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New Toy: Breville/Polyscience Control Freak!


CanadianHomeChef

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7 hours ago, KAD said:

I got enabled by these 25 pages to get one of these as well. Off eBay for $850 after taxes and shipping. 
(There was one issue with lines on the display but ah well, I guess I can live with that)

The firmware on this one ( I know no new changes have been made for the longest time) is L1C1.0_1.0.A55, which seems very different from all the other ones on the board so far.

 

nice, that's a good deal. i'd feel good about it.

 

yours has the same fw version as mine: 

  

On 11/17/2019 at 11:54 PM, jaw said:

LbLYA1l.png

 

i bought it on amazon from a 3rd party seller for 1446usd including tax and shipping.

 

i can say that your fw is older than fall 2019, but unless you are seeing a "communication error", there's no need to update. and just fyi, you can't update without sending it in because they changed their policy and no longer provide users with fw updates.

 

btw, i found your auction and saw the pics of your display issue. if you're handy, i bet you could take it apart and fix it pretty easily by fiddling with the data ribbon.

Edited by jaw (log)
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10 hours ago, jaw said:

 

 

btw, i found your auction and saw the pics of your display issue. if you're handy, i bet you could take it apart and fix it pretty easily by fiddling with the data ribbon.

Thank you for confirming the firmware version. 
that’s a good idea I’ll see if I can find some time to open it up and look at where the cable is attached to the display. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Saw these two photos on Facebook this morning. Anyone recognize the appliance? I see that Celsius is printed right on the interface so I looked at Breville Australia and Sage UK, but no dice. Looks almost like it could be a home version of the control freak? Perhaps a prototype? Or has anyone seen it on the market? 
 

I’ve asked the poster of these videos about the model. I’ll let you know if he responds 

95E44D7B-F5B3-4D44-B4D3-449350FB0C59.jpeg

2DAF7334-4373-48E2-A9E7-35A347C3DA56.jpeg

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Sizzle and Sear

Owner/Editor

https://www.sizzleandsear.com/

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all, thank you for all of your info-sharing on the Control Freak!

 

I picked mine up used a few weeks ago and it's been fantastic. I do occasionally get this error though. Has anyone else got this before?

Unplugging it doesn't work every time; sometimes I have to unplug it multiple times and power cycle it.

 

"Sorry there is a Problem

 

Please unplug and re-start me

If this error repeats go to the

Breville website for help"

breville_error.jpg

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3 hours ago, allison_b123 said:

Hi all, thank you for all of your info-sharing on the Control Freak!

 

I picked mine up used a few weeks ago and it's been fantastic. I do occasionally get this error though. Has anyone else got this before?

Unplugging it doesn't work every time; sometimes I have to unplug it multiple times and power cycle it.

 

"Sorry there is a Problem

 

Please unplug and re-start me

If this error repeats go to the

Breville website for help"

breville_error.jpg


Never seen that before. I'd recommend calling Breville, it may need a warranty service/replacement.

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Can't remember if it has been exactly that, but I've gotten something along those lines a few times. Though unplugging once has worked for me. Have no idea what the reasons behind that error may be.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What do you use to clean the cooktop.  I'm a bit laid back with my cleaning and the surface gets built up with spilled substances.

Any suggestions for a great, safe cleaner?

How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

Charles De Gaulle, in "Les Mots du General", 1962

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5 hours ago, md8232 said:

What do you use to clean the cooktop.  I'm a bit laid back with my cleaning and the surface gets built up with spilled substances.

Any suggestions for a great, safe cleaner?

 

I use this.  Works like a charm.

20201217_185025.jpg

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On 12/17/2020 at 2:43 PM, jbates said:

If anyone needs (another) ControlFreak, subscribers to ChefSteps' StudioPass are having a 15% off sale (save $225!) until December 23, 2020 when purchasing through polyscienceculinary.com

 

 

I'm here because I have that opportunity and I am trying to figure out if it is worth it. I am a super serious home cook with other crazy appliances, so I am definitely interested in the Control Freak. I can't yet tell if it's merely very cool, or life changing like sous vide was. If any fans or haters want to weigh in I am really interested in what you have to say!

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On 9/10/2020 at 4:19 PM, JasonsCookingAdventures said:

As a note, I'm measuring the temperature using a no-name (cheap) IR thermometer. Perhaps that could be off calibration by 20 degrees (or issues with emissivity)?

 

If you have not set the emissivity specifically for the kind of surface you're measuring, it can be way off. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, horseflesh said:

 

I'm here because I have that opportunity and I am trying to figure out if it is worth it. I am a super serious home cook with other crazy appliances, so I am definitely interested in the Control Freak. I can't yet tell if it's merely very cool, or life changing like sous vide was. If any fans or haters want to weigh in I am really interested in what you have to say!

If you're serious about repeatability with your recipes then the CF is a great investment. I'm very OCD with my recipes so now I can make them perfectly every time. Perfect pancakes, none of the throw-away-the-first-one nonsense, just-so scrambled eggs, etc.

 

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sometimes, i wonder if the CF is actually necessary or worth it. this is not one of those times. the CF shines in candy and sauce making.

in this case, it was trivial to make syrup without scorching or caramelizing anything.

 

i candied some aji lemon drops (C. baccatum).

 

1013534900_ajilemondrops.thumb.jpg.1a894c78a036699e3ba058c17c22c380.jpg

 

2098195579_cutlemondrops.thumb.jpg.a64f92d732d2d7a5ea8ad373ee1ceffe.jpg

 

ingredients:

  • 350g water
  • 250g sugar
  • 2g citric acid
  • 3g salt
  • half a lemon
  • 360g aji lemon drops (cut, destemmed, and deseeded)

 

meticulously cutting and cleaning the peppers is BY FAR the most time consuming part. you don't have to do this i guess, but i'd at least cut them in half. i just think the small, clean pieces eat better, and removing the placental tissue makes the heat level very tolerable to most people. the pepper weight above is after cleaning and cutting.

 

the sugar, water, citric acid, and salt were combined in a saucepan. the lemon was squeezed in as well, and the rind was then sliced into 1cm strips and added to the saucepan for extra pectin.

 

PXL_20201116_111727244.thumb.jpg.61255f81e20526ee6ffcd28652a57400.jpg

 

T+0

1) sucose inversion (acid-catalyzed hydrolysis):

the CF was set to 215°F in pan control mode (cookware contact sensor), and the mixture was heated for 30 minutes at slow/medium power as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. it was stirred to get everything dissolved while it came up to temp.

 

PXL_20201116_112605667.thumb.jpg.5223982c60b978fe3f24c41619329810.jpg

 

T+30min

2) pepper candying:

the lemon rind was removed, and the peppers were added. the setpoint was raised to 232°F, and the mixture was gently stirred until the syrup hit >230°F (thread stage) as measured by thermapen (about 15min). it was necessary to tilt the pan and let the syrup pool up to get a good reading. at this point, the peppers were translucent.

 

PXL_20201116_115556833.thumb.jpg.901f683994b2dfbc0698a917392f2d85.jpg

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PXL_20201116_120840183.thumb.jpg.9218ba7c6bc223fe39c6e7fee5007e11.jpg

 

T+45min

3) jarring:

pour them in a jar, let cool to room temp, and put in the fridge. they keep a long time. if you want, you can prop up one side of the pan on something to let the excess syrup drain away. sometimes, i do this and put the syrup in a separate container because i don't like the candied peppers super syrupy.

 

PXL_20201116_120958909.thumb.jpg.b0b2bb857b4a79de8a5a530888ecd8fb.jpg

 

enjoy them on stuff like pancakes, sandwiches, pizza, etc.

 

yield: about 430g (somewhat less than a pint)

 

PXL_20201106_034149684.thumb.jpg.8314a78d6ee1670ef732ff60300c21be.jpg

Edited by jaw (log)
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Man, I am gonna have to get a CF, aren't I? 

 

One of my interests is making candy sugar syrup in various grades of darkness, as it is an important ingredient in some kinds of beer... and I am an avid homebrewer too. The CF looks ideal for that. 

 

 

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I’m trying to caramelize onions for the onion soup recipe in the Bouchon cookbook. The recipe has this process take place for 5 hours over low heat. Any idea as to what temperature low translates to on the CF?

Edited by ErwinR
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4 hours ago, ErwinR said:

I’m try to caramelize onions for the onion soup recipe in the Bouchon cookbook. The recipe has this process take place for 5 hours over low heat. Any idea as to what temperature low translates to on the CF?

@CanadianHomeChef has a nice temp chart that suggests 275 deg F for caramelized onions. I’ve had good results with that temp. 

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29 minutes ago, ErwinR said:

Thanks for the help. How much time does it take?

 

Once they get sizzling, I cover the pan for ~ 45 min, stirring occasionally.  Then remove the lid and stir more frequently for another half hour or 45 min. That timing is going to depend on how many onions you use, how wet they are and the size and shape of your pan.  

In my kitchen ~ 4 lbs of onions in a 12-inch cast iron skillet will go from here:

IMG_3229.jpeg.e9c1d9dafb285155d8432330b9205f82.jpeg

 

Through here, where I've removed the lid and have been stirring a bit:

IMG_3230.jpeg.ca2b44d4133febf5c257a85b16683a6e.jpeg

 

To here, where I have about 1.5 cups of nicely caramelized onions:

 IMG_3232.jpeg.53a477f417ffc6e2cdcb97aa0ff7b320.jpeg
 

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2 hours ago, ErwinR said:

Has anyone had a problem with the CF not recognizing the pan material as being suitable for induction cooking?

I've had it tell me a pan was too small and had to move it around a bit to get it recognized.

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