If you really want an actual wok cooking experience, induction cooking would not provide it nor would anything other than a cooking source with the extreme BTU's necessary - it could be a dedicated wok cooker and I have no knowledge of other wok cooking appliances.

If you have the money, the Gaggenau induction cooktop has a surface that enables you to use ANY part of it to place pots so there is no need to place on a specific area or use a specific size. It's spendy as it's $10,000. I am compromising with its little sister - the Bosch Benchmark which has one "flexmation" side which means that I can place pots on that long area without worrying about size or exact placement.

Maintenance (at least for me) seems easier than either a standard electric smooth top OR gas burners since it's a completely smooth surface which doesn't heat up so food doesn't bake on and there are no pesky burners to clean as there are with a gas cooktop.

I have Wolf induction. It's great other than the touch controls. Next time it's Bluestar because there are knobs (Bluestar induction wasn't out when I purchased). The issue with touch controls is that they don't work if your hands are not completely dry and you can't spill anything or you have to reset them. One point--don't get All-Clad, they don't work well because the bottoms warp. I started with All-Clad copper core, but am now replacing them with Fissler Original Pro. The Fissler heat far more evenly so cooking is much easier. The base is thick so no warping.

I've had no issues with the burners turning off when the pot is lifted, it's the spills and wet hands that are the issue. I also haven't had any issues with different size pots. On the Wolf, there are four small and one large, so perhaps that's why.

To answer your other questions. Streaky depends entirely on the cleaner you use. Some streak some don't. No scratches after over a year's not too careful use. I haven't seen any fingerprints. For stir-fry a 12" or larger fry pan works better than a wok. I'm happy with the results as the pan can get very hot (I have read a few comments where someone has actually melted the pan, I don't have any experience with that--and hope not to.)

One last item. I don't like the fumes and inefficiency of gas. No amount of makeup air and blower CFM can get rid of all the fumes.

I have used both, and I much prefer induction - all the control, without the flame or heat. Yes, it is definitely hot enough to actually stir fry, and it does it faster than gas ever did (I have a cast iron wok, and it heats up faster on induction). I've been using my LG induction for about 10 months now, and I don't have any scratches (and I'm a messy cook). When I make something that requires me to shake the pan/pot (like when I'm making popcorn), I put a piece of paper towel underneath the pot to help smooth the way.

As M said, it would be ideal if you could try out induction first. I ended up going with a bluestar gas range and I tried several Induction models. One of the little things not everyone mentions: I absolutely could not stand that annoying buzzing sound the induction ranges made. Drove me nuts. Some models worse than others. Different pans made different levels of noise. Too much headache to figure out the perfect match. That is just my opinion though, and I am just one person. Try before you buy, that would go for a bluestar as well =).

I have both. When I am in the house with gas, I sorely miss the ease of cleanup of the induction. There is nothing as good as wiping down the cooktop and being done- no fuss no muss- sparkling clean with zero effort.

I believe the type of cookware affects the buzzing more than the induction unit. I have Dmeyere, Fissler and LeCreuset cookware with no buzzing on a Gagg cooktop (which I am sure is pretty much the same as a Thermadore or Bosch cooktop- all Siemens products.)

I have not noticed any buzzing on the Wolf.

I’ve had an induction cooktop for 12 years and won’t go back to gas. It’s so easy to cleanup and cooking is a pleasure. I use my traditional carbon steel wok at least twice a week and it works just fine. Plenty hot enough and no steaming. My top does have a couple of fine scratches after all these years but they are not very noticeable. My kids started cooking and are more careless about dragging things across the top. But at least I don’t have to worry about them burning themselves with fire or a super hot cooktop.

I also have no buzzing. I use a mix of pots. A lot of Le Creuset as well as the everyday 365 cookware from Ikea which works great.

I have light buzzing with All Clad but none with my other cookware like Le Creuset, Demeyere and Carbon Steel.

I have both induction and gas. I rarely use the Gas Wok Burner from Miele, I use it for charring peppers when I don't want to use the grill. It is super powerful but Induction has so many advantages. I wok with a flat bottom work on my induction cooktop, it is faster, recovers faster than the gas hob. I stir fry or make wok based meals at least 4 times a week. For example, this week, I have made the following dishes:

• Ghenghis Khan Beef (great recipe from Martin Yan in Breath of a Wok)
• Teacup Chicken (great recipe from Breath of a Wok)
• Paneer Jalfrezi
• Japchae with beef

I also had a Dacor gas range top before this. I have a Miele induction 30" cooktop. Keeping consistent temperature when cooking is also so easy with induction. There are some things you forget about cooking with other sources when you use induction:

1. 1. Cookware handles are never hot and neither is the cooking utensil that may be metal.
2. 2. My kitchen towels don't set themselves a flame when I put them on the cooktop by mistake.
3. 3. Cooking time is so much less than with any other source, an example is the amount of time I forgot that I put eggs on a burner and the pan was dry when I turned back around.
4. 4. Having young kids around, you can teach them how to cook without worrying about burning themselves in the flames.
5. 5. There is less heat when cooking especially in the summer.
6. 6. Melting chocolate for hot chocolate is so easy and does not require a double boiler.
7. 7. My indian curries don't burn on the bottom because of the high amount of sugar released from the onions.
8. 8. Oatmeal is so easy to make and never burns once you set your cooktop temperature.
9. I second the recommendation to go to a showroom, I would recommend the Miele showroom because they always have at least one induction cooktop setup. It is sometimes hard to find the wok burners set up anywhere. If you are in Dallas, the Miele Dallas Showroom has a Wok burner live in the showroom. In my area, I was able to visit a local showroom that had the Bluestar range top setup and compare it to an Electrolux induction range. I used this to perform experiments based on the types of food that I cook. I tested out my Pasta and Sauce meal in the showroom to see the way it performed. I brought all the food and my own pots and pans. My original idea was a Bluestar cooktop and a single induction burner.
10. Good luck!

Jennifer, expanding a bit on what homepro said, I suggest you might find it easier to sort through your choices by focusing on a few specific induction ranges to compare with your preferred Blue Star. I'll suggest you focus on the GE Cafe induction models (such as the CHS985SELSS), the Wolf Induction ranges (like the one Jerry Jorgenson has), the Bosch Benchmark Induction Range (HIIP054U), and the LG induction range (LSE4617ST which, I think, is the model that TorontoVet has). For finding a place to demo a unit, you might have the best luck with a Wolf-branded induction unit.

Thing is, it is hard (and maybe pointless) to compare your preferred Blue Star model (an RNB maybe?) with induction in the abstract.

You cannot buy an abstract induction range. Every real stove model is a mix of budgetary choices, aesthetic and design trade-offs, and engineering compromises. The different mixes of choices may appeal differently to different folks. Sometimes, other aspects of a stove might matter more to a particular person than just induction burners versus gas ones.

That's basically what I found the last time I went shopping for a stove. I should say that I've been using induction off and on since the mid-1980s. I have an abstract preference for induction over gas. I had been planning on getting an induction range. But, when my existing stove died unexpectedly and I needed a new stove pronto, I found I slightly preferred a particular pro-style gas range over the then available models of induction ranges that I was considering. I looked at what it would be like to use those specific stoves in the kitchen I have, where I live, with what I cook, how I cook and what I cook with. I considered how the designers' ergonomic choices worked for me. I grappled with with the uncertain longevity and repairabiity of the various stoves' respective electronics (or lack of them.)

Notice that there are a lot of "I" statements in that last sentence, eh? That's to emphasize that personal preferencea are important. The most decisive aspects could turn out be some things other than whether the burners are gas or induction. In my own case, I found I slightly preferred one particular pro-style gas range over the particular induction range models available to me at the time I was shopping. YMMV

FWIW, I also subsequently installed a commercial induction cooktop alongside my stove.

I might liken the process of choosing stoves to shopping for a new mattress or loudspeakers. Look online and you find that one kind of mattress (say, memory foam ones) get advertised as though one type or model is good for everybody. In the reviews on seller sites, you find that a particular model seems "wonderfully plush" to one gushing enthusiast while seeming "too firm" to somebody else and maybe "too soft and unsupportive" to yet a third person.

At least with products like mattresses and loudspeakers, there now are a fair number of companies with "satisfaction" guarantees. The sellers offer a month to try it out (sometimes two, three or four months of trial.) They will take the item back with a full refund if you are not completely satisfied. You actually get to use the product before deciding to keep it. But, good grief, have you seen how many mattress models are out there? Even with trial periods, you still need to narrow down your selection down to a few models to then try to get some hands on time to get an idea of how well the item does or does not work for you in your house. That's why I'm suggesting focusing on several specific induction models and trying to find a place to demo one or more of them.

Now, turning to your specific questions above, I have cooked on a Blue Star (an RCS and its Garland range predecessor) as well as on various induction cooktops and ranges.

You asked about scratching and fingerprints. To an extent, this can be a YMMV thing. One person may hardly care while another may want an appliance to always look as though nobody had ever used it. Another person may obsess over the surfaces the way a car fanatic may buff and polish a car for "Concours d'elegance" (sp?) show quality. Others' preferences may fall between those extremes.

If you need your appliances to look absolutely and pristinely shiny, be aware that you do get scratching and fingerprinting on pro-style ranges like the Blue Stars. At least, you will if it you use it much. Now, with the BS top being matte-black cast iron, they'll wear in the way all cast iron does. Some find that desireable, some not. I've never thought scratches were particularly noticeable on that kind of surface any more than on my cast iron pans but, OTOH, I don't care for the commercial CI look.

Scratches and finger prints will definitely accumulate on the Blue-Star's stainless steel vent riser at the back, and on the stove's doors and panels. For some folks, those inevitable smudges and scratches will only be "patina" that shows off the stove's use, and the finger smears are just something to wipe off every once in a while. For other folks, though, the fingerprints and scrathes might as well be finger nails scraping across a chalk board. YMMV.

Pretty much the same sort of thing with induction ranges. Although some induction ranges now have fingerprint resistant stainless finishes on the trim and sides, those will still need wiping off and maybe a bit of buffing.

The shiny black ceramic/glass cooking surfaces are another YMMV aspect. Personally, I've found it sufficient to spritz and wipe/buff with a microfiber towel. Takes me maybe 30 seconds. Every few weeks, I'll give my induction cooktop a quick buff with a polishing cream like Weiman's or Ceramabryte. (I'll use a similar product to do the buff and polish with the stainless finishes on my stove, too, but the stove has way more scratches than my cooktop.) I also went years without scratching a ceramic cooktop, but I now have a couple of noticeable ones on my cooktop. To me, those scratches seem more noticeable on the shiny black surface of the cooktop than the ones on the stainless finishes of the stove. Since the cooktop has been heavily used and is now going on five-years old, it is no big deal to me but YMMV.

As for wokking, I've been partial to the Joyce Chen flat-bottom carbon steel wok on both my stove and my induction cooktop. (For information and a review, you can check out this link to the Serious Eats site.) Induction will get the bottom of that wok as screaming hot as you could want. A friend with an IR thermo-gun read base temps of 600°F in the flat bottom wok. Of course, the wok sides are considerably less hot which is characteristic of carbon steel's rather poor heat dispersion abilities. (I'd imagine that Jerry's cast iron work is likely the same.) To keep food from steaming, I do watch the quantity in the pan with any wok. Some will find this desireably mimicing traditional wokking, some will be disappointed that it is not the same as restaurant style.

With the Blue-Star's bigger flame and heat flowing up the sides of the pan, the sides do get a lot hotter a lot further up. Again, this might be a good or bad thing depending on how you like to wok/stir-fry. Generally, what I'm doing when with a wok is flash frying an ingredient in the bottom, moving it up the sides, flash frying the next ingredient, moving that up the sides, etc. and then quickly mixing and finish-heating everything together to quickly serve. When I want a wide area for a screaming hot sear/saute, I just use a big frying pan. Your style may be different. If your style is to have an entire wok screaming hot, induction isn't going to cut it for you.

Personally, I've never been interested in the fancy restaurant style of tossing a pan over open flames to get vaporized oil to flambe the pan, I have seen friend with a vintage Wedgewood gas stove accomplish vapor ignition over smallish burners by using a butane barbecue stick-ignitor. I think there are some Youtube videos of this sort of thing over electric and induction burners. If you are into that kind of wokking (or the fancified French-style saute/flambeing), I suggest geting very serious about your new kitchen's venting system and also plan make-up air for your new kitchen, as well.

"Of course, the wok sides are considerably less hot which is
characteristic of carbon steel's rather poor heat dispersion abilities."

That's actually a good thing, and one of the design features of a wok! The idea is that you can move things to the upper sides after they've been seared at the bottom, and it's a way to stir fry things together even if some things take a little longer to cook than others. A good stir fry technique will rotate the items from searing hot bottom to cooler sides and back again. One cookbook I had called it tumbling your food in the wok over and over again.

We have the Thermador induction cooktop. You can place a pot pretty much anywhere on the surface of pretty much any size that fits and it will work. I like that we can put a griddle on the surface and it will heat evenly. What I don't like, as someone else mentioned, are the touch controls that don't work if your fingers are wet. It would also be nice to see an actual temperature instead of 1 through 9 and "boost." I do like the boost feature for boiling a pot of water very quickly. We have used boost for woking as well, although I'm not sure what temperature it actually achieves. Seems to do the trick. I also like the smooth surface for easy cleaning. It's much easier to clean than gas burners. I just use soapy water and rinse/dry. The only scratches we have are on the stainless steel trim. We have had this cooktop for a year. My only concern is what the life of the electronic components will be and the cost if ever needing repair or replacement.

Gagg induction cooktops have optional knobs.

I have tried induction, and I just prefer cooking with gas, just for the pleasure of it. I think the buzzing issue of induction can be caused by the cooktop or the pan/pot, but most of all I think some people are more sensitive to it, and some are not. Everyone has different preferences, like some prefer vanilla and some prefer chocolate. As has been said several times on this thread, you need to go somewhere that has the induction cooktops live, and try cooking on them. Some of the large manufacturers like Wolf have cooking and/or demo classes - go on the websites and see if one is in your area. Bluestar has them, but at spotty locations.

I just like cooking with gas better, though I get that induction has the benefits of easy cleaning, and safety auto-off, etc. To each his own.

Thanks everyone! A lot to think about. We are in the design phase of the house and I’m trying to plan ahead. Worst case scenario, I have it plumbed for both and figure it out later.

Jerry is that oven the GE Cafe?

Jennifer. No. It's a Bluestar 30" electric wall oven. It will hold a full size baking sheet, has a really great broiler, and a baking stone that has it's own temperature probe. Also the electronics are not complex so you do the cooking rather than the oven making the decisions for you.

We installed induction and also ran a gas line in case the induction didn’t work out or the next owner prefers gas. Doesn’t add much in cost if you are plumbing gas for other items and adds flexibility. BTW I love my induction. I went with Wolf and am very happy with it, I used a portable unit to try it out which was helpful. I also tried out various cooktops with my own cookware in showrooms where they had cooktops live.

Each has pros and cons.

A decent induction stove puts out higher heat than even a very powerful gas stove. It's pretty hard to find real comparisons here because gas is always measured in BTUs and induction is generally measured in watts, and the efficiency gap is so large between induction and gas. But overall, induction is so efficient that it gets remarkably hot, remarkably fast.

That said, induction only heats the surface of the pan that it's touching. It cooks totally differently than gas. On a normal skillet, the sides heat up when cooking with gas - you get some sauce splatters caramelizing on the sides, for example, and when you're close to the skillet you can feel the heat leaking around the pan and respond to it. On induction, 100% of the heat is from the bottom of the pan. The surrounding area is cool, and the sides of the pan don't get super hot (it's not like they're cold, but things don't really caramelize). On a wok, this is especially pronounced, as even with a flat-bottom wok you'll only have a tiny area that really gets hot. A gas stove is simply more versatile, and a pro range like bluestar puts out plenty of power.

Induction also has less flexible controls. Generally you're dealing with touch controls. Wolf has probably the most intuitive touch controls on the market - so many of the other ones require multiple touches just to change the heat. Touch controls give you pre-defined levels of heat. If one setting is too low and the next up is too high, you're stuck. Knobs on gas stoves are more flexible and more intuitive. On the other hand, if you really like replicability, setting 4 on a given induction burner (with a given pan) will always be the same amount of heat.

Induction is amazing in the summer, because it doesn't heat up your space as much. Gas is nice in the winter because it makes your kitchen warm and cozy.

Induction requires less venting for air quality, but remember that the heat can get really high, and you can make a lot of smoke with an induction top, so don't cheap out on ventilation with either one.

It's easy to find induction-capable pans, but you do need to test out your pans. The hardest type to find are probably nonstick pans that work with induction. Some cookware you have might surprise you - I have a stock pot with a stainless base that, for some reason, doesn't register on an induction cooktop.

Cleaning is also something to consider. Technically, induction is easier to clean - the surface doesn't get as hot, so spills don't burn on. The surface is also smooth, so it's easy to wipe down quickly. On the other hand, rugged gas grates are a little easier to keep looking new because they don't streak or show fingerprints or smudges, and you never have to worry about scratching them.

The best recommendation before you consider purchasing induction is to cook with a cheap portable induction burner. You can buy them on amazon for about $50. You'll quickly learn the pros and cons of induction, and you definitely want some experience before moving forward with a large purchase.

I strongly considered both, and ultimately decided I would be happy with either. It just came down to total cost of installation. Since we already had a gas line, we decided on gas; running the dedicated circuit and upgrading our electric service (we live in an old house) made induction a more expensive choice. But for a lot of people, induction will be cheaper than pro gas.

Some minor additions to what justanothercook said so well.

First, for appliance-geek power comparisons (should you be inclined to numerical comparison) try this formula: BTU/hour = kW x 7185 This formula converts between the differing measurement units for gas and electricity (i.e., between BTUs and Watts) while factoring in the large difference between induction and gas burners' efficiency of using the energy supplied for cooking.

Second, not all induction appliances have stepped settings and touch pad controls. For example, in the models suggested for demo above, both the GE Cafe and the LG models use front-mounted rotary knobs for their stovetop burners rather than touchpads. Also, the GE Cafe also has continuously variable power settings rather than the stepped settings used by most other induction stoves.

Third, it has become easier to find relatively inexpensive induction suitable non-stick pans. For example, if you are a Costco member, have a look at their cookware selections next time you are in the store. Lots of induction-suitable non-stick choices even in the store here in rural Montana where I live.

Fourth, should you want to test out induction at home with a portable-induction-cooker (PIC), I've been pointing friends to this discussion of PICs at Centurylife.org. and this one at Wirecutter.

Jerry, what are you doing to your All-Clad pans to make them warp? I’ve been cooking on my parents’ twenty+ year old All-Clad and they are flat as a pancake, but admittedly, I was taught never to put a hot pan under cold water, to let the pan cool before washing it.

One of the issues I’m having, as I try to bring the house I grew up in back up to snuff, is that, for example, Henredon furniture made when my mom bought it, is far superior to Henredon furniture made today. Le Creuset seems exactly the same but I’m not sure because I have all of my parents’ old pieces in really good condition. I am looking at additional All-Clad pieces, but maybe they aren’t what they used to be?

I had no intention of changing out my cooktop ever, actually, but it just fried itself, so now I have to either plumb for gas, or stick with electric/induction...

I'm pretty sure that All-Clad quality is not the same as twenty years ago. I've seen a number of other comments about warping on Amazon, so I don't believe that it's just me. And yes, I always let them cool down before washing. I have a few Le Creuset pieces and they are fine.

He might not have done anything to make his A-C Copper Core pans warp. Experiences vary and so, apparently, does manufacturing. A bit of doming (which some call warping) could have been a deliberate design choice. Warping could have been a manufacturing defect. OTOH, some folks encounter warping after using copper core clad pans because of the differential expansion of the copper and steel layers. Other folks, after years of use with no apparent problems, have found warping on all manner of clad pans, Still others never run into a problem and wonder what the fuss is about and suggest warranty claims. Experiences vary. FWIW, my 12 y.o. All Clad stainless skillets --- bought as factory seconds --- came with a slight concavity (dome) in the exterior base but oil inside the pans does not pool away from the center. I use them on both induction and gas. I've never hesitated to add cold liquids or rinse under less than hot water, either. That does not mean somebody else won't run into a problem. It just means our experiences are different. Go out to Google/Bing/Whatever and search on "All Clad + warping" to see the wide range experiences and opinions such as in this thread from Chowhound.

Ok, I had no idea the problem is so widespread. This raises the question, if not All-Clad, then what? Fissler? Demeyer? It’s hard enough to make decisions without brands constantly fluctuating in product quality. The 10 piece Demeyer Atlantis is on sale at Williams Sonoma for $1300.

Im checking out the BlueStar induction range. Thanks for the tip about knobs.

I'm very happy with my Zwilling J.A. Henckels set (I think mine is a Sol II) that I've been using for almost a year; I augmented the set with a few T-Fal saucepans, and they've performed equally as well (I wanted more smaller saucepans). And I'm also using some of my previous Lagostina pieces that I've had for over 20 years. And cast iron, of course. (FWIW, I have an LG induction range with knobs.)

I have had really great success with the Fissler Original Pro series. I have the 7 qt stew pot. It cooks much more evenly than the All-Clad and the base is so thick, I don't see how it could ever warp. Next purchase will be the 10 qt. And eventually all the All-Clad will be replaced (other than the pasta one, as water doesn't care).

i have miele induction 36" and have had no problem with noise w/ All-Clad, 5 years ... i think the original SS, no copper core, works best.

also cook with lecreuset and cast iron, all work fine.

love induction, would never go back to anything else.

I love Fissler and Demeyer both- along with LC, when applicable. No buzzing, and wonderful performance with both SS brands on my Gagg cooktop.

TV, do you think your Henkels/Zwilling is the Canadian version of Demeyer? It seems to me it would be- just wondering if you knew for sure.

It isn't that there is a Canadian version of Demeyere, its that the Zwilling-Henckels corporate umbrella is a big one and the same product may be sold under different product brandnames even in the same market. Sometimes you can tell when a product line is duplicated in another of the brands because both use the same trademarked component or coating. For example, if you see a Demeyere product line using, say, the "Sol-CeraForce" nonstick coating in the Zwilling-JA Henckels Sol 2 line --- it is probably the same product in both lines with maybe some difference in handles or lids or such. Likewise, the "silvinox" surface polishing shows up on the Demeyere 5 line (sometimes sold as "Industry 5") and also is sold as the "JA Henckels Sensation" line and they are the same product. Other Demeyere product lines use the silvinox, too, such as the Atlantis and 7-Ply TripleInduc lines but don't seem to have counterparts in Zwilling's other brands. It can be confusing, and maybe intentionally so, eh?

"TV, do you think your Henkels/Zwilling is the Canadian version of Demeyer?"

No, as jwvideo said, they're all arms of the same company. The company Zwilling bought Staub and Demeyer in 2008; they are parts of the Zwilling group, as are Zwilling JA Henkels, and the makers of Miyabi knives and Tweezerman products.

I apologize for not being more precise in my language. I did not mean to suggest the company made two different versions of the pots and pans. I meant two different labels for the same product, like Hellmann's vs Best Foods depending on which side of the Mississippi you are on (not sure if that translates in Canada- it's a mayonnaise brand that goes by two different names depending on if you are on the East or West side of the country.)

At any rate, thanks for the clarification.

Edited for weird autocorrect- it's Best Foods mayo, not Best Buy.

"I meant two different labels for the same product"

Ah, got it. In that case, I think jwvideo got it covered......yes, that might be the case. I did wonder about Best Buy mayo ;)

TV, It's Best Foods mayo, not Best Buy. My auto correct is diabolical. I'll add the correction above.

Oh my gosh, I grew up here in OH and lived in SoCal for a long stretch. The funny thing about the different names for the same product was always the jingle, “bring out the bestfoods and bring out your best.” That cracked me up.

I’m going to try to look at a BlueStar induction cooktop with knobs tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have a chance to check out the Fissler as well. Thanks all.