Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE Review
A powerful induction hob that's easy to keep clean.
Verdict
An excellent balance between price, features and perforamnce, the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE has some clever automated cooking modes and a useful Flexi Space zone. It’s CleanProtect that really stands out, with water the only ingredient you need to keep the hob in its best condition. Boiling times aren’t the fastest, but the trade-off is that all four burners can always be used at their maximum power.
Pros
- Very easy to clean
- Intuitive controls
- Genuinely useful automatic programmes
Cons
- Not the fastest boiler
Key Features
- BurnersThis 60cm induction hob has four individual burners, two of which can be combined into one zone.
- PowerRequires a 7.2kW (32A) circuit.
Introduction
While all induction hobs, to a degree, do the same thing, the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE has been built to be simple to use, thanks to its automated functions, and even easier to clean. Two aims that it manages to smash.
Well-priced, and with decent performance across the board, this is a great hob for experienced cooks and those that like tasks automated.
As well as this hob, which is widely available, there are some variations, which have slightly different looks and user interfaces, as detailed below. I’ve tested them all using the same tests as below, and can confirm that these hobs have near-identical performance and clean up just as well.
- CleanProtect TB 2560C CPBF
- CleanProtect TS 8660C CPNE
Design and features
- Automatic My Menu cooking
- Flexi Space supports big pans or slide-to-cook
- Neat slide controls
On the face of it, the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE is similar to the company’s other products, such as the Hotpoint TS 5760F NE Flexi Zone Induction Electric Hob. Both have a similar layout, and range of features, but the big difference is the CleanProtect coating on the glass.
This nano-coating makes the glass tougher and it easier to clean without detergents. Instead, this hob should be cleaned by soaking stains with water (avoiding the controls), leaving the water to soak for two minutes (or at least five minutes if it’s a tough stain), and then wiping clean before the water has dried.
After cooking some noodles, some sauce got burnt on the top of the hob. I followed the instructions in the manual, wiped with a clean dry cloth, and the mess was gone with no need for chemicals. Impressive.
CleanProtect doesn’t affect how the hob works, and the TS3560FCPNE is a joy to use. Its default setting, when powered on is to have four individually controlled zones. Each zone has a responsive touch slider with power settings between one and 18, plus a ‘P’ power booster option for rapid heating.
It may seem that 18 settings is quite a lot, but the slider makes it quick to jump to the setting you want. I find the easiest thing to do is tap the slider at roughly the power level that I’m aiming for, and then use the slider to fine-tune to the power setting I want.
As with all induction hobs, it takes a small period of adjustment to get used to how the hob works, although Hotpoint does provide a handy guide to power settings at the back.
A 7.2kW hob, Hotpoint spreads the power evenly between the four zones. The advantage of this is that all of them can used in the P setting at the same time. With other hobs, such as the Miele KM7201FR, the P setting can push a single zone to a much higher power level, but the remaining burners are power limited.
What’s best? Well, there’s no clear answer to that. Having the option to boost one zone does improve heat-up speeds for boiling water, but it can be frustrating when the other zones are limited. With the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE, the hob is less frustrating to use, but it’s not the fastest at boiling water.
The Flexi Space zone on the left is multi-purpose. First, the dual zones can be joined together into one extra-large zone. Secondly, the zone can be put into Active Heat mode, which is a feature that I love.
With this turned on, the top burner is set to high heat, slide a pan down to bridge the two zones and you get medium heat, while the bottom zone is low heat. It makes cooking more intuitive: with a frying pan, I can just slide up to boost the heat when I add new ingredients, and slide down to simmer and then keep warm. That’s all without having to touch a power button.
Automatic cooking programmes are available via the My Menu button. All zones have automatic Boil, Keep Warm and Slow Cook functions. With the Flexi Zone, there’s the Active Heat option; the two right-hand burners get a Melting option. All modes are built to deliver the desired effect with the minimum amount of energy usage.
All zones have a timer available, with the selected burner shutting down automatically when the timer runs out. There’s no overall timer that’s not tied to a burner, as some hobs have.
Lifting a pan off a burner sees, the Hob cut power to that zone. However, the hob does remember the power setting, which is useful. For example, I can lift a frying pan and serve up the components that are done, and then return the pan to heat to continue cooking.
My only minor complaint is that the hob does not remember the power settings when the power button is hit. Accidentally turn everything off, and you’ll have to reset each zone to continue cooking manually; some hobs I’ve reviewed will remember settings have powered off for a few minutes. Fortunately, here, each zone has a dedicated off button on its power slider, so accidentally turning the hob off should be a rare issue.
Performance
- My Menu modes work brilliantly
- Quick but not the fastest to boil
I put all hobs through a speed test, timing how long it takes to bring varying amounts of water in different-sized pans to 90°C. I used the P setting here, re-enabling it if the mode switched off after the allocated five-minute timeout.
I started with my small pan, filled with 500ml of cold water, and found that it took 2m 24s to raise the temperature to 90C, which is very similar to that of the Hotpoint TS 5760F NE Flexi Zone Induction Electric Hob.
Switching to my mid-size pan, I added 1-litre of water and found that it took 4m 17s to bring this water to 90°C. That’s not a bad result but pay for a hob that has a higher boost and times can be reduced: the AEG IAE84851FB managed the same test in 1m 35s.
Moving to my big pan, I added 1.5-litres of water and found that this took 5m 43s. Using a kettle would prove faster, and hobs with higher power boost modes can do this in under three minutes. That’s not to say that the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE is bad. Again, it’s about the trade-off you have to make: do you want faster speed and reduced power to other zones; or do you want all zones to work at their maximum but have slightly slower boil times?
I tested out the My Menu automatic features, too. Melting butter, I could walk away from the pan and come back to find the job perfectly done. I even left the butter for extra time, and the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE didn’t burn it.
I love the boil feature, too. While I can do the job automatically, the hob ramps up power, then drops it down just before it hits boiling point. The end result is that water boils but doesn’t spill over, reducing mess.
Switching to Slow Cook, I found that my saucepan gently maintained its cooking temperature with no involvement. The Keep Warm function is a very handy way of keeping food at just the right serving temperature, although care should be given, as liquids are still slowly reduced.
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Should you buy it?
You want lots of features and easy clean tech: Automated programmes take the hassle out of cooking, while CleanProtect makes this hob simple to keep clean.
You want faster boil times: If you use one burner mostly and want the fastest heat up times, there are more powerful hobs.
Final Thoughts
While very similar in terms of features and performance to the older-generation TS 5760F NE, the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE is nice step up. With its CleanProtect covering, stains can be quickly removed with very little effort. That can save time compared to dealing with regular hobs, where my guide on how to clean a hob will help.
Boil times aren’t the fastest, but the trade-off is that the Hotpoint CleanProtect TS3560FCPNE can use all of its burners at maximum power at the same time, which is overall a more useful trick in my opinion. Throw in the excellent automated modes, and brilliant Flexi Space and this is a brilliant all-round induction hob. If you want something different, my guide to the best induction hobs will help.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every induction hob we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main induction hob for the review period
We measure how long it takes to bring 500ml, 1-litre and 1.5-litres of water to 90C using different sized burners.
We test any special cooking programmes to see how they perform
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FAQs
It’s a nano-coating that makes the glass more robust, plus it means the surface can be cleaned using water only.
It uses a maximum of 7.2kW, so needs a 32A circuit.
Trusted Reviews test data
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
