Bosch cooking gear has common-sense features

An oven door that opens sideways and a flexible induction cooktop

Published: February 2014

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Bosch Benchmark wall oven

When it comes to kitchen appliances, convenience is increasingly synonymous with high-tech mobile control. But some new work-saving features are more about good old-fashioned common sense as we discovered when we saw some new appliances from Bosch at Design & Construction Week in Las Vegas.

Take the door on Bosch's 30-inch Benchmark electric wall oven: Instead of opening downward, this one opens to the side like a microwave's. That's an advantage when you're cooking a big roast because you don't have to lift it over a hot door. The price is about $3,000 for a single oven, $4,600 for a double oven, including a convection feature.

Bosch Benchmark induction cooktop

Then there's Bosch's Benchmark FlexInduction cooktop. Like other induction cooktops, it uses an electromagnetic field that sends most of the heat to the pot or pan. That's made induction ranges and cooktops the fastest in our cooking appliance tests. Unlike other induction cooktops, this one lets you combine two cooking zones into one large one to accommodate outsized roasting pans, griddles, or a big lobster pot.

You'll pay about $2,350 for the 30-inch FlexInduction and $3,100 for the 36-inch cooktop. And as with any induction range or cooktop, add in the cost of new cookware if yours isn't magnetic, which is essential for induction cooking.

—Kimberly Janeway