We all know Buzzfeed for their clickbait listicles, but the outfit has been slowly spinning off into other content over the years. A Facebook video series called Tasty has been one of the more successful of these projects, so we’re not surprised they’re expanding their venture into food much further. This time around, they’re doing that by releasing an actual induction cooktop in the form of the Buzzfeed Tasty One Top.
That’s right, Buzzfeed just released a one-burner induction stove that you can use to copy any of the recipes from the outfit’s Tasty video series. We know, that sounds underwhelming, but the stove does bring some novel tech that’s designed to make replicating their recipes just a little easier compared to using a regular induction cooktop.
The Buzzfeed Tasty One Top is designed to work with a companion recipe app that lets you choose from over 1,700 recipes in their database. Once you choose a recipe, the app will prompt you about various details, such as the thickness of your steak, the amount of pork you’re using, and other recipe-altering information, so it can tailor the heat levels and cooking time to your exact needs. From there, you simply follow the step-by-step instructions, letting the app automatically monitor and adjust heat (it pairs with the stove), while taking care of flipping, stirring, and tossing food around.
To ensure it can accurately monitor your food’s temperature, it comes with a food thermometer that you need to put in with whatever it is you’re cooking. Yes, the app will tell you exactly where to put it (e.g. in the liquid if you’re making stew or in the meat if you’re pan-grilling), so there’s no guesswork involved. The thermometer will communicate with the app on its own, too, so your actual tasks remain in the minimal category.
Aside from the thermometer, the Buzzfeed Tasty One Top comes with temperature sensors on the burner itself, which it uses to assess the surface temperature of the pot and pan it’s heating up. Need to cook a recipe not available from the app? Not a problem, as it can function like any standard induction cooktop that allows you to adjust the heat manually via the capacitive buttons out front. As for the recipes, the do have quite the varied selection, so whether you’re in the mood for deep fried food, slow cooked meals, or shabu-shabu, there’s likely something in there that will work with whatever’s in the fridge.
If you’re curious why it’s shaped like a pentagon, by the way, Buzzfeed has a very simple explanation that seems to ring true to what made the company successful: Instagram. Yep, a pentagon-shaped stovetop definitely looks more Instagram-worthy than the usual boring square or rectangle profile of most induction cookers, especially when you want to photograph the food you’re cooking from an overhead point of view. Brilliant.
Want one? The Buzzfeed Tasty One Top is available with a bundled thermometer, priced at $149. If you need new induction-compatible cookware, they also sell a bundle with the thermometer and a four-piece induction cookware set, priced at $184. It ships in November.