If you had your time again would you choose gas or electric cooker?

[refusetobeasheep]

I can't decide!!!!

Thanks Zazies! Much appreciated (am on a v limited budget) will take a look at those. Thank you!

I think a lot of people confuse induction with ceramic. Induction is totally different, and increasingly seen in high-end kitchens.

I have an induction hob and electric oven.

I've had several combinations over the years but would go with electric oven \ gas hob if given the choice

I'm a gas hob person but am beginning to consider induction, mainly for the minimalist look as we are going open plan.

I have a few questions about induction hobs:

1. Do they all have a push button/touch screen system to raise or lower the temp? Are there any where you turn a dial instead?

2. How quickly does the temp raise or lower when you adjust it? In particular, can you turn something from high to low very very quickly the way you can with gas? Or does it take longer than gas?

3. Do the pans rattle a little bit when cooking?

Hi minipie - the one I will be using has dials, think it is fairly new too. I have no idea about your other questions (as I haven't moved in yet) but will be watching to find out!

MiniPie

1. You can get both
2. Very quick, it's only a wee adjustment from gas in terms of speed. On ours, the top setting is also much stronger than I've ever had a normal gas hob top setting be- more like one of those wok-burner type burners you get on 5 ring hobs.
3. Sometimes there's a faint buzz/rattle/whistle type noise but no motion IYSWIM

Gas hob and oven.

Thanks user and Zazies

If a magnet sticks to the bottom of your pan - that one should work on an induction hob - so try out your pans with a fridge magnet and see which would work and which won't ! It might help you to decide !

An induction hob is much more powerful than a gas hob, but it's lowest setting is a lot more gentle than the lowest you can go on Gas. Also, it's almost as responsive as gas. I imagine if you had a dial it would be quicker, mine has a piece of the hob you touch to go up/down. I can get the pan to go from a furious boil to the merest simmer in less than a second.

I have an induction hob. I would prefer a gas hob. Having cooked on gas, electric and induction I don't think you can cook certain things properly on anything except gas - you don't get the control. Things like stirfrys, for example, just don't work on anything except actual flame. Oven is electric and that is fine. I don't think there are any advantages to having a gas oven.
Induction is certainly easy to clean though, so I might go for a mixed gas/induction hob.

It responds quickly to the controls, but you don't get the heat up the side of the pan and you can't move the pan up and down on the flame as you can with gas. It's very different - to me cooking on electric or induction is like cooking in 2 dimensions, whereas cooking on gas is like cooking in 3 dimensions. There is a reason you don't see chefs cooking on anything except flame...But then, I do like cooking. if it's not a particular interest of yours, it probably doesn't matter much. (we have a holiday home with a gas hob, and I cook far more when I'm there!)

Currently in a holiday house with an old-Ish induction hob. We've been here before and I'd forgotten how responsive it is. Will seriously look into one when I do my kitchen

I cook with cast iron pans a lot. Will an induction hob break if I drop a cast iron pan on it?

Induction hobs are glass-ceramic, so it can crack / break if you drop anything heavy on it. Same as ordinary ceramic hobs. Will also scratch, so best to avoid sliding pans on the surface too.

I think it's right that people often confuse ceramic and induction. We have a ceramic electric hob. I still prefer it to gas, but you do have to keep the kids away from it, as it takes a while to cool down, but I still find simmering much easier on the ceramic hob than on a gas one, as there is much more temperature control.

However, when we get the kitchen done, I am so going to get an induction hob. We're actually getting gas run up to the house from the street for the boiler, but DH has already said he doesn't want a gas hob back. Even many professional chefs now use induction over gas....

Gas all the way for me.

Thanks Count. Suspect that may rule induction out for me. I don't drop pans often but it only takes once... and I slide them around to different burners all the time!

OnePlanOnHouzz - thanks, that is a really handy tip! Might even try it out down the local charity shop. ;-)

Good idea !!

I'd get an electric oven but with a gas hob.

Electric hobs take ages to warm up!

Electric oven, gas hob.
I like cooking and with my gas hob I can char veg such as aubergene by holding them over the naked flame, ditto parathas etc.
You can also flambe with gas.
Electric hobs drive me nuts with the switching off if there's not a pan on, and taking too long to cool down.

Induction hobs heat the pan up instantly though.

Got a ceramic hob recently. Yes gas is more controllable but I grew up with electric and then crap gas hobs were worse. It would have been an extra £1500 to run gas into the kitchen and there were other priorities. And I'm a bit nervous of both gas and flames especially with small children. A good ceramic hob is pretty good.

My pet hate though is touch controls as they never seem to respond to my fingers and you have to wait to see if it's done anything. Proper knobs, please.