Miele’s New Full-Surface Induction Cooktop Is One Big Burner

Miele is expanding its catalog of high-end kitchen appliances with the North American debut of its full-surface induction cooktops, which allow you to move your pots and pans wherever you please across the entire surface of the stove.

While gas ranges were long seen as the reigning champ of stovetops among chefs, induction has slowly but surely won over many professional and home cooks alike thanks to its even heat distribution, eco-friendliness, cleanliness and safety factors.

Instead of heating the stovetop surface like an electric range or using an open flame like gas, an induction stovetop transfers heat directly to the cookware. As a result, it’s faster and safer than the other two options. Although the surface can still warm from the cookware, it cools faster, reducing the risk of accidental burns.

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Miele’s previous induction cooktops had designated cooking zones, but now that two full-surface models were introduced in the US, cooks have much more flexibility to move pots around as needed while preparing meals. Miele says it has intelligent pot-recognition technology so the stovetop can instantly detect the position and size of each cooking pot and display the control elements in the right place. If you move your cookware around, the power settings will follow.

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“I’ve become an induction stovetop evangelist. Air quality was my biggest reason for switching, but they’re also just so darn easy to clean,” CNET’s home and kitchen editor, David Watsky, said. “I’ve run out of cooktop real estate more times than I can count. In theory, you’ll be able to cram as many skillets and saucepans as will fit on Miele’s novel induction cooktop, including oversized cookware, and know every inch is getting heat.”

The Miele cooktops are available in 30- and 36-inch sizes and can fit up to six pieces of cookware at once.

“With framed and frameless options, the new models provide the user with greater choice in how the cooktop integrates into the overall kitchen,” Dirk Sappok, Miele North American Region director of Category Management, Kitchen Appliances, said in a press release.

Miele’s 30-inch, full-surface cooktop is available for $6,000, while the 36-inch option is $7,000.

“This is not a budget option — most Miele products aren’t — but if it works as well as advertised, it’ll serve as welcome innovation to the induction stovetop category,” Watsky said. “I can definitely see other brands integrating similar technology in future releases.”