Bosch Benchmark BENCHMARK SERIES Benchmark® Induction Cooktop 36'' Black, surface mount without frame NITP669SUC

We recently reconfigured and remodeled our kitchen. As part of the updating we installed a 36" Bosch Benchmark induction cooktop. It's a joy to use. The fast heat up and instantant temperature changes make it a pleasure to cook on. It takes a little paradigm shift to work with a cooktop that reacts instantly to temperature changes, but after the short learning curve I can't imagine using anything but induction.

I'm still getting used to it but so far I love it. I like the responsiveness of the controls with the touch of a button. I love the boost feature for big pots of pasta water. I'll likely fully put it to the test on Thanksgiving. If you can't have gas this is definitely the way to go.

I have mixed reviews of my new Bosch cooktop. While it boils water extremely fast and heats up cast iron pans very easily, I am not getting the same results from other high quality induction cookware I am using. I often have to search for the right spot on the cooktop so that the whole base of the pan is heating up, rather than just a quarter of the pan. There really is no way to clearly tell whether the induction element is working correctly. The cooktop made loud banging noises when first installed. I called Bosch to provide a repair technician, but no one has contacted me in the two weeks since speaking with a company representative. On the plus side, the cooktop looks great and is easy to clean.

We upgraded a 30 year old gas cooktop with this device. It is the best cooking surface I have used -- even better than the lovely BlueStar gas cooktop. The even heat across a large fry pan makes cooking a pleasure for pancakes, frying chicken (any dish where you want even cooking across a surface). The low settings are incredible. For example, reheating chocolate sauce you can keep it at 100 degrees for as long as you like... forget being able to do that with gas. The predictability, nuance of control, speed of response -- better than I thought. Nice safety features, too. I'm a convert! My only criticism is the two step adjustments for controls i.e., pick a heating element, set a power level. Some inductions systems have separate dials for each element which makes it a single gesture. I'm getting used to the Bosch. First world problem. My only concern is reliability. I have a 4 year warranty but can I expect it to last 10 years? This house has lots of 30 year old appliances that I have been upgrading, but it's hard to accept that an "upgrade" is going to be have lower reliability. All electronics eventually break. Given the sensible migration from gas to electric, induction is the best choice for cooking (if one can afford it). Really happy with this singular experience (i.e., I have not used any other induction cooktop so perhaps there is something better but I have no interest in looking further).

We've made a great transition from using gas to using induction with our Bosch induction cooktop. Performs beautifully, cleans easily, looks great. Only suggestion is for the power level lights to be illuminated.