VBGK 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop, 14 Inch Single Burner Commercial Electric Stove with Stainless Steel Body for Home & Restaurant

I am a Professional Home, Personal and Catering Chef. I also teach cooking and knife skills. I take all of my kitchen items, tools, utensils, knives, serving items, other accessories, and food products very seriously. When I test and review culinary and other items, I am highly critical and meticulous in evaluating and rating them. My reviews are honest, unbiased¡­always as objective as possible, and my opinions are always unsponsored and my own. Good is good¡­bad is bad!I am a fanatic about induction cooking. It is slowly becoming a major standard in the USA over gas and electric cooktops, and it is already pretty much the standard in Europe. Induction cooking is more controllable, efficient, economical and faster than any other methods. The only caveat is that you need a pot/pan with a magnetic surface like Stainless Steel, Carbon Steel, Cast Iron, or an aluminum pot/pan with a stainless steel base plate. Aluminum, glass, and ceramic pots and pans will not work with induction.I have owned, tested, and reviewed MANY stand-alone induction systems over the last few years, and THIS one is definitely in the top tier of this price class of under $200.The positives are numerous:?? Large cooking surface area with a maximum 11.8" diameter pan or pot. Much larger diameter than most others within this price class.?? All stainless steel body with robust construction.?? Durable and easy to clean surface that can handle over 100lbs of weight.?? 9 power levels, and MORE importantly...9 temperature levels from 176¨H - 518¨H in 9 steps. This is a big difference from similarly priced models that do not adjust by specific temperature...only by power levels.?? Cooking time settings from 1 minute to 3 hours. Great for slow cooking or maintaining warm food.?? Highly efficient power consumption, and can be used on 110V AC, 15amp circuit. (20amp is better)?? Countertop compatible with non slip legs. Not for setting on a tablecloth.?? Touch controls with a safety 60 second auto-shutoff if no compatible cookware is placed on the surface?? Other safety features including child safety lock and overtemp sensing.Considerations:?? While there are nine power or temperature settings, they cannot be adjusted beyond their specific levels when selected. This 'may' come into play for those who are looking for a very specific temperature like 100¡æ or 212¨H which is the boiling point of water. The power settings for the system near that level are either 80¡æ at the first level or 120¡æ at the second level (176¨H or 248¨H). No in between adjustment capabiity. For some high specialty types of cooking...especially certain sauces that require maintaining temperature just below the boiling point to avoid breaking the sauce, this is not possible with this unit.That being said however, this is a highly functional induction unit for almost all other needs, and should be completely satisfactory for all but the most professional, high-level chefs.Overall, I am pretty impressed by how good this induction cooktop is at the price point it is offered. To get any more capability out of a countertop induction system, you would have to spend more than a Thousand Dollars more for something like the Breville Control Freak induction cooktop system...which is well beyond most home cooks needs or ability. I personally use the Breville system for some very occasional, specific requirements, but for day to day induction cooking, this unit will more than meet my needs!All in all, I have no hesitation giving this fine unit a FIVE STAR rating, and compared to many others I have tested and reviewed, I unequivocally recommend this unit for most home and even some commercial uses. Clearly a winner at the price! Once you have started using induction for cooking, you are not likely to go back to older methods. Cheaper and much more power efficient than electrical or gas cooktops.Bon App¨¦tit!

This cook top works great. It heats up my big cast iron frying pan quicker than my electric cook top stove does, but not as fast as I was expecting. This is likely due to my frying pan being a bit larger than recommended. I'm not sure if that's a problem in the long run, but it didn't seem to be a problem.It's my first time using an induction cook top. I expected it to maintain a more consistent temperature, but it seems to cycle like a normal electric cook top does as I definitely noticed the temperature fluctuating a lot. I didn't know what to expect, so was surprised to hear the quiet hum of the cook top in operation. I suspect this is mostly the cooling fan.My only problem with it is my wife can't use it by herself as it is completely touch control with no tactile indicators to adjust the temperature. She is visually impaired and can't see the buttons well to be able to operate it. In addition due to it being very sensitive touch, she would invariably change the temperature by accident. It's a trend I hate in the modern world. While touch controls look cool, we need more tactile controls. When these kind of touch controls fail or break, there really is no repairing them.I got this cook top to evaluate if an induction range is worth investing it. I'll need to use this cook top some more to be a bit more definitive, but this is already really making me consider replacing my range with a induction model when I eventually need to replace it. I like it so far. If it had more tactile controls it would be a definite 5 star cook top.

Just for reference this is the blue one.This product definitely has a bigger coil. I originally tested this with a nonstick pan that had a SS insert and I lowered the temperature to 248*. Only the center of the pan was boiling water. Later I tested with a 10¡± cast iron skillet at about 400*, the entire bottom of the skillet was boiling the water. Physical size is a bit bigger than expected. The temperature settings are fairly large about 35* from one setting to the next. The case is all plastic. If you can live with the ¡°Blue ¡° color, I think you¡¯ll be happy with this for $80.

I made English toffee from start to dumping it out in 15 minutes , on my electric burner stove it took 25 minutes. I did this in a stainless steel pressure cooker using strong magnet I found out that the bottom was pure steel and the sides were stainless steel, I am going to say stainless steel will not heat as fast since it does not attract the magnet as strong as steel pans or steel bottoms.

Even with a standard 9 1/2" bottom fry pan, the one that I have been using for quite some time is ridiculous. It overcooks the food in the center, and the outer areas of the pan don't cook barely at all. This commercial level unit has a 9 1/2" cooking surface, and remember that these induction units only heat up the exact amount of surface that the pan sits on. So, unless you are using some very small pans you need something with this kind of capability.Mating that to a pan that utilizes up to 1800 watts opens up all the more the ultimate flexibility in accomplishing exactly what you need. The very first time I used it, my immediate thought was wow where has this thing been hiding all of my life. I also no longer have to wait a while for it to get up to steam. With this kind of power, it heats up right away. With the glass top, it makes it easy to clean it up with very little effort. Once it cools down, just use a damp cloth to make it look brand new again. I know electric resistance is not the least expensive form of heat, but with this unit running so efficiently it kind of makes up for it, and it makes a nice add-on addition to your kitchen. I'm in love. I hope it lasts forever. If not, I'm buying a new one.