Product Review: NuWave Induction Cooktop & Cookset
Disclosure: We purchased this item at retail and the opinions are our own. But this post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Please read our disclaimer.
Induction cooktops caught our eye during our initial search for a two-burner electrical cooktop. But at the time we didn’t want to purchase the induction cooktop because our pots and pans weren’t compatible (cookware needs to contain iron for the induction cooktop to work). We didn’t want to spend more money on a cooktop and have to buy new cookware. But when we finally started to remodel our kitchen, we knew it was time to upgrade to an induction cooktop.
Our new kitchen.
Why The NuWave Induction Cooktop
There were three particular reasons we chose the NuWave brand over others:
Good price
Lots of positive reviews out of a lot of reviews from the Amazon page
Goes to an extremely high temperature of 575°
It was hard to stir fry on our previous electric cooktop because it just couldn’t get hot enough. That made cooking aggravating and time consuming. We wanted a cooktop that could reach high enough temperatures so we could make all types of food. In hindsight, we rarely go past 375° (which is Medium High on the NuWave). Sometimes I’ll set it to 425° (High) when I’m boiling water. But the Max/Sear temperature is 575° and I’ve never used it. All the other induction cooktops that Jerud looked at have a max temperature of 460°. Given that many of these others are rated for 1,800 watts while the NuWave is only rated to 1,500 watts, we wonder if the NuWave can actually reach 575°.
Thoughts On The NuWave Induction Cooktop & Cookset
We purchased the NuWave Precision induction cooktop in June 2016. We were pleasantly surprised when we opened the box and found a 9” frying pan include. There was no mention of this addition in the Amazon description. In that same order, we had purchased the NuWave cookset that included: 10.5-inch frying pan, 2-quart sauce pot with a lid, 1.5-quart sauce pot with a lid, and 5.5-quart stock pot with a lid.
NuWave Precision Induction Cooktop
We really like the NuWave induction cooktop. Until this past week when it started to randomly throw an error code. The code is E1, which means that there’s an incompatible pan on it. But that can’t be the case since we use the NuWave brand pots and pans, the same ones we’ve been using for the past 8 months. The error code hasn’t been consistent, but it’s happened enough times that the cooktop is no longer dependable. So we recently got a new induction cooktop – Secura brand.
Perhaps we just got a lemon. We would’ve happily tried another NuWave but the warranty was an issue. NuWave will honor their 1 year warranty if the products are purchased either directly from them or an authorized dealer. But because we got ours through Amazon it was too hard to figure out if the dealer was authorized and there was no way to guarantee that our next purchase would be from an authorized dealer. So we chose to purchase a different brand induction cooktop this time. (We did get a full refund from the dealer that we purchased the NuWave cooktop from.)
Other Thoughts About The NuWave Induction Cooktop
It has six preset temperature buttons from Low – Max/Sear. I like that I can push one of them to go directly to a preset temperature, and minimally adjust with the +/- button from there. Jerud on the other hand, wishes he could preset the individual buttons himself.
The interface also has a Program and Time button, neither of which I’ve yet used. I don’t actually even know what they do, except that the Program button doesn’t allow you to customize the preset temperature buttons.
The cooktop is overall quiet when in use.
It’s super easy to clean.
The cooktop is large enough to fit a 5.5-quart stock pot but not too large that it’s a hassle to find a place to store in the Toaster. Actually, the cooktop and the 9-inch frying pan comfortably fits side by side in the shelf above our toaster oven.
The induction cooktop cooks so much better than our electric cooktop because the temperatures stay consistent, it can reach higher temperatures, and it reaches them quicker so that cooking a meal is faster.
There is still a bit of a “hot spot” in the center of the cooktop. While there is space to put a pan up to 12” on it, only a circle about 6” diameter in the center actually gets the direct heat. So when Jerud cooks pancakes, they come out half golden/half dark golden. It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the electric coil – Jerud stopped even trying to make pancakes on that.
NuWave Cookset
I wouldn’t recommend the NuWave cookset. It was a good price, especially for being induction cooktop compatible pots and pans. But the quality doesn’t seem as good as the price. The cookset is all anodized non-stick stainless steel. But I can’t fry an egg on the pans to save my life. Unless I put a ton of oil, the egg sticks to the pan. Other food items also seem to stick to the pan, leaving a burnt residue on the bottom. Also, the anodized coating is coming off the rim of the pots and pans, which makes me think it’ll soon come off elsewhere.
The other bummer thing about the cookset is that out of the 3 pots and one pan that we purchased, there were only three lids and it was for the pots only. None of the lids would fit either of the two NuWave pans. Jerud and I ended up finding lids for the two pans at GoodWill.
Has anyone else used a NuWave induction cooktop or cookset and have better luck than us?
