Kitchen appliances forum or advice about induction cooktop here.

that wire cutter article is terrible,  clearly someone who is so into Gas they can't begin to realize how awful it is.

The NYT has a dumb headline, but isn't so bad.  I think the induction cooktops are more common than they think.  After all, it's basically something for cooktops, not slide in ranges.  Slide in ranges are still massively common, so yeah, not as easy to change.  People only change a cooktop as often as they re-do the kitchen.  So someone might be waiting 20-30 years till they switch.

On the cookware, I have to wonder how many people don't have iron based cookware. I would expect very few people would have to buy new cookware as almost everyone has Stainless cookware of some form.  Only area that can be rough is some specialty cookware.  Items like flat griddles tend to be aluminum. Cookware that you don't use very much, so it's often a random cheap item, those are the ones that tend to be aluminum.
 
Not all stainless steel will work on induction tops.

400 series stainless steel is magnetic, but will display some rust and does not polish well.  My water kettle is 300 series on the top and the base is 400 series (which is magnetic).  The bottom is all black over the years and will not clean up well.  The upper part is shiny and mirror-like.

I have a frying pan with a perforated stainless steel plate on the bottom.  But the magnetic portion has less mass than other pans and it takes longer to heat up.

Cast iron heats the best--super fast. 

I have accidentally left the induction top on and had the water boil off.  It will then get too hot and turn itself off before there is any damage.  For forgetful cooks like myself, that is reason enough to buy induction.

The single element hot plate had a timer and it would turn off the burner at the end.  The four-burner GE also has a timer but it is audible only.  It does not control the burners. 

Remember that induction tops do not get hot themselves.  They only heat the pot or pan.  There is heat transfer to the glass from the pot so you can still burn yourself.  But it cools off much quicker than a regular electric stovetop and there is an indicator showing when it gets hot. 

The induction hot plate is a good way to see if you like the technology.  And it remains useful long after the new cooktop arrives. 

Note:  I don't have gas piping to my house.  If I were to get a gas stove, I would have to install a tank and get propane.  It was never a realistic option for me.  It was just between conventional electric (cheaper purchase price) or induction (almost twice the cost at that time).
 
DeformedTree said:
On the cookware, I have to wonder how many people don't have iron based cookware. I would expect very few people would have to buy new cookware as almost everyone has Stainless cookware of some form.  Only area that can be rough is some specialty cookware.  Items like flat griddles tend to be aluminum. Cookware that you don't use very much, so it's often a random cheap item, those are the ones that tend to be aluminum.
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  You have got to be kidding.  There are a number of manufacturers that have been making high quality aluminum for decades. And these are not companies that would be doing it unless they were selling millions and millions and millions of pieces.  There is plenty of cheapo aluminum but also plenty of really good stuff.

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    Personally I like the concept of induction a lot.  Lots of advantages.

    But I would have to give up the cookware that I have now and I really like.  Couple that with the fact that I pretty much hate cast iron, with non-coated stainless a close second and now I have a project of finding new cookware. I will probably make the change at some point. Every time I see the topic on something or hear someone talking about it, I think a little more about switching. But it isn't a pressing matter.

Seth
 
My 2 cents:

Induction is way better regarding the microclimate in your kitchen/house. Gas will launch myriads of particles in the air (among them stuff that is harmful to your health, such as burned oil drops etc), which needs to be offset by heavy duty extraction (not very energy efficient).

Also re the cookware. You can use an intermediary plate of steel when your cookware is not 'magnetic'. It adds to the energy cost and the risk of burning fingers, hands and cats' paws, but it does work.

(FYI I do not have induction yet, but plan on converting within the next two years, depending on the availability of low profile modules — my current gas setup needs only about two inches, and I don't want to do a to of converting in the cabinets below it.)
 
"But I would have to give up the cookware that I have now and I really like."

I would bet that is what holds most people from making the changeover to induction.

Also, if you've renno'd your kitchen in the past 8 to 10 years you probably installed a new cooktop or range. These are as we all know appliances that have a long life. A 10 year cooktop is only middle age if it's a quality appliance, and most likely has another 10 years left in it. You'd never get back much if you sold it, so it goes to the dump or you pass it off to someone you know or in the family.

So only getting half the usable life out of your old cooktop plus possibly having to change out your cookware adds to the cost of 'upgrading' significantly I think. I would have induction in a heart beat, but the wife refuses to even consider it. But she will pitch a fit tonight when she is sweating over that hot cooktop because of all the waste heat thrown out into the room.

In reality SHE is the biggest obstacle in our house to changing over to induction.
 
I gave up a lot of cookware I really liked and gave it to people I really like.  Not so painful in that context. 

The evenness of heating and the constancy of temperature are good advantages.

Carry a magnet when you shop for cookware.  The more strongly the magnet adheres to base of the cookware the faster it will transfer the energy and heat the pot/pan.

 
on the cookware, it's definitely a "YMMV" type situation.  In general I would say most people start out with hand-me-downs, then buy some cheap stuff, and then at some point buy "quality stuff",  when that happens, my experience is people pretty much only buy some form of stainless clad cookware.  Stuff like copper exist, but that has always looked to be something people bought for a "look" and don't even cook much. A good chunk of the population have been well aware of induction their adult life, so even if they don't have induction, they planned for it when they bought their "life time cookware".  But they could still be several years out from a kitchen remodel, they may have just managed to buy a house not long ago.

I would say for the past 10-15 years,  "induction ready" has been a big part of cookware marketing. I think unless someone is going for some "look" or "trendy" looking thing, they are probably going to be buying an induction ready cookware. So yeah, if you bought your "lifetime" cookware back in the 80s/90s,  it would be more of an issue. For those who did that in more recent times, far less an issue.
 
I have never understood why, but a cooktop costs almost the same as an entire stove.  Or why wall ovens with no cooktop cost more than stoves. 
 
If I had a high end gas stove I would be inclined to install a single burner induction cook top just for its fast boiling of water.

The stove is just $325.00.  Cutting a hole in stone can be done with an angle grinder.  The cooktop has a generous overlay, so the cut does not have to be precise.  You might have to call in an electrician.  Most counters would have a small area where this could be fitted.
https://www.compactappliance.com/si...zone-built-in-induction-cooktop/SINC1110.html

summit-sinc1110.jpg
 
What is a "high end gas stove"? Does it get more heat from the same gas? Does it burn a smaller flame with more power?

I've cooked on induction for close to 9 years. I'll never return to something else. It's clean, fast, no exhaust water, no CO2, no burning your fingers, no pots tipping over, a timer on each zone...

And by fast I really mean fast. A gas burner might do 1.8 kW, a comparable induction zone 3.1 kW in boost, but the gas burner will just blow half the heat to the handles of the pan.

And best is yet to come; The whole cooktop clean in 10 seconds.

However, not all induction cooktops are made the same. Some have too few settings. Some cheaper ones have less power per zone. Some other cheaper ones will have coilwhine.

But all in all; induction over gas all day and gas over any other electric form of cooking.
 
Coen said:
What is a "high end gas stove"? Does it get more heat from the same gas? Does it burn a smaller flame with more power?

I've cooked on induction for close to 9 years. I'll never return to something else. It's clean, fast, no exhaust water, no CO2, no burning your fingers, no pots tipping over, a timer on each zone...

And by fast I really mean fast. A gas burner might do 1.8 kW, a comparable induction zone 3.1 kW in boost, but the gas burner will just blow half the heat to the handles of the pan.

And best is yet to come; The whole cooktop clean in 10 seconds.

However, not all induction cooktops are made the same. Some have too few settings. Some cheaper ones have less power per zone. Some other cheaper ones will have coilwhine.

But all in all; induction over gas all day and gas over any other electric form of cooking.
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A "high-end" stove is a very expensive appliance that pretends to be a professional chef's tool. 

I am also a convert to induction.  I started with a induction hot plate (which I loved).  I bought the top rated GE cooktop when I replaced the old one.  My big disappointment was when I learned that the timer did not turn off the burners.  It just beeped. 

The single burner one had a timer that beeped and then shut off the heat. I'm forgetful, and automatic turn off is a plus.

The induction top will turn off if the heat gets too high (like when I forget to turn off the water kettle and the water evaporates).  That is a good safety  feature, but the ceramic top looks slightly discolored as a result. 

I like the non-stick pans and I can't find them on cast iron.  I do have a cast iron Dutch oven and that heats amazingly fast.  The heavy  casting offers a lot of magnetic transfer. 

If my next home has a gas stove I will have one of those single burner induction units installed next to it.  It will get 90% of the use I have for a stove top.  (I rarely have more than one burner going--I'm more of a nuke-em, type cook.)
 
Coen said:
And best is yet to come; The whole cooktop clean in 10 seconds.
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I was never much of an electric stove guy before, but glass-top ranges are definitely a game changer for cleaning and just overall organization.

We also put tortillas directly on our conventional electric glass top to heat them for wraps, but I haven't risked making a quesadilla that way yet (a trick I picked up from my pastor's wife).  Tried to do that with naan, but it was way too greasy and I had the temp up too high.  Luckily, it cleaned fairly easily with the right solutions and elbow grease.

While the range top is still warm (but not HOT), a damp-to-wet cotton cloth wipes and dries nicely.
 
squall_line said:
Coen said:
And best is yet to come; The whole cooktop clean in 10 seconds.
Click to expand...

While the range top is still warm (but not HOT), a damp-to-wet cotton cloth wipes and dries nicely.
Click to expand...

The other advantage of induction is that you really can’t bake food onto the surface.  Only the magnetic pot gets hot. Food that lands on the surface does not.
 
I was so excited when I moved into my house in 2008 because it had a "Gourmet Kitchen" with all GE Monogram appliances, including a GE Monogram Gas cooktop.  I've been disappointed with all of them!

I had always thought that gas was the best way to cook, but it's been a major let down.  Most of the heat energy is going around the pan/pot.  When I turn the heat way down, the burner annoyingly keeps ticking so the flame doesn't go out.  Cleaning the gas cooktop is really difficult too.

A smooth cooktop would be much easier to clean.  It sounds like induction is the way to go.  Would a 5 burner induction cooktop require 220/240V?
 
GoingMyWay said:
I was so excited when I moved into my house in 2008 because it had a "Gourmet Kitchen" with all GE Monogram appliances, including a GE Monogram Gas cooktop.  I've been disappointed with all of them!
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Perhaps a gas range from "General Electric" is a bit suspect :-)

We have a Wolf five burner gas cook top that I am very happy with.    Has a nice high setting and very low simmer (without the igniter clicking). 

I have had some experience with a flat electric range in my mother in laws house.  It was a pain to clean because a boil over went everywhere and tended to burn/stick on the glass.  This might be less of a problem with induction cooktops because the smooth surface may not get as hot.

Bob
 
For baked on food on flat cooktops (any kind), fold a terry cloth towel to a size that covers the offending food and place it over the “mess”. Pour hot Or boiling water over the towel until it is completely saturated and leave it overnight. The baked food should soften enough to scrape off (use an approved plastic scraper). If the mess is really thick, it may require a second treatment.

This is time consuming but not labor intensive. It is also environmentally safe.
 
GoingMyWay said:
A smooth cooktop would be much easier to clean.  It sounds like induction is the way to go.  Would a 5 burner induction cooktop require 220/240V?
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A 36" induction top is generally requiring 240V/50-60A feed.  So it's nice if you are close to your electric panel.  Not that it's really any different than any electric stove.  If the builder had any forward mind and ran electrical to everything along with gas, you would probably be ok. I think a lot of tops can also run on 40A breakers, they generally assume no one has all elements at full power at once.
 
Coen said:
What is a "high end gas stove"? Does it get more heat from the same gas? Does it burn a smaller flame with more power?
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In the US it has to do with a trend started in the 80s.  Viking Brand is mainly to blame(founded in 1987).  Basically, someone wanted a stove that looked like the kind found in a professional kitchen.

The marketing on gas stoves has been a huge thing since the 80s, and people have bought into the ideas sold to them.  Recently I saw some news stories about Social Media "trend settlers" (I can't remember what those folks are called) are now being paid by gas companies to try and convince people "you have to have a gas stove".
 
DeformedTree said:
Social Media "trend settlers" (I can't remember what those folks are called) are now being paid by gas companies to try and convince people "you have to have a gas stove".
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I think they call them "influencers".

And now I have this voice in my head of Hank Hill reminding me to subscribe to his channel and hit the bell so that I know when I can see the latest videos on propane and propane accessories... ;)
 
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