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PanPerfect keeps an infrared eye on hot pans

PanPerfect keeps an infrared eye on hot pans
PanPerfect can reportedly read pan temperatures up to 300 ºC (572 ºF)
PanPerfect can reportedly read pan temperatures up to 300 ºC (572 ºF)
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PanPerfect is mounted on the wall behind the oven
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PanPerfect is mounted on the wall behind the oven
When PanPerfect is initially installed, you angle it so that its downward-facing camera can take in all of the oven's burners
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When PanPerfect is initially installed, you angle it so that its downward-facing camera can take in all of the oven's burners
PanPerfect can reportedly read pan temperatures up to 300 ºC (572 ºF)
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PanPerfect can reportedly read pan temperatures up to 300 ºC (572 ºF)
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When it comes to cooking in your oven, things are pretty straightforward – you simply set the temperature to the exact number required. For stove-top cooking, though, you have to estimate if the saucepan is at more or less the right temperature. PanPerfect offers a way of knowing exactly how hot it is.

Developed by Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur Keh Ho, PanPerfect is a Wi-Fi and infrared-camera-equipped device that's mounted on the wall behind your oven. When it's initially installed, you angle it so that its downward-facing camera can take in all of the oven's burners. Using the device's touchscreen display, you then assign each burner as a distinct heat zone.

Once you're ready to roll, you turn on the burner beneath your pan, then use either the touchscreen or an accompanying smartphone app to input the temperature that you wish it to reach before you start cooking. PanPerfect will proceed to monitor that zone, using its infrared camera to analyze the thermal signature of the pan's cooking surface. Once it reaches the right temperature, you'll be alerted via the app.

PanPerfect is mounted on the wall behind the oven
PanPerfect is mounted on the wall behind the oven

You can also access a collection of recipes on the app, which provide the cooking times and temperatures for a variety of foods. Additionally, if the pan should go on to get too hot once you start cooking, both the app and the device itself will sound an alarm.

PanPerfect's battery life is a claimed three hours per 1-hour charge, although it can also be plugged directly into a wall outlet. It's currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, where a pledge of US$99 will get you one, when and if it reaches production. The planned retail price is $189.

Source: Kickstarter

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2 comments
2 comments
Trylon
I'm happy with my induction cooktop. Built-in temperature sensing for each burner and it can actually shut off the burner if a pot boils dry or overheats. Plus electronic timers for automatic shutoff. They're on microwave ovens, so why don't people demand timed shutoff as a mandatory feature? And finally the speed of induction heating, comparable to a gas burner and leaving electric heating elements in the dust.
ljaques
That's an excellent idea, Keh Ho, but I'll replace a burnt pan once ever seven or so years for a lot cheaper than your expensive device. I picked up a similar device for $12 on ebay in the form of an IR point and shoot thermometer. I'd love to know when my omelette pan is the right temp to give me a good brown crust, but I guess I can do that with the p&s thermo, can't I? The thermometer for the oven could probably do it, too, with its corded thermocouple and alarm. That was an $6.49 investment. Judging by the response on Kickstarter (A quarter million dollar goal?), it may not ever get produced. Concept: brilliant. Marketing savvy: weak. At $20 a pop, you could have sold a million a week, easily netting a million within 6 months.