The cooktop
ASKO 90cm induction cooktop, Celsius°Cooking (HID956MC)
Six zones, enough for every pot the night needs. Each one has a round slider: touch a spot on the ring, or run your finger round it, clockwise for more heat and back for less. Pans need to be made for induction. If a magnet sticks firmly to the base, it will work.
Good for
- A big pot of pasta water boiling fast
- Searing on one side while the sauces hold on the other
- A griddle or a roasting tin across two zones
- Melting chocolate or holding a simmer without it catching
Where to find itCooking wall · on the stone bench
- Slider ring. One on every zone. Touch a spot or run your finger round it: 1 is gentle, 12 is flat out.
- A joined pair. Put a big pan across a front and back zone and they work as one.
- On/off. Switches the cooktop on. Hold it for 3 seconds to lock or unlock it.
- Pause. Turns everything down to 2 for up to 10 minutes while you step away.
- PLUS programs. Holds a set temperature for you: melt, keep warm, simmer or boil.
- Timer. Switches a zone off when the time you set is up.
Simplified. The rings and keys only light up once the cooktop is on.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 10, 16, 18, 20–22 (opens in a new tab)
The everyday way
- Step 1: Touch on/off.
- Step 2: Put the pan on a zone. Its slider lights up.
- Step 3: Touch the slider where you want it — 1 is gentle, 12 is flat out.
- Step 4: To turn a zone off, slide back to the start.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 13, 17–19 (opens in a new tab)
How to…
Boil pasta water quickly
- Step 1: Put the pot on a zone and set it to 12.
- Step 2: Touch 12 again, or slide just past it. boost shows on the display.
- Step 3: After 10 minutes it drops back to 12 on its own. Turn it down once it’s boiling.
If the cooktop is already very hot, boost can end early.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 7, 19–20 (opens in a new tab)
Sear on one side, hold on the other
Chef mode turns the whole cooktop into three heats, left to right.
- Step 1: With the cooktop on and nothing cooking yet, touch any two sliders at the same time and hold for 3 seconds.
- Step 2: The left zones go to 12 for searing, the middle to 7, and the right to 1 for holding. Change any of them if you like.
- Step 3: Lift pans from zone to zone — don’t slide them.
- Step 4: To finish, tap any two sliders at the same time.
In Chef mode the cooktop won’t warn you about an empty zone. It switches itself off if there’s no pan anywhere for 10 minutes.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 20–21 (opens in a new tab)
A griddle or big pan across two zones
- Step 1: Switch the cooktop on first, then put the pan across two zones next to each other.
- Step 2: They join up on their own, and both show the same setting.
- Step 3: Change the heat on the left or upper slider of the two.
- Step 4: If they didn’t join, touch both sliders at the same time. Touch both again to split them.
A quick touch of two sliders joins or splits zones. Holding two for 3 seconds starts Chef mode instead.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 20–21 (opens in a new tab)
Melt chocolate, keep food warm, hold a simmer
- Step 1: Put the pan on with something already in it — water, butter, oil or the food. Never an empty pan.
- Step 2: Touch the PLUS key (the + in a circle), then Heating up/keeping warm (the little pot).
- Step 3: Slide to the temperature: 45°C melts chocolate, 70°C keeps food warm, 94°C holds a simmer, 100°C brings it to the boil.
- Step 4: Leave it for 3 seconds and it starts. The slider flashes while it heats and beeps when it’s there.
- Step 5: To stop, hold the program key for 3 seconds, or choose an ordinary setting on the slider.
Up to 94°C it holds the temperature for you. At 100°C and above, stay with it. It works best started on a cool cooktop.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 24–25 (opens in a new tab)
Check a temperature with the probe
The Celsius°Cooking probe clips to the side of a pot and reads what’s inside.
- Step 1: Slide the probe’s bracket over the rim of the pot, and the probe into the bracket, with its tip at least 1cm off the bottom.
- Step 2: Lift the pot for a few seconds and put it back on its zone.
- Step 3: Quickly tap the top of the probe twice.
- Step 4: When the Celsius°Cooking sign (the ▷) appears on that zone, touch it. The temperature shows, dimmed.
If the probe comes out while a Celsius°Cooking program is running, the zone stops heating; adding cold water can do the same. Put it back and touch the flashing sign to carry on.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 28–30 (opens in a new tab)
Step away for a moment
- Step 1: Touch II. Every zone drops to 2 and the timers stop.
- Step 2: Touch II again within 10 minutes to carry on exactly where you were. After 10 minutes, everything switches off.
Knocked it off by accident? Switch it back on within 6 seconds and touch a slider to get your settings back.
Switch a zone off after a set time
- Step 1: With the zone cooking, touch its timer key (the clock).
- Step 2: Within 5 seconds, set the time with – and +.
- Step 3: When the time’s up, the zone switches off and beeps. Touch the timer key to stop the beep.
- Step 4: To cancel early, hold the timer key for 3 seconds.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 16, 22 (opens in a new tab)
Child lock is on — how to unlock
- Step 1: If the display shows L, touch on/off.
- Step 2: Then touch and hold on/off for 3 seconds. The sliders come back on the zones with pans.
If it locks itself every time it’s switched off, tell us — that’s a setting we can change.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 17–18, 38 (opens in a new tab)
Switch it off
- Step 1: Touch on/off. The heat-lines sign stays on any zone that’s still hot.
The fan underneath can run for several minutes afterwards. That’s normal.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 14, 17–18 (opens in a new tab)
Watch out for
- Stay close while it’s on, and never walk away from hot oil. If a pan catches, switch off and cover it with a lid or a fire blanket, never water. Source: ASKO instructions, pp. 4–5 (opens in a new tab)
- Spot a crack in the glass, even a small one? Switch it off and tell us straight away. Source: ASKO instructions, pp. 5, 41 (opens in a new tab)
- The heat-lines sign means a zone is still hot, even with the cooktop off. Knives, spoons and lids left on the glass heat up too. Source: ASKO instructions, pp. 4, 17 (opens in a new tab)
- The Celsius°Cooking probe is only for this cooktop, so keep it out of the ovens, the microwave and the grill. Its handle stays clear of the zone next door. Source: Celsius°Cooking probe safety sheet, pp. 3–4 (opens in a new tab)
- Wear a pacemaker or another implant? ASKO’s manual doesn’t cover it, so check with your doctor before cooking on induction.
What’s on the glass
On/off
Switches the cooktop on and off. Held for 3 seconds, it locks and unlocks.
Slider
One ring per zone. Touch a spot, or run your finger round it.
- –
Zero
The zone is on but not heating.
- 1–12
Heat setting
1 is gentle, 12 is flat out.
- boost
Boost
Extra power for up to 10 minutes.
Still hot
That zone is hot, even if the cooktop is off. Don’t touch.
- L
Locked
The child lock is on. See how to unlock above.
- E
Error
A code follows. See Something’s not right below.
Pause
Turns every zone down to 2 for up to 10 minutes.
PLUS programs
Heating up/keeping warm (the pot), Frying/wok (the pan), and Grill for two zones joined together.
Celsius°Cooking
For the probe.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 16–17 (opens in a new tab)
Something’s not right
The setting flashes and the zone won’t heat.
It can’t find a pan it can use. Check the pan is centred, at least 12cm across the base, and that a magnet sticks to it. After a minute it switches the zone off.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 13–14, 20 (opens in a new tab)
E2 on the display.
An empty pan got too hot. Let the zone cool, or put food or water in the pan.
Er03 on the display.
Something is resting on the controls — a pan, a cloth, a spill. Clear them and wipe them dry.
A zone stopped on its own and shows the heat-lines sign.
It overheated. Once it cools, carry on.
E65, E66 or E67, with the Celsius°Cooking sign flashing.
The cooktop can’t find the probe, or its battery is flat. Carry on with the ordinary settings and tell us.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 41–42 (opens in a new tab)
Any other code.
Note it down and message us.
The fan and light keys on the cooktop don’t work the hood.
They’re made for a linked ASKO hood. Use the buttons under the rangehood instead.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 16, 32 (opens in a new tab)
Ticking, buzzing, or a fan running after it’s off.
Ticking at low settings, buzzing from some pans, and the cooling fan are all normal.
Source: ASKO instructions, PDF, pp. 14, 41 (opens in a new tab)
Manuals and videos
The makers’ own manuals, kept here so they stay available after a model is discontinued. Videos open on YouTube.
- ASKO instructions, PDF (opens in a new tab)
Instructions for use, connection and installation — 830370-a16; the cover lists HID956MC. The maker’s own document, unaltered.
- Celsius°Cooking probe safety sheet, PDF (opens in a new tab)
Safety manual for the Celsius°Cooking accessories, version 2. The maker’s own document, unaltered.
- Video: Celsius Cooking by ASKO, about the connected temperature probe (opens YouTube in a new tab)
ASKO, 54 sec. Shows the Celsius°Cooking probe, not this cooktop in particular.
The deep clean after you go is ours. What we ask before you go