I use my cast iron skillet with a paper towel under it all the time on my induction cooktop...love it.

suzanne_sl, thank you for posting this! Getting an induction and didn't know if towels were safe to use - but knew others used paper towels. We'll be re-building our garden after we pull out a mass of ancient Leylands, and I wish to learn to can... water bath canning will be my first step.

johnsoro25, on the flip side of your comment, I find spill-over an every other day occurrence, and lifting grates, wiping/scrubbing underneath is an extra step I don't want to re-visit now. Having said that, I think gas cook-tops are sexy, useful, will never go out of style, and will always have a place in many a cook's kitchen!

Do you think it would be worth doing modules with gas and induction?

Maybe crack the lid??? Or turn down the stove, it doesn't need to be a roaring boil, the water will be at the same temp no matter how many bubbles its making.

barnaclebob, I do crack lids. I get busy prepping other items while waiting for a boil, and by the time I look over at the stove... it's a done deal! However, I'm still using my electric coil range top and it takes longer than what I've heard an induction will to start a boil (often needed before reducing heat). Yet another reason I'm looking forward to induction: I hope to bring things to a boil more quickly, then turn to a steady simmer.

palimpset, I think that's a personal choice.

LOL, bob! The problem is that when I put quart jars in there and get the water level to 1" over that, the water level is really full. I turn the heat down to just enough*. I think if the lid were just a scootch larger it wouldn't launch the spits out. That may be the difference between the $35 pot and the $100 pot. Or maybe it's just too full. This isn't a problem when I use pint or smaller jars.

*Another advantage to an induction stove is that when you turn the heat down, it reduces immediately. You don't have to either remove the pot for a moment or allow it to keep going on high until it does cool down some. I was reminded of this when I was using my DD's electric stove the other day. I'm spoiled.

palimpsest - I honestly haven't missed the gas burners. The induction goes up and down so rapidly that that isn't an issue. I do a lot of cooking - soups, sauté, wok, grill, a little frying - and haven't missed anything about the gas burners. I never actually roasted peppers on the gas burners, though, so if you do you would miss that function if you're a direct heat veggie griller. Besides that, I'm not sure why you might want both.

Caveat: gas stoves have the distinct advantage of still being usable when the electricity goes out. DD's MIL lost a Thanksgiving turkey one year when the power went out and stayed out for many hours while the bird was in the oven. Wouldn't that be a nightmare!

I got a cheap Graniteware canner for use on induction. You now--the blue speckled stuff. Got a matching roaster so I could make gravy on the cooktop too.

Some pots CAN become hot enough to ignite things on an induction cooktop. You have to try really hard, but it's doable.

On a side note, if you are doing a long hot cast iron seasoning on your induction cooktop, skip the paper towel. :)

Use parchment paper under cast iron. Safer.

Just wondering...... why use anything under pans on induction? I personally think cleanup is so easy that there's no reason to put anything between pan and cooktop. Or is it to protect from scratches?

Sherri, yes, some cast iron has rough bottoms, so something like parchment paper underneath is just useful insurance. I don't think I'd use paper towels though.

Suzanne, I have a tall "lobster pot" I've used in the past for canning. It didn't cost much, and the height prevents most splatters. Turns out it happens to be "induction ready" and so next year I expect to start canning again.. on my new induction range.

I also don't see any reason to put a towel, paper towel, parchment paper or anything under my pans. I'm guessing that maybe people haven't used glass topped stoves before and think they scratch more easily than they actually do? Certainly not necessary ( on mine at least) for clean up!)

I have a silicone pad that I use under my pots when I'm making things that sputter on simmer, like tomato sauce or chili -- it's easier to clean, and reusable. I use a paper towel under the pot when I'm making popcorn so I can shake it more easily and shake the pot without causing damage.

I used a paper towel mainly when I knew I was going to boil over. A clean cooktop shouldn't scratch--glass is much harder than cast iron. I rarely see those levels of clean.

There are reports of silicone mats melting and leaving a permanent reminder on the surface though.

I guess compared to my previous stove, it doesn't seem to matter what boils over or splatters, it seems a breeze to clean up. I had an electric smooth top bisque stove before and sometimes I didn't even feel like cooking it took so much work to clean and you had to be sure to clean it perfectly before cooking again because otherwise the splatters got even more baked on....... This just seems like a dream to me now :-)

Suzanne, How are you liking the Kenmore induction? I have been wanting an induction range and thought about electrolux. How did you decide on one brand over another? If you had a thread on this, I'd love a link. Thanks

"This just seems like a dream to me now :-)"

I know! Also actually being able to simmer that chili is something I couldn't do before with my electric stove.

I chose the Kenmore because 1) it has knobs vs all push buttons and 2) price. It's been a great stove. (Be sure to click on the photos to make them big enough to pick out detail.)

Kenmore Elite panel:

Electrolux panel

Pal, pllog who posts over in the appliance forum has induction and gas. She reports not using the gas very much. You could ask about the usefulness of both kinds of fuel over there.

Recently had an induction cook top installed after much, much research and soul searching. I cannot see ever returning to gas or electric. The induction is a cook's dream IMHO. It is so responsive. The fellows who installed it and tested to make sure all the burners were working had never installed an induction previously. They both said they are converts and will discuss putting induction in their own homes with their wives. None of us could believe how fast a pot of water came to a full boil.

WalnutCreek: Can you tell us the model that you got? I'm in the market!!

Sorry to butt in, we have an induction cooktop we put in almost 2 years ago. I'll never have anything else again. Ours is is Wolf, 24" 3 hob.

Sure. I found an new older model and bought it. It is a Bosch 36" Induction Cooktop 500 Series Model Number NIT5665UC. I considered purchasing one from the 800 Series, but decided (mostly because of price) that I liked the looks of the one I got better and that it had a lot of bells and whistles - enough for me at least. I highly recommend Bosch. There is a very soft noise when the element is heating, but it is not as loud as the heating of the electrical elements on my old cooktop. The responsiveness is just awesome. I am so glad we decided on induction. I am convinced it is the only way to go for this century.

Wow, you had me until you mentioned power outage.

I'm outside DC, and we regularly lose power. Especially in winter the gas comes in handy to at least make some hot drinks and food.

nosoccermom, yeah, it could be an issue. I figure we can always get out the camp stove or the bbq if need be. We actually used the Coleman stove a lot when our kitchen was being reno'd.

Cooking tonight, I made a mess of the (gas) stove top. I'm looking forward to induction when I can clean up as I go (as opposed to leaving it for DH to do it when he cleans up after dinner. (As messy as I can be, I'll probably always cook on top of paper towel.

You cannot cook on a paper towel at high settings....towel will scorch.