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

My guess is Celsius.  Nowhere that I could see did they mention Fahrenheit.

 

 

 

That was my first thought, too, but the user reviews suggested otherwise so I scrolled down and found this on the second page of the Q&As.  Bolding is mine:

Quote
· 4 years ago  

Hello LookingForGiftsForHer,
Thank you for your question. I am happy to help. The JXSOUSV1 works with select Monogram and Cafe induction cooktops. Check the product specifications or Related Parts Accessories for your model to determine whether the Precision Cooking Probe can be used.

The probe uses Bluetooth technology to communicate directly with the cooktop to maintain the temperature you set between 100-200 degrees F. The probe will keep the temperature within your pot or cooking vessel within 1 degree. The Precision Cooking Probe can be used for slow cooking, simmering, and advanced cooking techniques like Sous Vide. It's useful currently for chocolate applications, ie. tempering, holding melted chocolate for dipping, ganache, etc.

Thank you for checking with us.

 

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