ᐅ Switching to induction cooking – how has your experience been?

guckuck2 schrieb:

I don’t see how it could be lost, but it’s not impossible since it’s not permanently attached to the cooktop. However, the magnet is strong enough to keep the TwistPad in place, so it doesn’t randomly slide across the glass (and beyond).
But is this really that important in the decision-making process?

Superuser schrieb:

You can also easily stick it somewhere, for example on the extractor hood. The main thing is that it’s magnetic.
The big advantage is that the cooktop won’t turn on, which is a perfect child safety feature.

Yaso2.0 schrieb:

Not lost exactly, but misplaced.

For us, this was a new gimmick when buying a kitchen 8 years ago… advertised in the kitchen showroom as a "child lock," you simply remove it and put it away. But since I valued a seamless surface, the gimmick was discarded. So what :p

Oh yes, relocating it will be expensive and the kitchen will stay without heat for a longer time.

This happened to an acquaintance. Their child hid the device, very effectively.

We have a Neff as well: partly because of the TwistPad (I love it!), and also because the 80cm (31.5 inches) cooktop with downdraft fan fits on a 60cm (24 inches) base cabinet (which fits better into our layout). It also features PowerMove, temperature sensor, etc. – but so far, the user hasn’t taken advantage of those 😳 We’ll see if I feel like looking at the manual this winter...

Superuser schrieb:

The big advantage is that the cooktop then won’t turn on at all, which is a perfect child safety feature.

The cooktop also has an additional child lock, and thanks to induction, nothing happens unless the child
- successfully turns on the cooktop
- then activates a burner
- places a pot or other induction-compatible item on the activated burner

Otherwise, no heat is generated at all. Additionally, the cooktop will switch off again if these three steps are not completed (in time).
It hardly gets any safer, even without a hidden twist control 🙂

Superuser schrieb:

P.S. The new twist controls look and feel cheap now because they use only simple plastic. They do have illuminated gimmicks, though. The response is also not as good anymore. The older twist controls felt much higher quality.

Good to know. A shame.
But that’s the way it is these days. All that’s missing is an app to control the LEDs. And then they call it progress.

Yaso2.0 schrieb:

Honestly, I didn’t even look at Neff appliances because we had already chosen all devices from the Siemens Studioline series, and personally, I prefer when all visible electrical appliances are from the same brand/series.

Makes sense. We have everything from Neff. My wife really wanted the drop-down oven door – completely unnecessary in my opinion, but what can you do. Although the cooktop is flush-mounted anyway and so doesn’t really reflect the “brand design.” It would have been possible to mix brands there.

The retractable oven door is fantastic. Never want to be without it again.

Yaso2.0 schrieb:

With my current cooktop, I usually start sautéing things while I’m still chopping other ingredients. I once read that induction heats up so quickly that it’s better to finish all the chopping first and then start cooking. Can you confirm this?

guckuck2 schrieb:

You can definitely keep your routine if you control the power level. But yes, when you use the full power (boiling, heating water, etc.), the workflow changes. For example, I used to start by boiling water for spaghetti with tomato sauce, then calmly prepare the sauce ingredients. By the time I finished chopping, the water was almost boiling... then noodles in, sauce on. The sauce was done before or just as the pasta finished. With induction power, the noodles will definitely cook faster than you expect, and the water might boil while you’re still chopping.

;) ... I switched from old cast iron plates to induction over 15.5 years ago. With the old cast iron plates, you could comfortably prepare everything after turning on the pan... but early on this often led to overheated cooking fat or almost burnt onions while still prepping other ingredients. I adapted my approach and now prepare everything thoroughly, sometimes even 1 or 2 hours before I start cooking—I call it “I prepared something already” 😉. For that reason, and because we don't cook every meal, I’m a big fan of a cleaning/prep island. There’s also a related thread in the well-known KForum.

Yaso2.0 schrieb:

For me, that wouldn’t be a reason to decide against it. Honestly, I didn’t look at Neff appliances because we’ve already chosen all Siemens Studioline series devices, and personally, I prefer when all visible electrical appliances are from the same brand/series.

I understand that with ovens and such. They are often installed next to each other (ideally at a comfortable height) or stacked in tall cabinets. But the cooktop... you usually only notice the brand if you look closely for the label.