i prefer my gas, not over induction so much as over a glass cooktop. i like cast iron pans, i like my le creuset, they have rough bottoms. i make a lot of dishes that hot sear on the stove and then into the oven. i dont want to stop making those dishes. a guest took a casserole out of the oven and set it on my glass cooktop at my vacation home and put a scratch on the glass. a BIG scratch.

i prefer the look of a gas cooktop over a glass one which shows every speck of dust. if i dont use my glass cooktop at dinner i still need to dust the dang thing.

you can decide how important any of these things are to you. i'm not saying they should be important to you but they are to me.

as far as water boiling faster... it depends on the amount of water and the number of BTUs of the burner, and also the temperature of the water. the water that comes out of the tap in summer is a lot warmer than in winter so anecdotal comparisons arent really useful.

I have never had a gas stove so I can’t compare, however I recently bought an induction stove (previously had electric radiant type), and I am a huge fan! I cannot believe how quick it heats up. It’s crazy fast! Just remember you’ll have special pots, as the stove operates on magnets. I did not see that as a problem.

I still love gas but I bought a single induction burner for sauces and that would be what I would suggest for you it is a great way to test drive induction and it will always come in handy afterwards,

I have had gas. I have had induction. I like induction better than gas better for my household. I have no trouble getting a high sear on something and then finishing in the oven. Temperature control is easier especially for delicate sauces. I have an elaborate outdoor setup that I use for roti, naan, etc. I ocassionally miss my old cast iron pans or certain non-magnetic pans, but the glazed cast iron is great, just a little more pricey.

Ninigret, I don't understand your comment about Lecreuset. I Have several pans and dutch ovens from Lecreuset and they all work with my new induction. I make the same dishes I always made. My cookware is mostly Lecreuset and Allclad and both work with no issues. The only thing I had to replace was my old stock pot.

some of mine are less than smooth on the bottom. they *work* with induction but they would scratch the glass. i'm willing to be careful of some things but not going to baby moving pans around my cooktop. thats all i meant.

i'm not anti-induction, i'm anti-glass surface.

ninigret ,

The beauty of induction is that you can use a silicone pad between your rough bottoms and the glass cooktop. It has no impact on how the unit cooks. I came from a 48” decor rangetop with 15k btu closed burners. I originally wanted a 30” blue star cooktop and single induction burner. After much hemming and hawing, I went with a 30” Miele induction cooktop and a 15” Miele wok burner. I rarely use the Wok Burner. During the few power outages we have had, it was better to go outside with a camp stove or start the Komodo Kamado. I bought the wok burner for power outages and to use round bottom woks. I have fully transitioned to flat bottom woks and induction and so far the sear when I wok is fabulous. I am not Indian but cook a ton of Indian food and make my parathas in a cast iron pan and my rotis in the oven on a cast iron griddle when I don’t have the Komodo going.

Good luck.

Another vote for induction. I also have no problem cooking during an ice storm thanks to my back up generator. And I'd rather dust my induction cooktop than scrub gas grates.

I’ve cooked on coils, radiant electric, gas and induction. I would pick induction everytime. Boils water so fast, holds low temperatures so well, so very easy to clean, safer than open flame, doesn’t heat up the kitchen as much. We moved and I had to go back to gas and I miss my induction every day.

I love induction, would never choose anything else. Fast, precise, beautifully easy to clean. I’ve never had to use anything on it other than a rag and Norwex cloth.

You can place a paper towel under your pot and still cook. Works great when the water or sauces spill and you want to avoid a burned on mess on the bottom of your pan.

And regarding water boiling faster, induction wins hands down WITHOUT compensation via hot tap water or higher BTU's (most of which end up heating your kitchen and NOT the pot contents anyway).

I love gas! I have visited a few high end show rooms and the induction doesn't get me excited one bit. I don't like its cold look, gas makes me want to create something tasty! I would do induction over regular electric, but I won't switch to induction when I remodel. I don't think anyone can tell you what the correct answer is, test one and make the right choice for you.

Anna,

Hello Neighbor. I want to make one statement to caution the use of paper towels for people who may not understand the difference between induction and smooth top glass cooktops. Also, I have seen the paper towel catch on fire on inductions when the cast iron pot and multi-clad pot was super hot. I prefer to use the Silicone mats. I love these units from Lamson. I also believe they are made in the US. I use these all over the kitchen near the oven, near the sink, on the island as general trivets too.

Lamson Jumbo Hotspot Silicone Mat

Good luck!

Another vote for induction. I was totally set on a beautiful gas cooktop with those red knobs until we went to a cooking demo by Wolf Subzero. Without attention being drawn to it, my partner and I both noted how much quicker induction was. Man, I fought myself on this, but in the end, it was the obvious choice for us. And we LOVE it. It's simply everything others have noted; super quick, great temperature control, easy to clean, etc. It's even shiny, as oldbat2be to pointed out to me in [my reveal[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/kitchen-reveal-dsvw-vd~4835814). We use a heavy cast iron pan on it and have no scratches whatsoever.

Another bonus: the Wolf induction cooktop isn't very deep, so we were able to have a full drawer right below the cooktop. Our cabinetry people had to scoop out a bit for the electrical in the back corner of the drawer and they lowered the drawer edges about 1/2" on the three sides, but that was all that was needed.

I have used gas stoves/cooktops my entire adult life (which is longer than I care to admit). The second I am able to switch it out for an induction option, I will do so in a heartbeat. Cleaning a gas cooktop and grates is like a seventh circle of hell.

I have used both, and I much prefer induction. By a mile......all the control of gas, without the heat and flame (and with easier clean up). No question.

" i like cast iron pans, i like my le creuset, they have rough bottoms. i
make a lot of dishes that hot sear on the stove and then into the oven.
i dont want to stop making those dishes."

You don't (wouldn't) have to give up those things.......I use my cast iron frying pan and Dutch oven (and wok, but it has a smooth bottom) frequently, for stir frying, braising, stewing, and searing. No problem, no scratches, and well-working induction cooktop. Yes, you can't slam or drop those heavy pots, but since that might accidentally happen once every 10 years or so, I'm not letting that infrequent possibility direct my appliance choices.

Not that you need one more vote, but just in case. I have both and induction wins. I love how responsive it is and how easy it is to clean up. And as far as looks go, induction cooktops look much cooler than gas ones for me.

PS I use cast iron on the induction a fair amount, without any trouble. Though the scenario nini described is hard to avoid if you have helping hands in the kitchen. I do keep silicon mats handy by the cooktop.

" Also, I have seen the paper towel catch on fire on inductions when the
cast iron pot and multi-clad pot was super hot. I prefer to use the
Silicone mats."

I have used both (though usually I use neither). Silicone pieces work well and are reuseable (though paper towels are recyclable), but they don't move. For shaking the pot while making popcorn, paper towel or newspaper is a must. I just got a flexible baking/pastry mat like this one, and cut it into more appropriate sized pieces.

Toronto and homepro, thanks for the info on the silicone mats. I'll have to try some.

Silicone mats?! I didn’t know such a thing existed! My pots are “Paderno”. Love them and they have not scratched the cooktop, but an extra layer of protection is very intriguing! And yes, please remember induction is not the same as just smooth top electric. And as a further note, I have used the single burner induction burners. The brand I used was pretty good, but still cannot be compared to my actual induction stove. It is wayyy faster.

Before you make up your mind, make sure you have available electricity for an induction cooktop. you'll need a 40 or 50 amp breaker and fairly large wire.

I love my induction. I previously has a glass top electric range. When I was getting ready to remodel, induction got back on my radar, and when I read the comments here about how easy they are to clean, that pushed me over the edge and I bought one. It is wonderful. Cooks great, gives you so much control over the temp, and is so super easy to clean. I have never had to use anything more than a quick spritz of windex. I have le creuset pans and they work beautifully. Also glass tops are not nearly as fragile as some people suggest. I have used them for years and never had any scratching issues, no matter what pans I use. The only instructions I had when I first made the switch to glass top was to not slide glass pans/dishes around on there, and to be careful to wipe up any salt/sugar spills. I have slid all types of pans around on the surface and never had any issue.

I would try it. As this thread proves, most people prefer induction. I, however, hate it.

Better to know ahead of time then realize after the remodel that you're like me.

So many votes for induction! I’ll have to try one out before buying but seems like a no-brainer. Are all of them glass on top, though?

Yes, they are all glass topped.

OP, yes, i am pretty sure

Hillside House, you say you hate it but don't explain why>>>can you explain please

Restaurant appliances are different from what we use in a home. And how they're used in the 'production' of lots of meals can be very different. A large always on open flat top instead of individual frying pans on a cooktop is an example. Some restaurants may use induction for large stock pots only. You have to tell us what induction you have. So your experience with home cooking on induction could be more useful once you try it.

Among chefs is Heston Blumenthal who owns The Fat Duck in Britain. It was voted Number 1 in the world one year. He uses a Gaggenau induction cooktop in his home kitchen. That 36" unit and the twin Thermador Freedom cooktop are being updated this fall to fit 6 pans from 4.

On an induction cooktop, what happens if the pot/pan is larger than the coils/ cooking element? Does it matter? Or maybe not, like the way it doesn't really matter on a gas cooktop. And why are induction cooktops so crazy expensive (at least the Thermador ones) compared to the gas cooktops?

Induction is very expensive in the US. Maybe there’s not enough volume to bring the cost down.. or they want to skin us! They are only a fraction of the cost in Europe.. well well. Cars are cheaper in the US SO I guess it evens out. :)

Does it matter if the pot is larger than the cooking element?

There was one I saw (don't remember the brand, but it was in a high-end showroom) that was reactive, and the whole surface could be a cooktop. So, if you have a rectangular pan, the entire rectangular area it touched heated. If you moved the pan, the heating area also moved. A 5" pan would have a 5" area that heated, and an 18" pan would have 18".

It does not matter if the pot is slightly bigger, but it may matter if the pot is much smaller. Our induction top has the proscribed rings. The area in the ring heats up regardless of pot size.

Remember induction doesn't heat the area in the ring regardless of pan size. It's magnetic and heats the pan bottom surface area within the ring. Some will heat any pan even one much smaller than the ring. Others won't recognize below a certain pan size on a larger ring. A larger pan heats the section of the bottom on the ring and has to transfer heat to the area of the pan outside the ring area. So performance depends on what you're cooking and how high the heat is. Plus how good your pan is.

Anna (6B/7A in MD)

I thought the whole idea was that the surface did not heat up, but that heat from the pan would transfer to the glass, so I don't understand why an area larger that the magnetic interaction would heat up. I am undertanding that the magnet and pan activate so that suggests to me that only the area that is mutual to magnet and pan would be "on". I do know that what you describe is true of the regular electic glass tops stoves.

I am considering induction after reading this sting, though I had no particular interest prior.

Does induction get as hot as any other type of cook top say for searing, etc? Thank you!

Does induction get as hot as any other type of cook top say for searing, etc?

Yes.

Dan described it well.

We have had gas forever and have generally loved it. DH bought one of those countertop induction units to use at our cabin last year and has become a total convert. As he does the majority of the cooking I’m giving him the final say on the new range when we remodel the kitchen in the cabin. My only caveat is that I need a range with the double ovens. Not an easy solution as the brands with the highest rating on induction features don’t tend to carry a double oven option, so we are currently at an impasse. The common state of our marriage it seems lol.

If you want to go forward with baking/roasting you could look at a combi/steam oven under counter for your second unit. Sharp has one or you can spend for the Miele. People who have them hardly ever use their full size oven. And the impasse could pass.

Annette- we are at the same impasse! The GECafe slide in induction range is the only one i can find that also has with double ovens. Pretty sure that’s what we’ll go with. If you find another option please let me know!

Now you really have me thinking... I’ll have to look at that, too. Would be great if someone had the crystal ball to know if there are other induction top double oven slide-Ins in the pipeline. I haven’t looked at them but plan to now. Thank you!

You all are killing me! I had decided on the BlueStar RNB 48" Gas Range, and now I'm thinking I need to buy a single burner induction stove to see what it's like. I've already got All-Clad pans, so that should work. I won't be needing to finalize my kitchen appliances for 8-10 months, so I've got time to play with induction. Is there a single burner induction brand recommended to test it out?

I love my induction range. I have cooked on gas (at my brother's) but still prefer induction. And the cooktop is easy to clean up.

I've not tried a single burner induction unit. I am considering one for outdoor cooking on the deck to supplement the grill. Just a notion, not sure I will do so or not.

>>>"Is there a single burner induction brand recommended to test it out?"<<<

We've had numbers of threads here on this subject over the years. However, before you dive into those dicussions, I'd suggest starting with this blog at CenturyLife.org to get a handle on aspects and features you might consider when trying to sort through the many dozens of brands and models in the market.

Also, for further research, it may help to know that the "single burner units" you are looking for are often referred to as "Portable Induction Cooktops" (sometimes abbreviated as "PIC") and mostly run on regular 120v household current. This is in contrast to the one and two burner built-in induction units which are sometimes called "dominoes" and require a 240v circuit.

After you've got a handle on what to look for, you might plow through past threads here such as [this one which ran for years[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/portable-induction-cooktop-and-cookware-dsvw-vd~2324992) and was still getting posts a few months ago.

Thanks! It looks like I’ve got some homework to do!

Induction. And the good news is you don't need to go overboard on the brand. A Kenmore induction will cook just as well as a Viking (IMO)!!

Annette, what about the KitchenAid free-standing 30" induction range with double ovens? I love mine.

Kitchenaid makes freestanding double-oven induction range model #KFID500ESS. Home Depot sells it for about $2600.

Kitchenaid makes freestanding 30" double-oven induction range model #KFID500ESS. Home Depot sells it for about $2600. Power requirements: 40 amps.

Kim k how did you end up liking your cafe with dual oven induction slide in?