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Setup is easy. Place food on Cinder, choose your temperature, then tap cook.

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How to cook with Cinder

Can I cook from frozen?

Yes, you can place frozen food directly on your Cinder.

Cinder defrosts your food at a low temperature until it reaches 32°F, then it begins cooking like normal.

What are Cinder's dimensions?

Grill Plate

Cinder's two grill plates are 9.75" x 8.75" (Width x Depth).

Product Dimensions

Cinder measures 13" x 17" x 7" (Width x Depth x Height) when closed, and hits a maximum vertical height of just under 18".

Top and Bottom Plate Dimensions

Our heating plates are made of ceramic-coated aluminum. They are a very effective non-stick surface and heat evenly. The top plate is capable of pivoting 1" up and down to maximize surface area contact with your food.

Do I need to use the app when cooking with Cinder?

No, Cinder can be used without the app — just set the temperature manually by turning the dial and waiting until Cinder beeps to let you know your food is ready.

However, the Cinder app provides a better set-it-and-forget process: Select the food you're cooking from a list, choose your desired doneness (e.g. rare, medium, well done), and Cinder will provide you with an estimate for how long cooking will take. This is only an estimate that will get better over time, however, to make sure Cinder has completed cooking your food please wait until the app or Cinder's LCD screen notifies you that your food has reached temperature.

That's all there is to it. We've kept the app simple to make sure you can focus on the things that matter such as unwinding or spending time with your family while Cinder does the cooking.

The Cinder App is currently available for iPad and iPhone, and the Android app will be released shortly.

Can I cook multiple foods at once?

If every item requires the same final temperature, yes, you can absolutely cook them at the same time. Because Cinder holds food at the target temperature indefinitely, even foods that take varying times to cook can be cooked simultaneously — nothing will overcook or dry out while you wait for the rest to finish.

If the foods require different final temperatures, cook to the lowest temperature food, remove the food and continue cooking.

How do I clean the Cinder?

Thanks to the non-stick plates, all you do is wipe down the grills with a damp paper towel and wash the drip tray whenever it fills up. Be sure to let the grill plates cool down slightly before wiping them down. 

Can I leave Cinder unattended?

Yes! The Cinder Precision Grill will cook your food unattended, letting you focus on side dishes (or chatty guests).

You can even run out to the gym and have your post-workout meal ready for you when you get home.

Cinder keeps your food at the target temperature for up to two hours with no loss in taste or texture for you to truly walk away with confidence.

How long can I leave my food on Cinder after it has reached target temp?

Most meats, including beef, chicken, or fish can hold for around 2 hours with no loss in quality. If the target temperature is between 40F and 140F, make sure it isn't in the Cinder for more than 2 hours.

How does the app's time estimate work?

The Cinder app provides you with an estimate for how long cooking will take. This is only an estimate that will get better over time; however, to make sure Cinder has completed cooking your food please wait until the app or Cinder's LCD screen notifies you that your food has reached temperature. Trust your Cinder to do its job and we promise you won't be disappointed.

What cooking techniques can Cinder accomplish?

Because Cinder has both top and bottom grill plates, you can use it either by closing the lid like a countertop grill or panini press, or you can use it open like a pan or griddle.

This means you can grill, broil, pan-fry, sauté, roast, sear, toast, warm, temper and defrost. (Cinder is not ideal for baking, boiling or simmering liquid.)

You can also wrap food in parchment paper to steam.

What foods can I cook with Cinder?

Anything you could put in a frying pan, grill, griddle, or shallow stovetop pan, you can put in Cinder: proteins from duck breast to seared scallops, and vegetables from caramelized apples to silky-smooth caramelized onions.

Here are some of our favorite things to Cinder:

Protein - Fresh, marinated, spiced, and frozen. Beef, pork, poultry, fish, duck, Seafood are sooo good.

Tofu - Tofu steaks and marinated tofu stir-fry.

Eggs - Want to taste the perfect sunny-side-up egg or omelette?

Vegetables - Fresh eggplant, squash, garlic, and Brussel's sprouts, cauliflower

Onions and Peppers - Grilled, fajita-style charred, or caramelized.

Potatoes - Homefries and hash-browns

Other - Pancakes

Desserts - Apple pie filling, grilled peaches

Sandwiches - Grilled cheese, paninis, french toast

How does the Cinder app know when the food is ready?

Cinder measures the thickness of your food based on the top grill's displacement when closed. Then the app takes your food type and target doneness into consideration when monitoring the internal chamber temperature.

The notification that your food has reached temperature is based on real-time data. Cinder runs a patent-pending algorithm to determine when this occurs.

The estimates we provide when your cook starts are simply estimates, which will get better with time. One of Cinder's innovations is that it does not cook your food based on a timer, rather on real-time data from your food.

How easy it it to cook with the app?

Using the app you can tell Cinder what you are cooking and what results you want, and Cinder breaks that into a time and temperature profile. It monitors the cooking process to adjust to your exact food, and can even pause or hold your food at various points in the process.

How is Cinder different than a George Foreman or induction plates?

Control and precision. A typical countertop grill is just an unevenly heated surface — you still need to monitor the process and guess when the food may be done. Even in the best case your food will be unevenly cooked due to temperature variations across the cooking surface.The Cinder Precision Grill uses a patent-pending thermal sensing technology (originally developed for the aerospace industry) to heat its grill plates evenly and constantly to within 1 degree (°F) of precision across the entire surface.

What is sous vide? How is Cinder different from traditional sous vide?

Sous vide is a modern cooking technique chefs use to accurately cook foods: Food is placed in a plastic bag and cooked in a water bath held at a precise temperature, cooking your food slowly as heat dissipates into your food. The reason this is possible is because of the era large thermal mass of the water bath.

Cinder brings this same principle but for the first time ever it does so without using a drop of water and in the approachable and familiar countertop grill form factor.

This is an engineering break-through that redefines the standard for sous-vide cooking. Cinder doesn't require you to vacuum seal your food or wait 40 minutes for your water bath to reach temperature. It doesn't waste all the energy required to bring a bath of water up to your food's temperature either. Thanks to Temp-Sense, its proprietary algorithm, it is able to keep the temperature precise without the need for a clunky water bath.

Finally, whereas sous-vide can only get as hot as boiling water (212°F), Cinder offers the versatility of quickly reaching 450°F to cook and sear your meat and vegetables.

I left the room and my phone lost it’s ‘connection’ to the grill

You do not need to stay in wireless range for the Cinder Grill to cook and update its status when the food is done.

When you step back into range the app will automatically reconnect to your Cinder.

What should I do if something is broken?

We stand behind Cinder and hope you’ll find it as revolutionary as we do, so we provide a one-year manufacturer's warranty.

We extend this policy to units that were used in a normal fashion and remain in normal working order.

It does not apply to water damage, damage from dropping Cinder, damage from placing Cinder close to a heat source like a gas flame, etc.

If something broke or doesn’t work, please try searching these help documents as the solution may be quickly available. If you are still having trouble, please email us at cinder@desora.co

My food is taking much longer to cook than estimated

Please keep in mind that the cook time estimates we provide on the app are simply estimates. Cinder determines when your food is done based on real-time data gathered while cooking. In fact, one of Cinder's technological breakthroughs is determining when your food is done based on real-time data rather than pre-loaded cook times. These time estimates will keep getting better with time.

That being said, please share with us the details of your cook and we will incorporate feedback from our user community to make our time estimations better. Please email us at: help@cindergrill.com

The app temp setting only seems to go to 200°F

On Cinder, you choose the temperature you want your food to cook to. In a traditional oven, you set the temperature of your oven (not your food) and you hope that after timing the cooking process you are pulling the food at the right moment.

Since most foods cook to internal temperatures below 200°F, we have limited the app to that temperature range so that when you walk away from Cinder after using your app you don't have to worry about rushing back to your food.

For most high temperature cooking, turning the dial on the Cinder Grill itself is enough.

What is the best way to clean the cooking plates?

Most of the time you can simply wipe down the non-stick ceramic plates. Sometimes it's helpful to remove them and scrub them a bit with soapy water.

We don't recommend putting them in the dishwasher because water may get into the temperature sensor and cause problems when cooking.

Cooking multiple items at once, Is that really doable?

If every item requires the same final temperature, yes, you can absolutely cook them at the same time. Because Cinder holds food at the target temperature indefinitely, even foods that take varying times to cook can be cooked simultaneously — nothing will overcook or dry out while you wait for the rest to finish.

If the foods require different final temperatures, cook to the lowest temperature food, remove the food and continue cooking.

Temperatures for key techniques

Every cooking technique out there has a coresponding perfect temperature. You've been using them for years, but been guessing at the temperatures with settings on your stovetop.

Below are the temperatures to set your Cinder to for each of the key cooking techniques:

Sweat – Around 225°. Enhance flavor of aromatics. Example: Garlic

Toast – Around 250°. Add flavor to nuts. Example: Almonds

Caramelize – Around 340°. Brown and add nutty flavor. Example: Apples

Panfry – Around 350°. Brown with a little oil. Example: Chicken cutlet

Sauté – Around 375°. Cook meats or produce. Example: Onions

Sear – 450° and up. Develop flavor and color in conjunction with longer, slower cooking. Example: Steak

Temperature suggestions by food type

Each food has an ideal temperature and cook time, use the following reference guide to start creating delicious meals:

Grilled Cheese - 220°F

Fried Egg - 330°F

Caramelized Onions - 180°F

Pancakes - 280°F

Scallops - 118°F

Apples: Caramelize around 300°F

Butternut Squash: 365°F for 20 minutes, then 300°F for 20 minutes

Carrot: Cook tender at 185°F for 6-10 minutes. Brown around 330°F.

Eggs: Fried or scrambled: 275°F for 5 - 10 minutes

Eggplant: 325°F for 10-20 minutes

French toast: 380°F for 5 - 10 minutes

Green vegetables: 180°F for 5 - 10 minutes

Grilled cheese: 325°F for 5-15 minutes

Panini: 350°F for 5 - 10 minutes

A Primer on Temperature Theory

Lower temperatures (below 212° F) - at lower temperatures, we are mainly thinking about doneness and holding time. Doneness is essentially a specific temperature for a specific food type, and when the food reaches that temperature it is done, though the appearance is also affected by how quickly the food came to temperature, freshness, etc.

Foods and their ideal temperatures - holding time is how long the food can stay done at temperature before starting to lose quality and turn mushy. It depends on the type of food and ranges from minutes to days. Foods and their holding times - long cooking periods can tenderize tough meats as collagen is broken down into gelatin. This is where you hear about sous vide 18-hr pork shoulder (for more on our BBQ products check out desora.co). To tenderize, simply leave the food on after it has reach the target temperature (cinder says done or holding.)

Higher temperatures (above 212° F) - at higher temperatures, three key chemical reactions define the end flavor and color of the outside of food. The temperature ranges are broader and more forgiving than when cooking meat to a specific doneness. The reactions and their temperatures are:

Maillard browning - sugars and proteins combine to create thousands of new flavors and aromas and brown the food. High-temperature and dry food accelerates the reaction. The reaction is pronounced from around 280°F to 330°F. Higher temperatures and dryer cooking surface accelerate the reaction. Pro-tip: dry your food before searing for faster and deeper maillard (water vapor brings the cooking surface temperature down towards 212°F.)

Caramelization - the browning of sugar, where sugars are broken down and the color turns brown color and favor becomes nutty. The temperature depends on the type of sugar, and ranges from 230°F to 356°F. If left too long, eventually the taste will become bitter as the original sugar is destroyed. Pro-tip: for more forgiving, unattended cooking, start with the lower end of the temperature range when experimenting with new foods.

Pyrolosis - burning or charring. Too much of this reaction can cause bitterness, though some people like a little bit for visual appeal and hard texture. This happens at higher temperatures, above 400°F.

What's the thickness limit in Cinder?

Cinder can comfortable accommodate food that is 2 inches (5 cm) thick. Cinder can accommodate foods that are thicker than this, but they may take longer to cook. 

Smoke point of oils

Every oil (including butter) has a temperature at which it begins to burn, known as its "smoke point." Cooking an oil at or above this temperature will not only cause the oil to either lose its flavor, or cause a bitter, burnt flavor, it also kills off the antioxidant properties of the oils. Below is a reference list of what some estimated smoke point are for the most common house cooking oils are.

520 °F - Avocado

510 °F - Safflower - refined

450 °F - Sesame - semirefined

440 °F - Peanut

420 °F - Grapeseed

420 °F - Olive oil - virgin

410 °F - Sesame - refined

400 °F - Clarified butter, ghee

350 °F - Sesame - unrefined

350 °F - Coconut oil

350 °F - Butter

320 °F - Safflower - semirefined

320 °F - Olive oil - extra virgin, unrefined

225 °F - Safflower - unrefined

As you can see, only avocado, safflower, and sesame have a smoke point high enough to endure the 450°F of Cinder's sear function.

Primer on food types

Meats - Typically cooking in the range of 125°F up to 160°F. The lower temperatures will be used to choose the doneness of the meat. At higher temperatures, or longer cooking times, there will be tenderizing effects. After reaching temperature and before searing, meat can typically be held for hours with no loss of quality. Meat is typically seared afterwards to create a flavorful crust.

Fish - Fish tends to be cooked to a lower temperature than meats. The hold time between reaching final temperature and searing is minutes rather than hours, maxing out around 20 or 30 minutes depending on the specific type of fish. Searing can be done skin-side only, or skipped completely for a poached texture.

Produce - Higher temperature near boiling is used to break down the cell walls and soften the food. 185°F seems to be the magic number, and the cook time is on the order of 5 - 15 minutes. Higher temperatures can be used to caramelize the sugars (in fruits), try 280°F - 330°F.

Breads - The magic temperature is around 350°F, which is the smoke point of butter. Bread will brown evenly and yet not burn, so that food can be left unattended for 10 or 20 minutes.

Fats - Butter and oils have different smoking points. It is possible to set Cinder just below the smoking point in order to make effective use of the oil.

Eggs - omelets or scrambled eggs respond well to 275°F, care should be taken to avoid the drip tray by pouring slowly, allowing the egg time to solidify. If the top is closed, more moisture is retained for a fluffier result. Fried eggs can be cooked around 350°F, closing may cause the upper cooking plate to contact the top of the yolk.

Cooking Techniques

Use the app for a guided cook to temperature. Otherwise, just turn Cinder on and turn the knob to set the desired temperature.

Cooking to temperature - this is sous vide style cooking where the entire food is brought to a specific temperature, held until ready, and typically seared afterwards. Use the app to set up this kind of cooking and be notified when the temperature is reached.

Searing - Typically done at maximum temperature to reduce the amount of time needed, which means less heat gets into the center of the meat. Creates various flavor reactions such as maillard browning, caramelize sweetening, and pyrolysis char. Using oil will result in a deeper, more even effect as the oil fills in the crevices of the food and aids in heat transfer - chefs say the oil can be wiped off after if healthy eating is a goal. Care should be taken to use a high temperature oil with a smoke point above the searing temperature. Cinder's searing function runs at 450°F and has a 45-second timer when the knob is pressed down. Crank the temp all the way up to maximum to start this mode.

Frying - 350°F seems to be the magic temperature. If Cinder is placed on a flat surface, it is possible to pour enough cooking oil in the center to pan fry, for example battered dover sole. The top can be lowered to reduce splatter.

Browning/Caramelizing - the range of 275°F to 350°F can be used to set and forget vegetables. For example, sliced onions will brown, and brown more, but not burn, around 300°F. Eggplant, brushed with olive oil, responds nicely at the higher end of the spectrum.

Griddle - Cooking with the top open allows Cinder to function like a precision griddle, a cooking surface just at the right temperature for you. This is great for frying eggs, for example.

How are Cinder and Desora related?

Cinder is part of Desora's growing family of cooking products. Empowering users to perfect their cooking, Desora's quality line of smart-kitchen products include Cinder Grill, the iKamand, ProJoe, Classic III, and Big Joe III grills. To learn more about Desora and its next generation cooking products, visit our website at https://desora.co or our Instagram Page @desoracooks.

How will Cinder be shipped?

FedEx Ground will be used in most cases, with the tracking number provided at the time of shipping via email. The shipping address on that specific order at the time of shipping will be used - notice that your main account overview might have a different default address than each specific order.

My Food did not cook as I expected

We are surprised to hear that. Please email us at help@cindergill.com so we can help work through what happened.

Cinder Return Policy

Effective Jan 24, 2023 all sales are clearance sales and are final. Cinder will no longer be accepting any returns. Furthermore, there is no Manufactuere's warranty on units sold. Effective June 30, 2023, the Cinder brand will be ceasing operations.

International Shipping

Cinder no longer offfers international sales. If unit is moved or located outside of the United States of America, Limited Manufacturer Warranty becomes void.

Cinder Voltage and Amperage

Cinder operates at 110V and 20A. 

For International customers, you will need a transformer in order to use your Cinder at 220V.

We recommend a Transformer capable of delivering the right current and voltage and rated at 3000W.