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I've always been dismissive of electric hobs, I used to hate those bloody grey circles in my student house that never ever seemed to get hot enough. I have also used some induction hobs in the past that irritated me as they would get hot enough, and then turn off!!
Seeing as all the guys that work for me love to prove me wrong, one of the electricians made me bring my fave cast iron (wagner) over to his kitchen for a little test on his modern induction hob.
I have to say I was quite blown away. I heated my cast pan up in seconds, way quicker than the gas, and was reasonably controllable - on the manual setting it has 9 levels which is pretty good, there is also a boil setting, it knows when its hot 100, which is good, then switch over to manual to keep a rolling boil. With a fried egg and steak you still had to wait for the conduction to get a nice even temp, so in that respect the as is just as fast, but impressive nonetheless.
I am vacillating, not convinced it is better than gas, but it was usable and very easy to clean.
Discuss.
People with induction hobs do seem get rather evangelical about them so maybe they are OK. I'm still of the impression that they are what you fit when you don't have the option for gas.
I'm replacing my cooker soon and thinking of switching from gas to induction, the only negatives I can see are with woks and if there's a power cut (although I get a power cut about once every 5 years and even then it's brief so a bit of a non-issue).
I didn't have an option for gas so fitted an induction hob.
It's way better than I thought and a lot easier to keep clean.
Not sure I would go back to gas, even if it was an option.
Pricey though.
No woks!
Balls I did not think of that. That may well kill the whole thing.
It is funny how lots of us are snobby about anything other than gas...
I'm a die-hard gas hob man but this looks pretty cool:
hexamstu, I have been looking at that one, pricey mind.by for sale.
Edit - Actually I am not sure it is the same one I was looking at - I saw the electrolux model where you have a zone you can put it anywhere within, but I can't find that FreeZone job for sale.
Last year we refitted our kitchen and changed from gas to induction. Induction is great, but you need to get the right induction hob, dont get one that will run off a standard 13 amp plug, those will cut the power if you try and use more than one 'ring' at once.
A good one will boil a large pan of water in less than a minute and is as controllable as gas.
Get the highest power hob you can afford, and budget for an electrician to put new suitable wiring/circuit breaker in to run it.
I use a wok on mine...
For me, the ease of cleaning trumps a (very small) performance deficit over gas.
It makes a big difference if you get a "nicer" (read "more expensive") one - more power and more control.
fadda, how does the wok work then?
Heats quicker and more controllably than gas. Heat goes into the pan and not the room (which also means handles don't get so hot). What's not to like.
If you really can't deal with a flat bottomed wok then
installl a induction wok hob
or have a commercial counter top wok burner
that you get out when you need it.
how does the wok work then?
They have a flat area on the bottom. So technically not really a "wok".
We went from gas to induction, as no mains gas in the back of beyond where we live and did not want a costly canister.
I love cooking on the induction, especially with a decent set of pans that heat up unbelievably quickly (we went precook triple ply). Going to ditch our kettle for an induction one, as much quicker.
In terms of control, you still have a huge amount of heat control when cooking, even more so than my old gas hob. You can also set a timer so it turns itself off after your set time.
The ability to section the hob too is a bonus, so you can put the roasting pan on top of the hob for when making gravy with your roast juices.
Cleans like a dream too, no awkward nooks and crannies.
OK flat based wok, no issue there, they look nice.
Quite a few hobs have that flexible zone cooking, AEG, NEFF, Stoves and a few others. Plus you can get a multi hob anyway with gas and electric.
Oh god, I'm being turned..
We went from gas to induction and I wouldn't go back.
Very controllable, gets really hot really fast, flexible cooking zones, ceramic top for extra worktop space, I don't see that there is much, if anything, that a gas hob does better. And I really liked my gas hob before.
Just one note on the 13 amp advice. We heard this before ordering and I still managed to get a plugged one (my fault). However, it's really not a problem unless you intend to boil water as fast as possible in four separate pans. We've not found it inconveniencing our cooking at all.
Another induction from gas user here.
Very happy with it, only drawback i've found is if you need to heat 3 or 4 large pans of water at the same time...the total power input is lower than you can get with 4 gas burners. Get round it by use of kettle and/or starting a bit earlier.
Changing pans wasn't too expensive - got most of mine from sainsburys!
I've hated every one I've used. What point is a sometimes cooker where it turns off for the pan not being mm perfect in its position (though the anywhere zones might solve that issue)! Gas every time for me.
One of the things I bloody hate about induction hobs is the touch controls. If an induction was available with big knobs then I might be tempted... And if they worked with woks too.
In the meantime I'll stick with gas!
We recently went from has to induction and definitely wouldn’t go back.
As others have said, it’s very controllable and the ease of cleaning trumps gas for me.
^^Good point there about touch control- there are few models with good proper controls but they are insanely expensive. Can’t recall the brand/models but the price was over 1500 Euros.
I'm still waiting for Alexa-controllable induction ovens to come out, a few in the pipeline apparently. I reckon could be pretty useful when you've got your hands full or are at the sink doing something else etc. OK it's mostly just to have more gadgets :p
Gas for me. Love my wok plus I sometimes char veg or cook flatbreads directly from the flame.
Parents have induction we have gas. Still prefer gas as the touch controls for induction are not that intuitive compared to a quick spin of the dial on gas. Theirs is an OK brand as well, Siemens from memory. Oh also doesn't work with our copper bottomed pans, which makes sense.
Only experience in a holiday home.
It was a good brand, but either appeared to be full on or not on. The controls were awkward ie you had to concentrate to get them to do what you wanted.
Also the glass looks nice when new, however after a while the surface gets scratched.
I actually think some kind of hybrid would be a good compromise.
We have a very expensive (ooo get us) Siemens jobbie.
I'm still getting used to it, but I do like it. There are 18 different levels of power + a boil setting so it's very controllable.
It has a frying sensor and fancy flexzone stuff - I should really read the manual to start getting the best out of it.
I think the Samsung model above mine had a magnetic knob that just sat on the glass surface and twiddled like a knob, but could be removed for cleaning.
Mine has flexizones as well and it's very good, deals with those pans that are too small, well mine does.
Yes we have a NEFF induction hob and it's excellent; fully controllable and easy to keep clean. It came with a cast iron griddle, which leaves nice parallel stripes on whatever you cook and is also easy to clean and super-controllable.
[quote=“sbob”]Gas for me. Love my wok plus I sometimes char veg or cook flatbreads directly from the flame.
This but I cook chapatis.
A flat bottomed wok is a frying pan.
Thinking of changing to induction at home as I'm properly fed up with cleaning the top of our gas hobbed range.
As a trial I've just bought a 9 month old induction hob for our other place that only has electric - looking forward to not cooking on an old ceramic hob again 🙂
Induction hob here - had it 7 years and love the easy clean and control - not so good when i dropped the pepper grinder on it... Fortunately only the edge broke and insulation tape covers the sharp edge......
I think the best thing about them is when something boils over, lift off pan, wipe and pan back on. Plus the lack of retained heat when its been switched off.
not cooking on an old ceramic hob again
We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that this is the most important thing.
I think the Samsung model above mine had a magnetic knob that just sat on the glass surface and twiddled like a knob, but could be removed for cleaning.
We have that on our Neff. It's much better than the touch jobbies.
We inherited a Bosch Induction Job in our house when we moved in. It wouldn't work with our pans so we had to replace them with ones that it would accept.
The touch controls on some are not very intuitive. Some are better than others - I specifically sought out a Siemens hob that had a separate slider control for each of the cooking areas (rather than one control that you needed to 'assign' each time you wanted to adjust a 'burner')
The touch controls on some are not very intuitive. Some are better than others – I specifically sought out a Siemens hob that had a separate slider control for each of the cooking areas (rather than one control that you needed to ‘assign’ each time you wanted to adjust a ‘burner’)
yeah, i wish I'd gone with the Siemens that had this and two flexizones, it was my first choice for months. Unfortunately I lost sight of the important things and was lured by the bright lights of the Samsung (virtual flame), which of course is just a completely pointless novelty. The Samsung is still a great hob, but i think the siemens would have been better.
One other advantage of them over gas for some people is the reduction in water vapour they put into the air.
Grew up with gas.
Had basic electric when I got mynown place.
Now got induction.
.
Hate the induction, not so much the heating method but bloody awful touch pad control thing. Having said that as a heating method gas was by far the best.
If we ever get a place with either mains gas or a place to keep bottles I'm going g straight back yo gas.
One other advantage of them over gas for some people is the reduction in water vapour they put into the air.
They increase the boiling point of water?
Witchcraft!
I have recently swapped out a bottle gas hob to an induction and I would never ever go back, though I was a die hard gas for hob electric for oven person. It's essentially that once you get the feel for it, it is perfectly repeatable every time you do a dish.
<p>
</p><p></p><p></p><p>They increase the boiling point of water?</p><p>Witchcraft!
</p>
Well I can now add my thoughts to the subject having installed my induction hob a few days ago.
Compared to the ceramic hob it replaced it's brilliant!
Really fast, and very controllable - I can certainly get a lower simmer on the induction hob than I can on our gas range at home. Love the timers for each hob as well.
Joining this club next week with a Bora induction. Hope it solves the extractor fan problem.
Ooh interested in how you get on with that, I prefer to buy stuff from companies involved in cycling sponsorship and they look a neat solution. I'm assuming they're pricey though, also is the extractor just a recirculating one or can you duct it externally (if so doesn't it screw up cupboard space)?
It's going in front of a window, so a regular stove & island range hood would have been just as much.
Getting vented straight out the back wall, so no loss of cupboard space.
How can you get more controllable than an infinitely variable knob?
How can you get more controllable than an infinitely variable knob?
The ability to control the temperature in a pan is much better in an induction hob as controlling the flow of an electrical current is much easier than controlling the flow of gas of varying composition through a valve.
Can certainly get a very low "simmer" on the AEG induction hob I use (has a decent number - 14 - of heat increments available); trying to get the same very low heat with a barely-on-and-all-too-easily-blown-out gas hob would be tricky.
The ability to control the temperature in a pan is much better in an induction hob as controlling the flow of an electrical current is much easier than controlling the flow of gas of varying composition through a valve.
Sounds impressive, but what is simpler and more controllable than twisting a knob?
14 < infinity.
Sounds impressive, but what is simpler and more controllable than twisting a knob?
14 < infinity.
Sighs. Try it out and see for yourself but don't kid yourself into thinking that you can consistently achieve the same temperature on a gas hob every time you use it. The temperature control in an induction hob is easier and more reliable than a gas hob, the temperature range is better on an induction hob too. I've used both and I'll be changing my gas hob for an induction one soon.
Sighs. Try it out and see for yourself but don’t kid yourself into thinking that you can consistently achieve the same temperature on a gas hob every time you use it.
I have no doubt that you can select "heat number 6" or "heat number 7" every time you want with complete repeatability.
But with a gas knob you can select six and a third. Or if that's not quite enough, six and four sevenths. You cannot have a greater range of temps with greater control of temp with fewer increments of setting. That's simply not possible.
Enjoy your new cooker. 🙂
But with a gas knob you can select six and a third. Or if that’s not quite enough, six and four sevenths. You cannot have a greater range of temps with greater control of temp with fewer increments of setting. That’s simply not possible.
How many do you need?
I would suggest 18 settings is more than enough, 14 probably about right. With the repeat-ability of that number trumping the "benefit" of it being infinitely adjustable.
But with a gas knob you can select six and a third. Or if that’s not quite enough, six and four sevenths
just not the case with any gas hob i've ever owned. The adjustability wasn't really that granular and, in our house at least, the gas pressure was affected enough by the boiler firing up that a simmer would become boiling over (or going out).
Our Siemens has 1-9 with half increments (eg4.5) plus turbo mode. that's sufficient that you can have a pan of rice or pasta simmering perfectly.
The only issue I have (and this is not with induction) but all the pans say to use a medium heat.
I don't get that - what is the point of the boost function if I can't use my pans on full blast?
Interest piqued here. Was looking today but review sites are a nightmare tbh. So any recommendations for around £500? Keep reading about lots of annoying beeping and almost disconcerting levels of humming from some.. is this a feature I'll have to live with? Also read about fussy and faffy controls on some where it's hard to adjust heat quickly trying to navigate through controls. Just want something powerful yet simple and hopefully long lasting... Bosch or AEG seem to be in the running.
<p>People moan about everything. Our fridge freezer gets loads of moans because it's "noisy". Granted it had some bloomin' odd gurgles at times but is hardly drowning out conversation, you can't hear it over the gas hob.</p><p></p><p>So yeah, take reviews with a pinch of salt, "does it work?" is usually a good enough metric.</p>
just want something powerful yet simple and hopefully long lasting… Bosch or AEG seem to be in the running.
I was told a few years ago that De Dietrich invented induction tech and were still basically the only company manufacturing them. All others were made by their factories. Not sure how true that was/still is or whether that was just the 'burner' and the rest assembled by others.
On our range cooker I can very often not get the gas to go low enough for a gentle simmer.I also like that the pan size doesn't really matter with induction (small pan on a big induction plate seems absolutely fine) whereas a small pan on a medium gas burner is pretty pointless as the heat goes up the sides.
So any recommendations for around £500?
Bosch PWP631BF1B (£399-£487) scored 82% in March2018 Which test and looks pretty smart, in fact Bosch & Neff induction hobs seem to consistently score high in Which tests at or around your budget and below. (if you're interested, I'll happily send you the full Which test report for the Bosch)
Clicking and humming is pretty much par for the course. Don't forget on a gas hob, you get clicking from a gas lighter to get a flame and gas isn't silent, it's not that much different.
Re fussy/faffy controls, all the AEG hobs appear to have individual controls for each zone, where as the Bosch and Neff are one control you switch between zones. So if it's a big deal then buy AEG, personally, like most stuff of this nature you fairly quickly get used to the different controls, all IMO tho.
I just turned off the Aga (thank God) as we were melting having bought a multifunction microwave thingy and a plug in induction hob. The former has been pretty good, the induction hob has been an absolute revelation! Much better than the Aga, it boils water faster than a fast thing to make cups of tea! The only downside has been it is so good that it has welded onion to the bottom of my cast iron pans (I wasn't concentrating as the Aga doesn't do this!)
When I redo the kitchen, or if/when we move, then an induction hob is going to be on the list of things to have!