ᐅ Does anyone have experience with an IKEA induction cooktop?

I chose a cooktop with a slider control, so I can select each power level directly.

But something like this is not available from IKEA, is it?

Best regards
Sektionschef

Sure, take a close look at the control panels. For example, Smaklig has it. The product description states: "Control panel with touch control and a slider to adjust the heat. The desired temperature can also be selected directly by pressing."

Hello Boss!

Ours is already over 2 years old and is the Framtid HIN4S model - which is no longer available at IKEA. Despite being two years old, the surface still looks good. Of course, there are some scratches here and there, but we do use it.

The operation is simple and basically trouble-free. Sometimes you need to tap the touch panel again with slightly wet fingers, but it always responds as expected. We retired the electric kettle and switched to an Alessi whistling kettle. Hot water is ready ultra quickly with the booster set to P.

With our cooktop, you can select the power levels directly, which, as mentioned, is simple and works well!

Cleaning is also usually easy and hassle-free.

fotokatze

Fotokatze, does your cooktop also have a slider?

Best regards,
Sektionschef

The entire cooktop has a slider, which you can recognize by the 4 horizontal lines with levels. The successor model is Högvärdig.

I always make sure to wipe the bottom of the pot with a cloth before placing it on the cooktop, and yet I already have another scratch on the glass. However, this can happen with any glass-ceramic cooktop, whether induction or traditional.

Fotokatze, does your cooktop also have a slider?

Regards,
Section Chief

So, Chief,

I'm not exactly sure what you mean. The cooktop has 10 levels arranged in a horizontal line for each cooking zone: 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-P. You can tap directly on the 6 to select level 6. So you don’t have to slide your finger from left to right—starting at 0 and moving up to the desired power level. The chosen cooking level is shown on the corresponding seven-segment display. I hope I explained it clearly. If you’re really interested, I can take a photo and post it in the forum. On the left side, there is also a main switch on the cooktop, which of course has to be on for it to work. You just tap that once.

The IKEA expert has already explained this as well!

Regarding scratches: I don’t find them a problem at all. We have really heavy and large pots and pans, up to 34cm (13 inches) in diameter. It’s sometimes unavoidable that a small grain or something gets caught when sliding, shaking, or turning the pan between the cooktop and the pot. However, the surface is not very sensitive. After two years, it’s no longer like new out of the box, but it doesn’t look badly damaged. I have no aesthetic issues with it!

By the way, we recently discovered canning. When I heard that most diced Italian tomatoes actually mostly contain Chinese tomatoes—because as long as one processing step happens in Italy, the product can be labeled as Italian diced tomatoes—we quickly used our large 34cm (13 inches) pot to can 8 jars of 0.5 liters (0.5 quarts) with tomato pulp. The cooktop handled it perfectly.

I used an electronic thermometer with an external probe placed in the cooking water to monitor it closely. We wanted to reach the "canning temperature" of 80°C (176°F) moderately fast, so we started at level 8. It took about 10 minutes to get the large pot to 80°C (176°F). Once it reached 80°C, we first reduced to level 6. The cooktop maintained 80°C very well. After about 10 minutes, it slowly rose to 81°C (178°F), so I lowered to level 5. It then stabilized around 79°C to 80°C (174°F to 176°F), before rising above 81°C again after another 10 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, we used level 4 to hold the temperature at 80°C (176°F) steadily. Then 8 jars of canned tomato pulp were ready—guaranteed with Italian tomatoes!

Since then, we have also canned two batches of chunky apple compote for 35 minutes at 90°C (194°F). That worked just as well.

We are very pleased with how precisely the cooktop can be adjusted.

The €80 to €200 (about $85 to $210) you might spend on a dedicated electric canner can be completely saved. It’s better to buy a 34cm (13 inches) diameter tall pot that fits 2 x 4 0.5 liter (0.5 quart) jars stacked inside. Then you can use the pot for other purposes as well, avoiding having an additional appliance that you rarely use.

fotokatze