What's safe to store inside shallow drawer under induction cooktop?

10 years ago

Our cabinets are in the process of being installed.

In the base cabinet underneath our induction cooktop, we have three drawers. The bottom two drawers will hold pots & pans. The top drawer -- directly underneath the cooktop -- is shallow; even more so because a small bit was carved out to accommodate the cooktop. I had initially planned to store cooking utensils in that drawer. But it is only about 2-3" inches deep (I don't have the exact measurement handy.) Is it too shallow to store things like a plastic spatula, i.e. will it be so close to the cooktop that plastic items melt?

What do you store directly under your cooktop?

if it's safe for utensils, do you have recommendations for a divider insert that would fit into my (approximately) 36" x 3" drawer?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Featured Answer

mathteachr

10 years ago

We have an induction cooktop with a 36" shallow drawer directly underneath (the ikea 5" tall drawer). I store all our cooking utensils - wooden, plastic and metal spoons, peelers, spatulas, etc. with no problems. Induction tops themselves don't get hot, and the only metal that would be heated with induction would 1)have to be ferromagnetic, which is really unusual for utensils and 2) be put on top of the cooktop where the magnetic field is, not underneath. Heat from the pots on top does not travel all the way through to the drawer at all. It's also an incredibly handy location for all my cooking utensils. The only things that don't quite fit because they're too "tall" are the whisks, which I just keep in the second drawer with the pots.

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Comments (15)

Jeanette Vey
10 years ago
Love my shallow drawer. Will try to post a photo.
monciona
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you, Jeanette - that would be great!
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crcollins1_gw
10 years ago
I'm thinking it would be a great place to store shallow but bulky things like the extra oven rack, broiler pan, pizza peel - stuff that might be too oversized or oddly shaped to fit in vertical storage. I don't have a cooktop like yours but others here will tell you if it gets too warm for your utensils. If you decide to go that route, use search and read threads about "Wood Hollow" drawer inserts.
loonlakelaborcamp
10 years ago
I'd store hot pads, trivets, rubber spatulas and wooden spoons -- even a bunch of "tasting" spoons. They would be handy while cooking.
monciona
Original Author
10 years ago
These are great suggestions. Thanks! But is there anyone who has a shallow drawer directly under an induction cooktop who can weigh in on whether the drawer gets too hot to safely store textiles, or wood & plastic utensils?
smm5525
10 years ago
I think at least for Wolf induction, you can't have combustible materials within 6" from the bottom. Ive seen threads on this topic with pics so try doing a search
User
10 years ago
I would worry about accidentally inducing metals in the drawer to get hot.

Maybe a place for silicone baking sheets and temp-resistant plastic tools?
ainelane
10 years ago
Mathteachr - very helpful reply for those of us following this thread.

Can you please share what the internal space (height) in that utensil drawer is?
yeh_yeh
10 years ago
We have an induction cooktop with a 32" shallow drawer underneath. I was planning on storing cooking utensils in there but my laddle was too high and I don't want to have more than one drawer for cooking utensil. So I store all my utensil in a different top drawer and I store spices in the drawer underneath the cooktop. I do notice the inside of the drawer does get warm if I use the cooktop for a prolong period (2+ hours use on high heat). But it doesn't get hot, just warm. My cooktop is by Thermador if that matters.
westsider40
10 years ago
I store most of my wooden and metal utensils under my Bosch induction cooktop. It doesn't even get warm. Nothing at all to even think about. There are some old threads on clearance required. And in manuals. Simply not an issue at all.
mason_christiane
7 years ago
Can spices be stored in the drawer just below the induction cooktop
PRO
Debbi Washburn
7 years ago
Please check your appliance spec. Recently I have run across cooktops that are requiring 5" of space from the bottom of the cooktop to anything.... combustible or not... just be sure..
Cheryl Hewitt
7 years ago
Can spices be stored in the drawer just below the induction cooktop

I believe this would work under my induction cooktop. It's a Wolf and has a thin profile. Check out the pictures in my [reveal post[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/kitchen-reveal-dsvw-vd~4835814). We chose to store utensils below the cooktop. It would depend on the depth of your drawer, and depth of your induction.
lcthorne
6 years ago
I would avoid storing spices under the cooktop if it is one that spreads some heat to the drawer. Heat can deteriorate the spices.