this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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Can anyone recommend what to look for in an induction cooktop? I've only briefly used one at my Mum's place and I hated it. Finnicky digital bastard of a thing, and if your fingers are wet, you can't press the buttons. But it's probably better to cook on than the old electric solid hot-plate thing we have now that takes aeons to either heat up, or two aeons to cool down.
There are models that have knobs, I would look for those. Other things to look for is how many power levels there are, how low the power is before it cycles on/off (lower the better) and how quick those cycles are (faster the better).
Think of it as similar to a microwave. Having power levels 1-20 would give you much more control than one that only gave you 20%, 60% and 100% options. The power cycling is what a lot of microwaves do (except inverter models) - instead of reducing the power, it turns full power on and off. If you are trying to keep something at a consistent simmer that can be a problem, so you want a stove that will do that as little as possible, and if it needs to one that cycles as quickly as possible to reduce the temperature variations.
Yeah, right, I've never seen any with knobs, I'll have to look closer I guess. Thanks!
induction is not about the buttons, induction is the method of heat transfer between the cook top and your pots. Just look for one wiht better phyiscal buttons that are not digital-ish. Miele and Bosch are usually safe bets.
I had a KitchenAid that did well. The oven was stupidly slow but the induction top was very good.
There are a few with knobs but not many. More options there would be good and I think dials are still the best interface. That being said the good touch ones aren't as bad as I expected.
I have used a few different flat panel ones and the miele one my parents recently installed was tolerable despite the fact it was all touch. The lights for the buttons are bright, they work even if a bit dirty / wet (not in a puddle but don't need tho be clean), and it doesn't panic if you move a pot over the buttons.
On the other hand, I've used an Ikea one a bit (my partners mum has one, and she lives at home). It's so shit, the buttons are dim and hard to see, it panics if a pot goes over them and they don't work if a little dirty.
Overall, the touch ones can be bad, but if your go with a well made one like miele they're actually okay.