Induction hob, yay or nay?

[AWombWithoutARoof]

DP does that cheffy thing of yanking frying pans back and forth rather than just stirring the food. Is that going to trash an induction hob? Are they as vulnerable to scratching as ceramics?

[elQuintoConyo]

Are they the glass ones?

We rent and have one. I hate it, it is shit to cook with - temperatures take ages to go down, crappy if you need to heat quickly but then put on simmer, like a sauce. Takes an age to actually turn on to begin with: press on, press up to four times to choose which hob, press and hold for a fricking age until you get the maximum heat just to boilwater.

Pain in the ass to clean - even if you clean after every use, you'll eventually get dark rings of burnt-on crap that's impossible to shift.

I have had to scrape mine with a knife blade to cut through burnt stuff, obviously very carefully, but very time consuming and lots of elbow grease.

Wish we had gas, much easier.

As to the scratching with saucepans, sory, not sure, I always stir.

[Katiebeau]

Induction are very controllable. It's halogen glass ones (look similar) that are dreadful to control.

I loved mine and wished to God I had one here. I hate cleaning the gas burner and irons. The kit for the glass induction job made it easy.

You need to make sure your pans work as they need to sense a magnetic metal to work.

[Katiebeau]

But doing the chef thing won't go well on the glass at all!!

[AWombWithoutARoof]

It's definitely induction, not halogen. Worried about cleaning and scratching.

[AWombWithoutARoof]

Yes, why do they do that? It would be fine if he'd lift the pan clear of the hob, but can't guarantee it. GRRRRR!

[MNPinto2014]

My DH also does the shake jiggle and our induction (ikea) is brilliant, cleans a dream, no scratches, very controllable.

[Spinaroo]

I adore mine- Very controllable, cleans very easily, no scraping off burnt bits as the temperature of the job is never as hot as a ceramic hob. Wouldn't do the cheffy thing though

[northender]

Yay. Love ours, would never go back to gas.

[AWombWithoutARoof]

That's interesting Pinto, it's an Ikea one I'm considering, it would save us money on extending the gas into the kitchen.

I know nobody likes a Spoony Fucker, but there has to be a happy medium!

[AWombWithoutARoof]

Ooh, northender, tell me why you wouldn't go back to gas.

[AWombWithoutARoof]

And Pinto, have you found that the markings have stayed on? All the print on our Ikea gas hob has come off, just from using a micro fibre cloth, no scourer or anything!

[larrygrylls]

Induction is OK, reasonably controllable and very efficient. However, on ours (an expensive one, not cheap rubbish), if any meaningful quantity of water gets on it, it switches off and starts bleeping error messages. In addition, you cannot move the saucepan about easily, so unless you have a really big ring, you will struggle to heat things evenly.

For me, it is second best to gas. Why anyone would ever prefer anything to gas is beyond me. We were forced into induction as our gas pipes were too small to support a decent gas hob.

[JingletsJangletsYellowBanglets]

moved house with one in it. two years on and i've learned to live with it, but still miss gas. also only pans that are magnetic work on it, so half of mine are stored away. can't wait to redo the kitchen and rip the thing out.

[JingletsJangletsYellowBanglets]

and ditto on larrygrylls' comment. anytime sauce boils over, the thing bleeps crazy. i think we also have an expensive one as much doodaaah was made about it as a feature during selling. Also, if I take a pan out of the oven and place it on there temporarily, if the pan accidentally covers more than one spot, the system gets confused, bleeping the most annoying sound.

[ShineSmile]

We had a lamona one and it was rubbish.

We now have a Bosch one and it's working well and I've got used to it. It's just a pain when others bring their pot of food and it doesn't work on there.

It is so so easy to clean though! It is fantastic.

[Parietal]

yes yes yes. induction is great. i'm spending a small fortune changing the gas hob in our new house for induction like our old house, because I now hate gas. induction is quick, easy to clean, safe and generally great.

[northender]

So much easier to clean, just as controllable as gas. I like the safety aspect (eg cutting out if pan boils dry!) and the fact that the hob doesn't get as hot so safer for the dc.
The ring markings haven't worn off our Neff one 5 years down the line. I use it to cook every day and wouldn't swap
There was a programme on recently about 2 top end restaurants in Manchester and iirc the Manchester House had got all induction hobs and were happy.

[MothershipG]

What about woks?

Im planning to upgrade to a range cooker and I was wondering about getting one with an induction hob but can it manage the high heat you need for wok cooking?

[RuddyDuck]

If you do the cheffy thing, then put a piece of kitchen roll between the pan and the hob. That way you don't scratch the hob.

I love love love my induction hob, instnatly heats up/cools down, as controllable as gas and a doddle to clean as nothing can burn onto it. We did have to buy an induction-friendly wok, but did that easily and cheaply.

[NannyR]

I love my induction hob, but I don't think it's that good for stir frying. Reason being that it only seems to heat the base of the pan, with a gas hob the flames sort of lick up the sides of the pan.

That's the only negative I can think of though! I think you can buy hobs that have one gas ring and three induction rings, that might be a solution.

One point, when I had my kitchen fitted I seem to remember I needed some extra electrical work done in order to have an induction hob, so it might not be cheaper than extending the gas into the kitchen.

I bought ikea 365 pans, they are cheap, work on induction and still look pristine after two years use.

[gobbin]

Crap with a frying pan, brigantine for everything else. A doddle to wipe over and clean. Would never go back to gas.

[gobbin]

Brigantine?! I meant brilliant

[Roussette]

I've had gas, I've had electric and I've had ceramic and induction beats the lot by far. Instantly controllable, I don't have a mark on mine, have had it years (it's Neff) and I'm a messy cook! So easy to clean (I just use ceramic hob cleaner and it's cleaned in minutes)
I cook the best steaks ever on it because hot is really hot and you can turn it down instantly when you need to.
Yes you need the right induction pans but bought all of mine in TK Maxx including a wok. If you go out buying pans take a magnet with you - if it sticks to the bottom of a pan, it will work on induction (sometimes in TK Maxx the wrapping has come off and you don't know if its right for induction and the magnet tells you)

[MrsHerculePoirot]

LOVE my induction hob - got it earlier this year and am never going back t gas. Heats up amazingly quickly, so easy to control, cleans easily, we now have a stove top kettle as it boils water so fast.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I love my induction hob, much better than gas & I can set a timer on it so it switches off & doesn't waste money.

I would literally kill dh if he shuffled a pan on it.