You can sous vide on the induction cooktop of GE's newest stove

A look at GE Appliances' latest line of wall ovens and stoves shows that the manufacturer has adopted a "more is more" motto for its cooking products. GE has included Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, extra burners and updated user interfaces in the latest cooking appliances in its Profile and Cafe lines, which became available today. The stoves will cost $1,299 to $3,999, and the wall ovens will cost $2,499 to $3,399.

The highlights of GE's new appliance lineup are the Cafe series electric slide-in stoves with induction cooktops. These stoves will come with a Bluetooth-connected temperature probe that connects to your smartphone or tablet so you can control cooktop temperatures down to the degree. This is same approach used by the Paragon Induction Cooktop, developed by GE's "FirstBuild" microfactory/maker space in Louisville, Kentucky. 

The combination of the Cafe stoves' induction burners and the connected temperature probe means you can sous vide (a method of cooking that requires a temperature-controlled water bath) on your stovetop without needing to buy an additional small appliance for the task. 

Here's how the new Cafe series stovetops work: You set the temperature at which you would like your food to cook. You attach the probe to the side of your pot (it snaps on thanks to a magnet) with the temperature sensor touching your cooking liquid. The probe measures the temperature of what's inside the pot, then sends that info via Bluetooth to your device and the stovetop. The burners then automatically turn the heat up or down to get to your food to its desired temperature. 

Here are other new features that GE will include in its new stoves and wall ovens:

• The wall ovens will work with the Drop Recipes iOS app so you can find a recipe and preheat the oven via Wi-Fi from within the app. Drop, a company that previously created a smart kitchen scale, had previously integrated its recipe app with a series of wall ovens from Bosch.
• The wall ovens will include a 7-inch interactive display. We've seen similar touchscreen controls and guided cooking in premium brands, such as Jenn-Air. 
• The gas and dual-fuel models of the Cafe slide-in stove come with six burners in the standard 30-inch width (most cooktops on a standard stove have four or five burners).

GE has spent the past few years connecting its kitchen appliances to the Internet of Things. Its Wi-Fi-connected appliances work with the free automation service IFTTT and Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant voice-controlled helpers. Now that GE Appliances is in the hands of the world's leading appliance manufacturer Haier, the company will likely continue its aggressive push to connect more of its products to the internet.