Currently using a ceramic hob and get on with it OK. The distribution and responsiveness of the heat control I’ve gotten used to, and the convenience of cleaning is a bonus.

We’ll hopefully be moving soon and buying a new cooker is a necessity. I like the instant response of gas, but the cleaning of them is a PITA (I know, pampered life).

Will an induction hob give me the responsiveness of gas but with the convenience of ceramic? Or will I get that with a better ceramic. Whats cheapest to run?

Pretty sure I’ll stick with an electric hob but if it was your choice, what would you do?

Gas hob, electric oven is my preferred

Induction rather than ceramic.. But Gas rather than induction (personal choice)
If you only have a small amount of work space and not bothered on heat source
I will use Induction

Would crawl over hot coals to get my induction removed.

When i do get round to decorating the kitchen im going down the bottled gas route no questions. More pricey , more hassle , but sooo worth it if you cook rather than reheat.

Look at gas on glass , helped my dad fit one last week , just a cooke and lewis from bnq but looked a nice bit of kit that should be easier to clean than a stainless

Gas hob, electric oven.

gas, just just burn the muck off.
get one with a rough finish on it so you just need to clean it, not polish it – and don’t bother cleaning the burners.

Having used induction at a cook school I’d have that over gas every time. It would have to be a modern one though and no touch sensitive stuff either; proper dials only. I’d never have electric or ceramic hob.

Electric fan oven though, no doubt about that.

Gas.

Gas for the simplicity and speed – BUT the new induction hobs are almost as fast and use roughly half the energy that gas does so it starts to get difficult
The pans you use matter massively with induction though – where gas is basically anything

Induction convert here. Superb heat transfer in a much more uniform pattern with no typical gas hotspots and easy wipe clean. Looks lovely too!

We’ve got a new induction hob and I am never less than amazed by it. It is way better than I thought it’d be; fast, responsive and clean. Village doesn’t have mains gas and it has proven to be just as fast and responsive anyway. Best thing is that splashes fall onto a cool surface so never become dried on.

Induction 100%
I’ve worked in professional kitchens for the last 20 year’s.

what’s the deal with induction pans?
are they expensive?
are they non-stick?

what’s the relative cost of a decent induction hob versus gas?

Modern induction here. Didn’t want it originally but now well used to it. Love the way you can programme each ring for simmer & additional power when you need it. Very quick to respond with the rest of the hob not getting hot. Pan wise, got some Le Creuset from the second shop in town.

cant flambé on an induction as well though!

what’s the deal with induction pans?
are they expensive?
are they non-stick?

If the pan is magnetic then it’ll work with an induction hob; the stainless steel ones I had were fine so we didn’t need to get another set when we got the induction hob.

Mines is an old induction the previous owner left…. I might try a modern one…..in someone elses house first 🙂

Induction can boil water faster than a kettle and is far more efficient. Can’t stir fry on it though….

Most stainless steel pans are austenetic (non magnetic) and won’t work with induction.

Martensitic stainless steel pans will, as will iron pans (le creuset etc)

but sooo worth it if you cook rather than reheat.

Very true. Gas every time.

I wish I had the choice….stuck with electric metal hot plate things in our new place 🙁

Why can’t you do a stir fry with induction, is it because of the wok?

Induction relies upon creating heat in the base of the pan through electromagnetic induction, hence only works with steel (or mertensitic as per thekingisdead) pans – and the base of the pan needs to be in close proximity to the surface of the hob. Woks are often aluminium and rounded so won’t work!

Mines is an old induction the previous owner left…. I might try a modern one…..in someone elses house first

TR Nick Nairns cook school uses them so you could use one there if you booked a class. They’re not exactly the cheapest at about £3.5k for the range type oven with an induction hob but very easy to use.

If you’re serious about your cooking and want the best bang for your buck – Gas hob every time.

They’re also not that hard to keep clean if you give them a quick once over every couple of days, they stay clean.

I would also strongly reccomend Bosch’s range of self cleaning electric ovens. They are brilliant.

“They’re not exactly the cheapest at about £3.5k for the range type oven with an induction hob but very easy to use.”

thats very many gas bottles ….

Like I said not cheap but they are getting on for catering quality hobs ovens and grill and if you are going to be replacing your existing set up anyway you should be looking at the incremantal cost rather than the total. For info the equivalent ovens to the ones that the cook school uses but with the gas hobs are actually slighly more expensive.

If the OP has a nice set of cookware which may or may not become entirely useless with a new induction hob, that’s something to check out.

I love my induction hob though – wipe clean, as fast as gas, although not quite as powerful, and obviously harder to control because it has to be in full contact with the ‘ring’ all the time in order to work.

can you get an induction hob with 3 ‘rings’ and a big gas burner in place of the 4th?

brakes I reckon you would be hard pushed to get it on the same panel if you know what I mean.
We have an Electrolux Induction hob with touch controls and love it – wipe clean, looks good, faster than gas, very easy to use. Stir fry done lady week for the first time and it went well .

£3.5K for induction ???? eh ? try a couple of hundred each
We just put an induction hob and elec ovens in (NEF 4 ring) – superb, way better than gas

Pro
heats faster than anything else (inc gas)
more responsive
less wasted heat than gas
cools quickly
wipe clean

Cons:
You may need to buy new pans – if so not very expensive
You cant flambe …. its obviously something I miss 😀
Cant wok, unless you buy an induction wok ….

We are in derby if you want to come and try

My dad swore by his induction hob and it was bloody good for boiling and the like. I like our gas hob, but sometimes thing it can be a bit aggressive, giving localised burning on a simmer, that sort of thing.

If you have mains gas, go for gas. Otherwise, I’d be tempted to go for a modern induction hub.

Stick with an electric fan assisted oven though.

ive just been reminded of another reason we will be having gas over induction.

thursday and friday were our first extended powercut of the year.

gas carries on regardless if you have a box of matches.

We were faced with this choice recently. Bought an induction cooker as I can’t stand ceramic hobs. Always used gas before, is gas better than induction, I’d say not, having now used both.

Most induction units seem to have touch controls, I’m not a big fan.

We have induction because we dont have gas in our village otherwise it would be gas for sure.

Induction is OK, certainly heats a pot of water up quickly and almost no residual heat once it is turned off. Think you get used to it pretty quickly and unless you are a chef I cant see it making a big difference.