high-powertheme

I have a kitchen full of Miele products (induction stove, oven, steam oven and dishwasher)...all great except the induction stove (KM5773). Since installation we have had the issue of the stove shutting off during operation. At first it happened only occasionally (every month or so) and was of course inconvenient when cooking dinner.
However, the frequency of this issue has increased dramatically; happening every few days a few months back and now happening every day. 'Resetting the touch controls' as outlined on page 18 of the User Guide usually worked (~70%) with a trip to the basement to flip the breaker usually working the rest of the time, so this was more of a nuisance than anything. And my general thoughts at the time were that it's embarrassing for Miele to have designed such a high end stove top that costs $3000 be prone to a ridiculous DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FLAW.
However, over the past several months we have had instances in which we could not even reset the stove...ruining meals, plans, experiences, etc. The capper was when my wife hired some chefs to come and cook for eight of us for a birthday celebration. A night half ruined when only some of the dishes were already finished.
I'm appalled by the reliability of this unit. From the posts online, I'm of the mind that this is NOT isolated to just me and that Miele should consider a product recall...or at least a solution.
I'm at wit's end with more ruinous experiences when I should be enjoying the not inexpensive equipment.
Note -- Miele has a website with very positive reviews of their products...all suspiciously submitted on either September 5th or 6th of 2012. I've submitted the above review twice to no avail.
You've been warned...caveat emptor
Update 8/21/13 -- Miele wants ~$1100 for the replacement part. Two things to note if you buy a KM5773...
First, don't assume that you'll always be able to cook your meals...you may have the power control board fail mid-meal prep.
Second, definitely get an extended warranty.

If you’re in the market for a swanky new induction hob to replace your dated gas burner, our roundup of the 10 best modern kitchen hobs should help you find your perfect match.

Arranged in order of price, our favourite induction hobs range from budget burners to luxury hobs for high-end kitchens. There are feature-rich models with heat-control sliders, pause buttons and child-safety locks, and basic hobs that simply focus on getting the job done well for an affordable price.

Some of the hobs included here feature the flexible cooking zone. It’s brilliantly versatile and handy for large-scale cooking – if you have extra cash to splash.

Induction hobs rely on magnetic energy, rather than gas or electricity, to heat your food. It’s well worth considering an induction hob if you want to minimise running costs in the long term. Plus, they look sleek and modern on a kitchen worktop. We even photograph all of the hobs we test with a thermal imaging camera to determine how evenly they heat up.

Without further ado, let’s bring on the hobs…

Key features:

• 4 cooking zones
• Touch controls
• Schott glass surface
• Child lock

A basic induction hob for the more modest budget, the Indesit VIA600C offers solid performance and even heating across its four cooking zones. Its Schott Ceran glass surface is tough, scratch-proof and a breeze to wipe clean, while touch-sensitive controls in crisp red lettering offer nine levels of heat per zone.

The touch controls are easy to use, if a little slow to respond. The heat control button sits independently from the zone selection buttons, and it’s easy to forget to select the correct zone before cranking up the heat. On the flip side, it keeps the hob looking minimal, and it’s something that will become second-nature the more you cook.

The hob heats up relatively slowly compared to pricier hobs, with the smallest pan taking 5mins 29secs to reach 90^oC in our tests, and the larger 2-litre pan a lengthy 7mins 8secs. But for this budget, it doesn’t really get any better. Redeeming features such as a child-lock button and the low-maintenance glass top make it an attractive budget burner.

At the time of the review, the Indesit VIA6400C was available for £300

Read the full Indesit VIA6400C review

Key features:

• One Flex Zone
• Pause cooking feature
• Quick Start
• Power Boost
• Keep-warm setting

This Samsung NZ64K5747BK induction hob offers super-speedy heat-up times and some incredibly effective cooking features for a neat mid-range price tag. A Power Boost feature provides any one of the hob’s four zones with a speedy hit of heat on demand, while 15 heat options offer plenty of versatility.

The hob’s Flex Zone feature isn’t quite what it seems, but it does offer a little more flexibility when you’re cooking with a crowd of pans. It’s a large rectangular cooking area on the left of the hob designed to heat larger pans and skillets, but it’s actually just two mid-sized circular induction burners that can be linked together. Still, it’s handy being able to control them as one burner when you need to.

There’s no shortage of control options, with a keep-warm function and a pause button providing backup when the phone rings mid-cook. The heat control is a slider, which is always a thoughtful touch. Another neat feature is how the power comes on at level 15, requiring you to slide it back down to suit. A child-lock and 99-second timer seal the deal.

At the time of the review, the Samsung NZ64K5747BK was available for £419

Read the full Samsung NZ64K5747BK review

Key features:

• flexInduction zones
• powerBoost function
• Timer zone-off
• Touch slider control

The luxury Siemens EH675MV17E is a feature-rich induction hob that’s perfect for compact, high-end kitchens. Serious style and exceptional cooking flexibility single it out as one of the best induction hobs in this price bracket. Its bevelled front-edge glass, neat aluminium trim and textured surface win it points in the looks department too.

The crowning glory of the EH675MV17E is a pair of flexInduction zones, which see two large and unusually rectangular cooking areas divided into four smaller zones. This promises the ability to cook with the smallest pans or largest skillets almost anywhere on the surface. You can also efficiently use one large or two much smaller pans in the same quarter of the hob.

There are up to nine heat settings to play with, a child lock and a count-down timer that acts as a beeper or switches the zone off when the time is up. A super-slick and responsive touch slider for temperature control completes the package.

At the time of the review, the Siemens EH675MV17E was available for £1069

Read the full Siemens EH675MV17E review

Key features:

• 3 cooking zones
• Orange ‘virtual flame’ effect
• 4-burner Flex Zone Plus
• Instant Heat feature
• Keep Warm setting
• Count up/down timer

The Samsung NZ63K7777BK brings masterful control and powerful heating for every size of pan to high-end kitchens.

The 60cm-wide Samsung NZ63 looks like a twin zone hob, but you can control the heat to three pans at the same time, as well as heat up to four pans with the help of the Flex Zone. A powerful boost feature heats up pans quickly across the entire hob, with 15 heat settings to choose from and a handy Quick Start option that pumps the heat straight up to level 15 for speedy heating.

Control is via a slider, which is wide, responsive and easy to navigate. The Flex Zone’s performance is impressive, with good heating consistency and no cool spots in the pan. We also love Samsung’s revamped Virtual Flame effect, which beams an LED orange or blue ‘flame’ against the base of pans to emulate a gas burner. It has three stages of brightness to indicate approximate heating power level, too, so it isn’t only for show.

One other bonus is the hob’s auto power-off function, which shuts down the hob after a generous 15 seconds of inactivity; this is much more time to play with than some of the other admittedly skittish hobs out there. In all, this is a powerful hob for creative chefs with a more compact cooking space.

At the time of the review, the Samsung NZ63K7777BK was available for £699

Read the full Samsung NZ63K7777BK induction hob review

Key features:

• 4 cooking zones
• Linked double-size zone
• Schott glass surface
• Power boost
• Basic timer

The Indesit VID 641 BC is a fairly similar beast to the VIA6400C also in this roundup, but it adds a timer, Power Boost and the ability to link two of the burners together to accommodate large pans and skillets. It’s no speed-cooking wonder, but it’s affordable, boasts solid results, and comes with easy-to-clean Schott Ceran glass to keep it looking clean and sleek.

Each zone has 0-9 heat levels, and a further press engages the Power Boost for a hit of heat to add speed. We found it annoying that it cooled down to level 9 after only five minutes, but you still get slightly quicker results with it. The VID 641 BC is a bit slow to heat up pans from cold, but it does deliver even cooking results.

The flexible cooking zones are handy, but like many models boasting the same trick, it’s actually just four circular burners that you can link together to control a pair, meaning you don’t necessarily get an even temperature across large pans. The controls are otherwise great, with an intuitive touch slider and individual up and down controls for each zone, which we loved for their convenience.

At the time of the review, the Indesit VID 641 BC was available for £299

Read the full Indesit VID 641 BC induction hob review

Key features:

• 4-zone induction hob
• iXelium surface treatment
• Dual flexi-zones
• Keep Warm function
• Simmer feature
• Power boost

The well-featured, affordable and good-looking Whirlpool ACM 868 is a great value starter induction hob for anyone keen to ditch their flaky old gas burner. While its heat-up times were a little sluggish with larger pans, we found its overall performance impressive, and loved its dual FlexiCook zones for big-scale cooking – you can link the front and back burners on both the left and right-hand sides of the hob.

This hob’s quirky operation takes some getting used to – especially if you don’t turn off the loud key-press beeps straight away, and get your head around the child lock – but it all becomes intuitive in time. It’s super-quick and powerful when handling smaller pans, and has great features such as a Keep Warm function for the left-hand burners, and a a Simmer function for the right-hand burners, which automatically comes on after boiling.

One thoughtful touch on Whirlpool’s part is the scratch-resistant, easy-to-clean Scott Glass, finished off with iXelium coating for longevity. That should keep the sleek black surface safe from the wrath of boiling sugar and other nasty hot splashes.

At the time of the review, the Whirlpool ACM 868/BA/IXL was available for £469

Read the full Whirlpool ACM 868/BA/IXL induction hob review

Key features:

• PowerFlex zone
• TempControl feature
• All-round trim frame
• Keep Warm function
• Auto Heat-Up
• Auto cooker hood control
• Timer function
• 4 zone/764mm wide/7.3kW max

This extravagantly priced induction hob is definitely for the casual chef, offering super-quick heat-up times, incredibly flexible control, and even heating with both round pans and large skillets to the tune of £2299. If you have the cash to splash, though, we thoroughly recommend luxuriating your kitchen with the Miele KM 6629. Get ready to dig deep into your wallet for the fastest, most controllable and best-featured hob we’ve tested.

If you’re hunting for the master of the flexible cooking zones, the KM 6629 is your saviour. Not only does it actually provide properly even heating, as opposed to cheaper hobs’ dual-circular burner, but the flexible zones fire into play automatically when they sense a large pan. That’s super-smart.

We’d run out of space if we tried to list all of this sumptuous hob’s skills and features, but a particular favourite of ours is Miele’s Auto Heat-Up feature. If you touch and hold any setting for a second, you’ll hear a beep and the level number indicator pulses brightly. The hob delivers full power to the zone until it reaches the temperature of the set level, and then automatically reduces power to maintain that temperature.

There’s also a brilliantly handy Stop & Go pause facility that lowers temperatures when you get interrupted mid-cook.

At the time of the review, the Miele KM 6629 was available for £2299

Read the full Miele KM 6629 review

Key features:

• Ultra-cool all-black style
• White LEDs and display
• Automatic Zone Bridge
• 3 Automatic temperatures
• 6 zones/78cm wide/11.1kW max

From the innovative Danish brand Witt, the understatedly chic Witt WIF78SQW2 comes with features galore and a price tag that only the most ardent of cooks will be able to stomach. It isn’t on sale in the UK yet, but we had one shipped to our testing bench to give it a once-over before it becomes available.

What’s most noticeable is that the WIF78SQW2 comes with six burners. They’re super-effective and can be toggled between nine heat levels, along with a trio of automatic heat levels for warming, melting and simmering. Flexible cooking zones are included under the guise of the Automatic Zone Bridge.

Heat-up times with larger pots and pans are the fastest we’ve tested, and the automatic temperature settings are brilliant. The hob isn’t at its fastest with small pans and touch-sensitivity could be better, but we were impressed with its overall performance. The automatic pan-detection feature works well, but you need to place your pans accurately on the zones, which becomes easier with use. Keep your eyes peeled for this high-end, high-fashion hob hitting the UK market.

At the time of the review, the Witt WIF78SQW2 was available for £1849

Read the full Witt WIF78SQW2 review

Key features:

• Virtual Flame technology
• Magnetic control knob
• Wide Flex Zone
• Keep warm function
• 4-zone/80cm wide/7kW max

The Samsung NZ84J9770EK is a roomy 80cm-wide induction hob with some unique features that set it apart from its high-end crowd. Most notably, a traditional rotary control knob that’s magnetic, and can be removed from the hob for cleaning.

While the hob’s Wide Flex Zone allows for large-scale cooking with larger fish kettles or skillets, it’s a shame that Samsung hasn’t attempted to cram a couple more burners onto the wide surface area. Still, it cooks a charm, and its style and precision make up for its meagre foursome of burners.

One minor caveat is that the hob wasn’t the quickest in our boil tests, even with the Power Boost function in full swing. There are some great time-saving features, though, like how the power comes on at level 15 as soon as you press a zone button, allowing for fast heat-up instantly, or manual temperature toggling.

The hob’s timer is a neat addition, acting as either a zone shut-off count-down, or a count-up timer to indicate how long you’ve been cooking.

At the time of the review, the Samsung NZ84J9770EK Chef Collection was available for £1049

Read the full Samsung NZ84J9770EK Chef Collection review

Key features:

• 58cm wide, 4 zones
• Wide surface cooking zone
• Easy-clean Schott glass
• Power boost feature
• Quick Heat
• Timer

Don’t be fooled into thinking the Beko HII64500FHT is a basic affair when you see its budget price tag – this is a well-specced induction hob with plenty of features to please the busy chef. Standout features that defy its low price point include Schott Ceran easy-clean glass, a power-boost function, and the ability to link two zones to heat very large pans.

It performs well in general, boasting good heat-up times and precise control over 19 heat levels. There’s a keep-warm function for all four of its zones, pan detection, and even spill cut-out for when a pan accidentally boils over. We found that positioning round pans on the square marked zoned could be a bit tricky, but it makes up for some of these design oddities with power and consistency.

One feature we were a bit baffled by is its Eco mode, which halves the power to all currently active zones. We can’t see the logic in cooking at a lower temperature for probably twice as long, but there are plenty of other great features that make perfect sense. A child lock, for one, and a countdown timer to boot.

If you can get past the negatives – which include the weird Eco mode, noisy cooling fans and rather haphazard linked zones – you’ll find this an easy to use, simple to clean and effective induction hob that makes your kitchen worktop look that little bit more slick.

At the time of the review the Beko HII64500FHT was available for £329

Read the full Beko HII64500FHT review