Extra induction burner

I’m moving to a new apartment soon which unfortunately has a (s____y looking) electric stove. Realistically I should be able to do most cooking on that, but I feel like I need a good burner for high temperature searing and boiling large pots of water. Gas is probably right out on the grounds of safety and the expense of bottled gas, so I’m thinking induction. Anyone have recommendations for a powerful, large portable single or double induction burner that I can use on a prep table? Cost is (almost) a non-issue, performance is everything. For reference my current stove has a 20k BTU gas burner, so I’d like to get as close to that experience as possible.

Thanks

I only have experience with home induction units, which create burn zones in the shape of the induction element, much like a stovetop element burner would. Do the better commercial units avoid the burn zones and provide the same evenness of heating as gas?

I've a cheap Amazon induction hob and it works ok as an extra unit, esp when used on wide open for boiling water or searing. Not so good at temp control in the simmering range. I understand that some of the less expensive pro models can be had under 500 that work well through the temp spectrum. No first hand experience here. Worth noting that every pro chocolatier I know uses induction for precision control.

I’ve got a couple of Volrath mirage pro hobs purchased on the bay for about $300 new in box. They work pretty well plenty of power. The only problem I get is temperature overshoot, got to bring it up slowly. You might take a look at Paragon's offering they got a new Bluetooth probe that communicates with the unit for precision like the much more expensive control freak from Brevile/Polysience.

I just picked up cooktek 1800 off ebay. Supposed to be very nice for 1800w/15a.

What is the difference between the several hundred dollar “pro” ones and the ~$100 “home” ones? I’d get a Vollrath or Cooktek or Paragon if I know I’ll get better cooking results than with a NuWave, but the duty cycle will be much more like the typical home use.

Gorilla the Volrath has 100 number point adjustments with 1800watts and 4 switches as opposed to one. This helps with power delivery and evenness as well as durability. As daveb mentioned precision is key, think low temp, for chocolate. The Paragon unit seems more like for home market with less power but with added control via a Bluetooth probe.
The less expensive units don’t feature the controllability that these have but if all you need is to boil water fast then cheaper may be the way to go. I got rid of the crock pot because these made them obsolete.
The one disclaimer for the Volrath is the temp isn’t quite 'accurate' but it’s good enough that I’ve got used to it and I’m ok with that for now. Just waiting for something like the ControlFreak to come down in price to the level of where the Miragepro is now... few more years down the road but I’m covered for now for my needs.
Hope that helps
Cheers-Porter

I bought a Vollrath, we’ll see how it works out! I originally had been thinking in terms of high power, but I’m sure I’ll be happy to have the precise simmer capability. Maybe not as good as a Breville but better than a coil stove, and the other reason why I like gas so much.

The Vollrath Mirage Pro is the best thing going that doesn't require special power. 100 power levels, a knob for control, stainless housing, super build quality. It's head and shoulders above any of the cheap units which, regardless of what they advertise, only really have 10 or 12 levels of power. You can spend a bunch more money for a fancier Cooktek or something, but you don't really gain that much (unless you install 240 power). The only crap thing about the Mirage Pro is that it has no consumer warranty. That, and it's $450 new. But I got a steal on a lightly used model on eBay and haven't looked back.

There's crap like the Paragaon and the Heston (or whatever it's called) that try to do sous vide and temperature control and basically be mini-versions of the Polyscience/Breville Control Freak (which, actually, would be my top choice if you're made out of money). But those are stupid products. Even the Control Freak, which seems like an awesomely designed and built machine, would be of no use to me. Maybe if you do a lot of sugar or chocolate work. Maybe. But that's for sure not me.

Anyway, glad you got the Vollrath. The fine-grained, immediately responsive control makes it the closest thing I've found to cooking with gas that isn't actually gas. Dialing in a simmer is no problem. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

niwaki-boy said:

The only problem I get is temperature overshoot, got to bring it up slowly.

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I've found that this problem is also mitigated by using heavier cookware. I've had some lightweight pans almost overheat, but my carbon steel, cast iron, and heavily clad pans are much better about this. They still overshoot, but not as badly. I like to pre-heat the pan for a good long while if I'm going to be using temperature control, just so it's come fully up to temp, overshot, and then come back down. But once the temp has settled itself out, the control is actually pretty good given that there's no probe involved. I've been able to do some ultra-creamy scrambled eggs bouncing back and forth between the 65C and 70C settings. And when you drop it down to 60C, the eggs hardly cook at all so you can walk away from the stove and leave your unattended. At least with my pan and my burner. YMMV.

>Gorilla.. you’re going to love it!

>btbyrd...Yup the overshoot can be worked around it really is only a concern when you’ve got something temp sensitive in that 150~180ish range cause after that I’m either boiling or frying. I use Volrath optio pans that have a pretty thick bottom and my carbon pans are Dartos which are very heavy gauge steel. Love to cook eggs low and slow... the ten minute scramble egg
And yes the knob is the bomb!

Somebody listed 10 units today on the bay for $260 shipped NIB!! Just checked 5 left....

+1 for Dartos on the Mirage. I either use those or Anolon Nouvelle copper nonstick pans. (Or I'm using a big pot of water and it doesn't really matter). Glad to hear that I'm not the only one doing the 10+ minute egg trick.

Great deal on the bay. I need to let my buddy know; he's about to build a kitchen and I suggested that he get two Mirages instead of putting the rangetop on the kitchen island.

btbyrd said:

+1 for Dartos on the Mirage. I either use those or Anolon Nouvelle copper nonstick pans. (Or I'm using a big pot of water and it doesn't really matter). Glad to hear that I'm not the only one doing the 10+ minute egg trick.

Great deal on the bay. I need to let my buddy know; he's about to build a kitchen and I suggested that he get two Mirages instead of putting the rangetop on the kitchen island.

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Ha.. small world! You’re the person that pushed me over the edge on my first VMP a while back... thanks!
Hope he got in on that deal. There’s one left and looks like he bumped shipping up by 12$

What's the difference between the Mirage Pro (59500) and Vollrath Commercial unit (69500)? I picked up one of the latter on eBay for cheap thinking it might be better, but it might just be older technology in a sturdier case. Any insight?

Yes I think you are correct, older tech.

Glad to hear I made the right choice, too bad I was in such a rush and missed the better price (Leeroy....) especially since I haven’t even used the d____d thing yet as my prep tables are taking a while to ship. I tend to factor heavier cookware so that should be a good match - cast iron, French steel, and some Vollrath Optio.

On the egg topic, I make them the same way: low heat, heavy pan, lots of clarified butter, 10-15 minutes or more and worth the wait. I arrived at this method experimentally and later learned that this is the classical French way to make scrambled eggs.

Sounds like you’re all set! The knob really makes this a joy to use. Those classic French eggs are so easy on this thing :cookingegg: