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See why.Induction Burners
An extra burner may be useful during the holidays, but can it do enough to justify a place in your kitchen?
Last Updated Feb. 23, 2023.
Max Burton, the manufacturer of our co-winner, recently stopped making induction burners. We surveyed the market, hoping to find a new induction burner that performs comparably. We still think the Breville/PolyScience Control Freak is the best portable induction burner on the market, but if you’d like to try a more reasonably priced entry-level burner, we recommend the Duxtop Portable Induction Cooktop 9600LS/BT-200DZ. It’s easy to operate, boils water quickly, and does a mostly good job of maintaining accurate temperatures. However, because its heating coil is smaller than the Breville’s, we recommend using it with slightly smaller cookware to match. Want to learn how to get the most out of your induction burner? See our article here.
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What You Need To Know
Induction cooking uses magnetism to generate heat and cook your food. This may sound a bit more high-tech than your standard gas stove, but induction cooking is massively popular in Japan and Europe. In fact, induction cooktops accounted for 54 percent of stoves sold in western Europe in 2016, according to Allied Market Research, a global market research firm.
Why induction? Induction burners are known to heat up very quickly and hold a consistent temperature and are purportedly safer, since they are flameless and often have features such as automatic shut-off and screen-locking mechanisms. They are also easier to clean and are more energy-efficient than gas or electric stovetops.
Although induction cooktops aren’t quite as widespread in the United States just yet, portable induction burners are a common option for cooks looking for a bit more burner space or for those with small kitchens that aren’t equipped with large stoves. Since we last tested induction burners, new models such as the Tasty One Top and the Breville/PolyScience Control Freak have come onto the market, with features such as built-in temperature probes that claim to dial in ultraprecise temperatures. Are induction burners the new “must-have” kitchen gadget?
To find out which induction burner is best, we selected a wide variety of models, using each to boil water, sear burgers, make All-Purpose Caramel Sauce, deep-fry Fried Zucchini Sticks, and keep Cheese Fondue warm for 4 hours.
How Do Induction Cooktops Work?
An induction burner contains an electric coil that produces a magnetic field when it’s turned on. When a pan with a ferromagnetic bottom is placed on the burner, the energy from the magnetic field causes the material of the pan to produce heat. The induction burner won’t actually turn on unless there’s a compatible pan.
Since only the metal of the pan heats up, all the energy goes directly into the cookware, whereas with electric or gas stovetops, some of that energy spills over, heating the air and the surrounding stove area. This is one reason that induction burners are known as being more energy efficient than electric stovetops (and why they keep your kitchen cooler).
Discovering Power Differences
We began with the basics: boiling and simmering water. On each induction burner, we boiled 4 quarts of water and then reduced it to a simmer, timing how long the water took to boil and noting how responsive the burners were to changes in temperature by timing how long it took the water to return to a simmer. We compared the results with those of the same test done on gas and electric stovetops.
The conventional wisdom is ...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Power: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 3 stars out of 3.
Yes, this is an incredible burner, but it's also costly—which, to be honest, was our only real complaint about it. Its front knob allowed us to dial the burner to the exact temperature we wanted (the front screen also displays the corresponding power mode, such as "medium-low," to avoid any confusion). And the machine comes with a temperature probe that allows you to monitor and set the temperature of the contents of the pots, which made deep frying effortless and even allowed us to use it for sous vide cooking. Its precision ensured that caramel was silky-smooth, fried zucchini sticks were golden all over, and 4 quarts of water boiled in 20 minutes, making it the only induction burner to boil water faster than the stovetop. While the cost of this induction burner means it's not for everyone, it is an exceptional piece of equipment, especially for experienced cooks who really want the benefits of precision cooking.
- Power: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 3 stars out of 3.
This model features an intuitive and responsive control panel that makes it easy to adjust the time and temperature for various cooking tasks. It brought water to a boil in 24 minutes and kept cheese fondue at a constant temperature (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than 4 hours without scorching. However, this burner has some limitations. Its 6-inch heating coil means that it works best with smaller cookware—when we seared burgers in a 12-inch skillet, they browned unevenly. It also struggled in the deep-frying test, taking 20 minutes for the temperature to come back up between batches of zucchini fries, slowing our progress.
Recommended with reservations
- Power: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Power: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 1 stars out of 3.
We were initially impressed with this model, as it successfully brought water to a boil in 23 minutes, made golden and crispy zucchini fries, and cooked food in a speedy manner. But its 5.5-inch heating coil was too small to give the burgers an even sear, so we recommend using it with smaller cookware for the best results. We also noted that the burner failed to maintain low temperatures. It struggled to reduce the heat under a pot of water from boiling to simmering. And over the 4 hours of holding fondue at the machine’s lowest temperature setting, the cheese scorched severely, and fat started to separate at the 1-hour mark. We also had trouble using its heat controls: a touchscreen bar with 10 light-up dots. This design made it difficult to precisely and conveniently set the temperature at our desired level. Additionally, we noticed that the slippery surface made pots and pans slide—a potential safety concern.
Not Recommended
- Power: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 2 stars out of 3.
- Power: 1 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 2.5 stars out of 3.
DISCONTINUED
- Power: 2 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 2 stars out of 3.
With a large, easy-to-read interface and a “boil” button that automatically sets the machine at its highest power setting, we thought this was the most user-friendly of the induction burners we tested. We effortlessly seared burgers, cooked caramel sauce, deep-fried zucchini sticks, and held fondue at a constant temperature for 4 hours. We thought its performance was, for the most part, on par with the $1,600 model we tested, and it’s 17 times cheaper. It also had a lock screen function, which could prevent the heat from being accidentally turned up or down. The two caveats? It took the longest to boil water (about 35 minutes) and was the loudest. However, we felt these were fairly minor issues when compared to the machine’s overall intuitiveness and accuracy.
- Power: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cooking: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Noise Level: 2 stars out of 3.
Thanks to its 9-inch heating coil, this powerful induction burner was able to bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in about 19 minutes, the fastest of all the models we tested. It toasted flour and seared burgers evenly and made silky-smooth caramel sauce and golden-brown zucchini sticks. However, it was too powerful, and even on the lowest power setting fondue scorched. We liked the convenient “simmer” and “boil” buttons that automatically adjusted temperatures, but its power button was difficult to press, and the control knob and temperature probe were tricky to operate. This induction burner was also a bit loud; however, it was easy to clean and had great extra features such as a screen lock and incompatible cookware detection.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Valerie Sizhe Li
Valerie is an assistant editor for ATK Reviews. In addition to cooking, she loves skiing, traveling, and spending time outdoors.