I prefer an induction -- all the control of gas, but without the heat and flame. Love it!

Another vote for induction. I have better control at lower temps than with gas and that control is on all of the hobs, not one simmer burner. Not sweating while standing at the cooktop had a big impact on my mood, too! Combustibles released into the air are also reduced.

Most here are going to tell you induction. Do a search on “induction” and you will find many similar topics on the subject. Only drawbacks are having to have compatible cookware, and some buzzing with certain models (mainly between the cookware and the cooktop, not across the board). And obviously not the choice for those with pacemakers.

Pacemaker wearers can use induction. A consult with their cardiologist and an asynchronous interference mode for the pacemaker may be the answer for them. It's patient dependent, of course.

Good to know. I had always read that they were not recommended.

We were long time gas fans. New house has no gas so we did induction. I was nervous but love it now. There was a slight adjustment period while we learned which setting corresponded to the old gas flame level, but once you can cook without that visual it’s much nicer to have the easy clean up. Responsiveness is just as good as gas.

I have both. Induction wins hands down. I love the granularity of control and the ease of cleanup.

I thought about switching to induction in the house we bought a few months ago, but then I watched my wife setting down (i.e., dropping) a large cast iron pan on the yet-to-be-replaced 60 year old electric, and I realized that I could never go to induction.

My cooktop is gas in the house that we have at 8300' altitude in the northern mountains (middle of nowhere) of New Mexico. The altitude and having propane instead of natural gas noticeably reduces the BTUs. The summer's hottest temps outside is about 80. We also have power outages occasionally throughout the year. I would always choose gas in these conditions, because extra heat in the kitchen is actually helpful almost all year, being able to cook when there's no electricity is a life saver, and I do love the visual feedback of the flames and being able to pick up and shake the pans without the burners turning off.

ok, that's the house we're selling.

Our house in Phoenix --well, how much more do I really have to say, lol? I would always choose induction for the house we live in there for exactly the opposite reasons I outlined above! Right now I have a portable induction cooktop and like it ok; I hope that regular installed induction cooktops have a longer timeout than ~10 seconds. I do have the same trepidation as Joe T. about dropping a pan or otherwise damaging the surface but not enough to not get induction.

On my cooktop you can most certainly pick up the pan and shake it without the hob turning off. I have Gagg. I am almost certain Bosch and Miele allow the same thing.

" I hope that regular installed induction cooktops have a longer timeout than ~10 seconds."

Mine is 60 seconds (I have an LG induction range). I timed it out of curiosity.

Bosch doesn't time-out too quickly at 90 seconds, according to their literature. I can't test mine to verify.

My Bosch 800 series and it is indeed 90 sec. Loving induction so far.

I’m pretty sure my Miele is 4 minutes. It definitely is not less than 4.

thank you all! This was a really helpful discussion! I was leaning induction, but I'm sold!

Induction is very popular on this forum. But there are a few of us who prefer gas. Having cooked on both, I prefer gas. I find it more enjoyable, and the issues of induction buzzing and having to use the right type and size of cookware are not for me. I found the literal act of sautéing (shaking the pan and making the contents jump) to be disappointing on an induction, though other people here have not felt that way. If you have a friend who has induction, I would ask if you could use theirs for a meal or a dish and see if you like it.

I'm also one who prefers gas for my primary cooking. While I know induction is easier to clean up, I also use heavy cast iron cookware often, shake skillets on the top, char peppers and toast tortillas directly on the grates. I also like the analog flame versus digital/distinct power levels of induction. That said, I do have a portable induction hob that I use occasionally.

Induction all the way. With no gas even outside a pellet grill is preferable. I'm also liking an Instant Pot and sous vide. Lots of choices none gas.

msms57, if you've a dealer near you I suggest you ask for a demo on the induction - it's pretty fascinating... and amazing.

I switched from gas to induction and have no regrets. I do like it better - only thing I liked better about gas was the heavy duty grates vs. the more fragile glass top.

Hi msms57, I have a Lacanche with both gas and induction. Like you, I really pondered going with induction vs. gas in a new build a few years ago. I couldn't imagine cooking without gas! In the end, I got both with my LC. However, now that I have both on my new range, I find that I use the induction as my default burners. I absolutely love it!! In fact, in the next house I will probably forego gas altogether and go full induction. HTH!

No one says "now we're cooking with induction!". Case closed.

Huge cook here! Im hoping to find a home with gas, but if there is no gas range, I’ll be getting induction. I won’t change out the gas range as long as it’s working, but when it dies I’m going induction.

And obviously not the choice for those with pacemakers.

WRONG! If you have the old style pacemaker, than yes you may not be able to have induction but if you have the newer style then induction is safe to use as long as your pacemaker is more than 6" from the cooktop.

How do I know? 8 years ago I wanted induction for our condo. Was all set to pull the plug on induction when I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic because I realized I couldn't do it because DH has a pacemaker. We went with electric since we didn't have gas in the condo.

Fast forward to last year when again I wanted induction in my new build house. (This time I had the choice of gas too.) This time I was reading articles stating that it was safe for those with pacemakers. Just to be sure, I called the company that made DH's pacemaker. I gave them his serial number and they assured me it was safe for him to use with the caveat about being 6" from the surface.

We've used the cooktop several times since moving in and his ticker is still going strong.

Induction!

We are a family of 6, scratch cooking everyday with lots of
people always coming over.

Our first house had a gas range in it. In the house we live in now, there was a regular
electric cooktop. When we remodeled the
kitchen, I had to decide gas or induction like you are doing now. I am sooooo happy with my choice of
induction. This was 5 years ago.

Cons that people often reference:

-
Can’t char over a flame. So I just char my peppers in the oven,
problem solved.

-
Can’t use it if there’s a blizzard/hurricane/power
outage. If there’s a blizzard/hurricane/power
outage, we have bigger problems to worry about than cooking, and we can use the
outdoor charcoal grill when the snow/rain stops.

-
Cookware:
It’s true that your cookware has to be magnetic. There were 4 or 5 things that I had to give
away. As long as you can stick a kitchen
magnet to the bottom of the item, it will work.
In my opinion, the advantages of induction far out weigh having to buy a
few pots or pans.

-
Using a wok.
I have a flat-bottom wok and use it often for stir-fry. It works fine, so the lack of an open flame
going up the sides has not been a con for me.

Pros:

-
Speed and control. It’s lightning fast. If you change the temp, it responds very quickly. You can boil a huge pot of water in 6 minutes
or so. I have more control
over temp than I had with my gas range, and for sure more than my regular
electric cooktop. Especially at the
lower temps.

-
No open flame:
Do you live in the South? Or
anywhere that you have hot summers? It’s
hard enough to keep your house cool, why would you want to add a flame to the
mix? The open flame is pumping heat into
your room, not the food. With induction,
the pot gets hot, the food gets hot, but there’s no flame heating up the air in
your kitchen.

-
Easy clean up even if you are still cooking. Ever try wiping up a spill with a dish towel
right next to an open flame? With
induction, that’s no problem.

-
Low temp control. If you do something like a braise (think Coq
au vin), you can make the whole meal at whatever higher temp is required, then set
it on low (mine is 1 – 10, so I’d put it at 1 or 2), and leave the house. Really.
You don’t have to worry about the flame going out, or the meal burning
to the bottom of the pot.

-
You can get rid of small appliances
that are compensating for your under-performing cooktop. I have donated my rice cooker, plug in tea pot, etc.,
because my induction cooktop made all those extra things unnecessary. I was using them because my previous cooktop
was not doing its job.

-
Timers. A lot of induction cooktops come with timers. You can put the water and rice in a saucepan,
bring to boil, lower the temp to 1 or 2, set the timer for 15 minutes and walk
away, go take a shower, walk the dog...Same scenario for making soup, beans, lentils,
or anything where the formula is: put ingredients in, bring to boil, stir,
lower temp, simmer for XX minutes, remove from heat. You can walk away after you set the timer; it
will turn the hob off, thus removing from heat.

-
Serving kids.
We have a large family. A lot of
times I have to cook dinner in the afternoon and leave it on the stove for
people to serve themselves after they come home from music, sports, work, etc. I might not be home bc I’m driving one kid or
another to/from school, music or sports.
I can leave dinner on the stove on a low temp, with a large dishtowel
under the pot. As people come in and
serve themselves, if someone spills, it falls on the dishtowel. Easy clean up. The dishtowel can be tossed in the laundry,
no clean up of the glass top is required.
A dishtowel over a flame would not end well.

-
If it gets super messy the clean up is still
easy. Lots of times it’s really
messy. Just spray the cleaner on there
and rub. It’s a lot easier to clean than
my old gas range.

Actual Con:

-
My kids cook, even the young ones. If they go to someone’s house to babysit and
the parents have asked them to cook something for their young charges, I do
worry that they will burn themselves or set a dishtowel on fire because they
are not used to an open flame. I’ve done
my best to (1) teach the kids how to be safe around the open flame and (2) talk
the neighbors into induction.

We switched from gas to induction 1 year ago and have no regrets. It is very responsive and heats quickly. I can boil water in nothing flat! Most our pans worked but we had to buy new pots, a new griddle and a new wok. Not a big deal. I have both my kids and my mom with me and it is great for the kids learning to cook and my mom aging in place. Less chance of burns and less chance of fire. No fumes and minimal heat. Love that I can have my ingredients in plates or bowls on the cooktop and nothing gets hot or melts. Almost all the benefits of gas and none of the drawbacks. If I want to char something I just turn on the grill outside (but I am willing to grill even in snow).