I have no real expertise, but I'm sure there is a potential for it to get warm directly under an induction cook top, so I would not store spices there.

I would not worry about metal objects under an induction cook top, our cook top is encased in a metal housing anyway. The magnetic energy of the cook top is focused to the cooktop surface.

FYI- We store baking trays, cookie sheets, metal Advantium trays, wire racks, and cutting boards racked upright in the cabinet under our induction cook top.

I have a "heat shield" but the drawer still gets warm from the circulating air for cooling the electronics. Not hot. Just warm.

I wouldn't do spices. If you hesitate, listen. :)

I have just about everything else. Not quite as messy as in the picture. :)

Thanks - no spices but everything else under the sink, I mean cook top!

Induction units have requirements that vary with the manufacturer for the required distance between the unit and combustibles below the unit. This value is likely set by UL or its Canadian counterpart for the unlikely but possible case of slagged electronics melting through the housing cover. The value for your unit should be listed in the installation manual.

There is also a need for sufficient air capacity or air exchange for cooling the cooktop electronics, depending on how the electronics are cooled. (The Electrolux Icon / Kenmore clone design that I'm familiar with partly pulls air from slots at the counter surface so the heat load into the cabinet base is modest.) Your installation manual should address this also.

kas

Thanks. I guess I need to decide on which cook top I want.

ditto, you can keep anything in the drawer that will be directly under an induction cooktop, but spices are less than ideal there because they will be warmed up a touch every day.

I kept knives and cutting boards in mine (pots and pans below that). My cooktop was a shallower model but the back of the drawer had to be trimmed a bit for electrical or something (I dunno-ask my cabinetmaker!).

They never got hot.

I keep all my cooking untenisls in mine. Never noticed anything even getting warm. Even when I've been simmering a bit pot of tomato sauce for hours.

The sides of my drawers are cut down to accomidate the cooktop.

That is an "in progress" picture with the temporary counter.

Had to post this one too, much more recent shot.

Nice cabinets! Thanks for the responses and photos.
Carol

carolml: "Thanks. I guess I need to decide on which cook top I want."

We have had a drawer directly under an induction cooktop for twelve years. Originally, it was a Jenn-Air two induction burner, two ribbon radiant burner, cooktop. By the time a unique electronic module of that cooktop failed, Whirlpool had acquired Maytag/Jenn-Air and had completely, utterly, finally orphaned all pre-acquisition models, so -- unable to repair -- we needed to replace the cooktop, and replaced it with an LG LCE30845.

We have kept metal utensils in the drawer -- sometimes even literally touching the underside of the cooktop housing -- from day one twelve years ago, no problem.

In choosing your new induction cooktop, keep two factors in mind. First, there are very major differences among brands and models of induction cooktops in the depth of the units below the counter surface. Read the dimension specifications carefully.

Second, all induction cooktops have fans to blow cooling air over the electronics when in operation; most of those cooktops exhaust the warm air into the cavity below the cooktop. Our Jenn-Air followed that design practice, and the drawer below the cooktop did get warm -- never really hot -- from the exhaust air. The LG we now have exhausts the air from narrow slots above the counter at the rear of the cooktop, and the drawer below the cooktop remains at room temperature.

herring_maven - thank you, my cook top will be on an island, so I will make sure to read all the venting details before I purchase. I suspect that utensils will be what I want to put in that drawer however it vents. Glad to know there is no problem with that.
Carol

Kas,

Thanks for the combustibles suggestion. I always wondered what that was about. Makes sense. :)

carolml: "...my cook top will be on an island, so I will make sure to read all the venting details before I purchase. I suspect that utensils will be what I want to put in that drawer however it vents.

Ours is in a peninsula, with our breakfast nook behind it. The top of the drawer beneath the cooktop is just four inches (ten centimeters) below the top surface of the cooktop. (The reflections in the rear of the cooktop in this image come from the window in the breakfast nook.)

When I am seated at the breakfast table, the back of my neck is a little more than a foot away from the exhaust slots at the back of the cooktop, shown here:

Sitting at the breakfast table, I have never even felt, much less been bothered by, a breeze from the exhaust vents of the LG cooktop.

(The cabinets are Canyon Creek Cornerstone; the wood is hickory; and, yes, the sanded cementious grout between the porcelain tiles is overdue for a thorough cleaning.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Canyon Creek website

The best place to keep spices is in your refrigerator or freezer. Though we are told ground spices are good for 2-3 years (whole spices longer) we often have no idea how old they are when we buy them. For years, I have been keeping my spices (both ground and whole) in my freezer and they really maintain their flavor. Another suggestion is to pan roast whole spices and then grind them in a ‘separate’ coffee grinder. This method produces the most aromatic delicious spices! It is easy and you can find recipes on line for your favourites
Carol P