Gas or induction hob?

gas oven is nice

Are you living in some 70s time warp? I’ve not seen a gas oven for…30+ years!

We have both. I’d say induction is better in every way apart from cooking. Does make for a tricky comparison but as cooking is the important bit then gas wins.

I love how fast a response you get from induction. Pan boils in no time, but then turn it down and it instantly goes to a simmer without boiling over. The only downside I’ve found is that my carbon steel wok doesn’t seem to heat through nicely and instead burns the stuff on the bottom, contrary to an earlier poster.

I would never go back to gas. Induction all the way, for the cleaning alone. And you can still use a wok.

I hate to say but the way things are going with gas pricing, it might be a better investment to get a quality induction hob.

We changed from gas to induction, 15, maybe 20 years ago, as part of re-doing rhe kitchen.

Absolutely no question we’re on an induction again when it finally needs renewal (ours is a Di Dietrich).  Just faster, more controllable, and cleaner to use and keep clean.  + no Carbon monoxide risk either, and less condensation (only steam from whats cooking, no steam / condensation from the act of burning the gas itself).

We’ve got a cast iron Wok thst works well enough on it (I do take the point that a thinner carbon steel wok may  get hotter on gas).

The pans thst won’t work are those made fully of aluminium, or with a 100% copper base.  Many newer pans have a steel plate let in them to work on induction if they are alu or similar  (the pans need to be magnetic.  18/8 Austenitic stainless steel is also fine (some other grades of SS are not so magnetic)

Having come from an excellent gas hob to a mid range induction hob the only downside is the slightly annoying touch controls.  We still sometimes turn the whole lot off accidentally. And turning a “ring” off means counting down to zero.  An annoying waste of 2 seconds.

Most of our old pans either worked fine or didn’t work at all. But one, our lovely le creuset griddle pan, works at about 80% efficiency so doesn’t get hot enough to do its job.

If we had to replace it we would go induction with twiddly knobs.

5 pan flexinspace  induction and a single mega gas burner ring alongside. Induction great for about 90% of cooking but despite what people say it’s not flexible/responsive or as hot as gas for when you really need some oommmph (e.g stir fry, or steak searing etc.) costs a fortune to do it this way and takes up space, but if you’re into your cooking this is a good set up.

I if you only have space/budget for one, then gas it is… induction only always left me feeling a bit short changed.

We had gas, now have induction. It’s easier to clean, faster to boil and simmers lower. Just better all round. Downsides were cost and new wiring.

Steak searing on the hob. Heathen.

Whole other debate but that’s what the gas BBQ outback is for. #flames

Gas BBQ? I’LL GIVE YOU HEATHEN!

Anyone got any recommendations for some 60cm wide induction hobs? (Or even recommendations for induction hob brands?) Currently have a terrible set of ceramic hobs. The good news is that they already have a 32A supply so converting to induction should be easy. Ideally around £600 or less

This is the one we have, came with the house and I’m pleasantly surprised by it.

https://www.appliancehouse.co.uk/electrolux-lit604-induction-hob

I don’t know this for certain but I understand, according to my local appliance repair man, that several of the brands are the same manufacturer but different logo/price point.

We have a zanussi induction cooker, it’s identical to AEG I think but was cheaper.

The hob has proper knobs, across the makes. Or at least they did, it’s about 4 years old now

We changed from gas to induction and wouldn’t go back for the reasons well explained above. The only advantage that our old gas hob had was that we could still cook  or boil water if there was a power cut, of which we seem to be quite prone for some reason although lately they have been short duration ones.I bought a cheap gas 2 burner stove for those occasions a couple of years ago.

Induction every time…. Gas can get [back] in the sea!

You don’t need a wok, it’s amazingly it’s easy to stir fry in a saute pan.

We changed 5 years ago and I’d never go back to gas.

(Don’t buy a cheap induction hob though)

When we moved here we had an induction cooker. I wouldn’t go back to anything else. We’ve now got a 85cm wide Neff thing (wife’s choice), it is better than the previous. Flex zones, timer that turns hob off and can be programmed for more than one zone – great for dippy eggs. It’s the safety element too, no fumes, no CO, no leaving the house filling with gas (looking at you Mum), no leaving a gas ring burning all night (also looking at you Mum). Easy to clean, quick boil, adjustability as good as gas. You can also use it as an excuse to get new pots and pans and Le Creuset work too…

Gas BBQ? I’LL GIVE YOU HEATHEN

Ah the English BBQ. Standing round for hours waiting for it’s 30 seconds of glory at the right temperature – by which point it’s usually raining.

Ain’t no one got time for that shit regularly.

Ah the English BBQ

Indeed. Brother lives in Oz. Has gas BBQ

He could be the only one though, I don’t know.

Anyone in the house use an insulin pump or pacemaker? If so, warn to stay away from the induction hob when it is in use. The magnetic force can upset these devices.

Ah the English BBQ. Standing round for hours waiting for it’s 30 seconds of glory at the right temperature

Sounds like amateur hour here. Learn the craft and be amazed how much better properly cooked bbq food (and that’s a wide genre) tastes over gas cooked.

I spent a stupid amount on a Miele (7575 I think), and I’d be happier on a £300 gas unit instead. Mostly good, but when it turns off because water has splashed on it, or turns off because it’s confused itself with pans in close proximity or turned off for any other reason just as your finishing pulling everything together I want to hurt it.

The levels are really accurate, but I prefer seeing a flame to know how much heat there is. 3 years in and I suppose I’m used to it that – finally.

If you do get one, Barkeepers Friend is awesome for getting marks off them.

@edd

Bosch have 60cm induction hobs for 32A supplies for £500-600, fitted one when I did son’s new kitchen early this year. Look at the boost ratings for the rings, 3.7kw is common on such. And thats COOKING!

Thanks for the input everyone.

I’m not a statistician but i’d say thats a pretty convincing lean towards induction (unless gas aficionados are a just quiet bunch)

Think i’m going to get an induction but leave my gas supply in place is till i’ve given it a couple of months.

Now just which one……….

When i did my Kitchen i got a fancy Neff one Neff N70 T58FD20X0, Yes it’s great for cleaning, but no matter what people sya they still scratch and get chipped.  We had to discard (bung in the shed) all of our old pans, so we now only have about 5 that work as i cant be bothered to get any new ones.  Yes it heats quickly with the boost function, but i don’t like the controls especially when you realise things are about to boil over.  We still have a gas hob in our second kitchen/utility room (Italian family), so when we do messy/smelly stuff use a wok we go there!   If i was to do it again i’d get the induction/Gas mix hobs – i bitterly regret not getting that this time round.  Also – im convinced our elecy bills went through the roof becuase of it..

have an induction now as no mains gas here

I have no mains gas (there’s pretty much zero mains gas in the entire country).

I still cook on gas, bought a hob that would run on bottled.

Saying that, the latest generations of induction are a shit load better than those i was looking at 15 years ago.

I love my gas hob. I wouldn’t change it – love the heat control and general “feel” of it when cooking. Plus, can toast/puff things like tortillas or char peppers over the open flame if you’re getting creative.

Never had an issue with leaving the gas on by accident or whatever because it is incredibly obvious to those with basic observation skills if a gas hob is left on.

Please bear in mind I am pretentious and have ideas way above my station.

Before all the Brexit taxes kicked in, we invested/splurged on a Rangemaster Nexus SE 110 Induction, and we love it.

Not all inductions are the same so I think the advice to get a 32A one is good.

Also, physical control knobs, not touch controls that make annoying noises, or protest if you get them wet/greasy etc.

Think i’m going to get an induction but leave my gas supply in place is till i’ve given it a couple of months.

Now just which one……….

Can your electricity supply handle one?  When I redid my kitchen 12 years ago, I had a new cooker circuit put in because we were fitting a 100cm electric ovens/gas hob range. Shiny new dedicated 32a circuit.

Range cooker needed to be replaced this year (long story) and I really wanted to out a fully electric one in with an induction hob. Problem; all of the range cookers in that size needed a 48a supply on a 10mm cable, when I have 32a on a 6mm 🙁

Might not be a problem if you’re just doing a hob, but if that’s replacing a gas one, the wiring to it might only be enough to drive the ignitions.

I’ll just have to wait another 10 years till we need to redo the kitchen again, because there’s no way of running a new cable without destroying stuff.

No competition. Good quality induction all the way.
Easy to clean.
Lightning fast.
No local emissions.

After being a gas hob user for decades I switched to induction several years ago. I do not want to go back.

And you can get flat bottomed woks that work fine.

We changed from gas to induction with a kitchen upgrade and induction is outstandingly better, except for one thing: if you want to cook with a wok you need gas. I’ve used a flat bottom wok on induction and it was a bit meh.

For us the answer was a 4 spot induction hob, and next to it a dedicated wok gas burner.

So how bad is the pollution from gas? I have gas hob and no extractor and never realised it was an issue. Tempted to switch to induction as some of the tech described on here sound brilliant such as being able to set a timer, zone heating rather than rings and really low simmer. I do a lot of cooking including some wok but happy to buy flat wok or special wok plate if required.

How much are we talking for the good kit and those singing induction praises what make and model are you using?

We have a range with an induction hob.

It’s great, nearly as controllable as gas but much easier to clean.

It has proper knobs, not the touch controls.

I’ve stayed in a couple of holiday places that had the touch controls, they were terrible.

love the heat control and general “feel” of it when cooking.

If you think gas gives you ‘heat control’ then you’ve obviously never used an induction hob – they can* be miles better than gas IMO.

We had a big range cooker with gas hobs and the hobs never went low enough for a gentle simmer so I ended up having to start turning the the knob back towards off until the flame was almost low enough to get the right simmer….. and then the flame would go out. So annoying!
And that before I start on keeping the pan stands clean (ans: you can’t).

Now I can set [whatever] to simmer as slowly as I want, put the timer on it and leave it to it’s thing.

Bloody hateful thing and I’m sooo happy we changed 5 years ago.

So how bad is the pollution from gas?

I don’t know but their kicking up a fuss about it in the US.  Think of it this way, if you have a gas burner in your living room or a gas boiler the law says it needs to have all the exhaust gasses expelled outside through the flu – your gas hob is burning exactly the same stuff and you’re standing over it sucking in it’s emissions.

Makes you think!

make and model are you using?

Difficult question to answer but I put a big Neff in at home.  It has a magnetic [removable] ‘twistpad’ for selecting and controlling the zones which I think works really rather well – it gets away from touch controls but keeps the surface knob/clutter free (the hob can be used in touch mode if required).

In our beach place I originally put in a cheap (used off ebay) hob that just did touch control which is OK but it only had power settings from 1-9 and i found that 2 was too high for the simmer I wanted but 1 was too low (may have been 3 and 2… can’t remember!).

So earlier this year I bought a used Neff from ebay which has an earlier version of the twistpad, called the tip pad or something – it’s not as slick as the twistpad but it’s pretty good.

* The big main thing for me though is that Neff do “half” settings on each power indicated by a dot, so you have 1, 1 + dot, 2, 2 +dot, etc to give much more control which I find perfect.  I’m sure other manufacturers to something similar – just make sure you have way more than 9 or 10 power settings.

Also look for the ability to combine zones for large pans**.

** I’ve now learned that you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to pans.  Expensive ones conduct the heat throughout the pan much better than cheap pans so you can get a way with a larger pan on a smaller induction ring (also applies to gas).  A cheap pan is also more likely to be thinner so you need to be careful when applying full power on an induction hob as it can actually warp the pan – especially when ’empty’

I now buy very expensive pans but only used off, you guessed it, eBay!  I never knew that expensive pans (I’m talking £300 for a new saute pan) were such a joy to use!!

We got an AEG, it’s currently down to £330 in the Wicke’s sale.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/AEG-IKB64401FB-60cm-4-Zone-Induction-Hob—Black/p/223853?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADs4IsY_-pn-CDal3td8AZ1-0QEE3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIos6V6PeoiAMVEJNQBh3Rjw9MEAQYASABEgK7J_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’ve stayed in a couple of holiday places that had the touch controls, they were terrible.

I agree knob controls would probably be a little better, but I’ve found after a week or two you get completely used to touch controls. It’s just a different method from the one you have used for 40+years.

If you think gas gives you ‘heat control’ then you’ve obviously never used an induction hob

Absolutely this.

That AEG looks like a good deal. Seems to be the poached branded version of the Electrolux I have and linked to earlier. If you’re happy with touch controls I’d go for it.

@smiffy If you love gas and think there is no alternative if you use a wok, then you’ve never tried a charcoal bucket.

That AEG looks like a good deal.

Only 10 power settings plus Boost – not enough for me

Slide control thing – I’d prefer simple touch buttons if there’s no knob

Can’t combine zones…. but it does have one larger zone.

I’d look at alternatives.

Only 10 power settings plus Boost – not enough for me

Slide control thing – I’d prefer simple touch buttons if there’s no knob

Looking at the photo it has 14 power settings, plus boost. Also you can slide or touch the individual power setting.

But yeah you can’t combine zones, that costs way more £££