Have you had both induction and gas hobs? Which did you prefer and why?

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

If you've had experience of owning/long term using both induction and gas hobs please could you share your preference between the two with reasons?

Note - I'm only interested in the comparison between induction and gas - not other types of electric hob and gas.

TIA

Induction a million times.

As long as I live, I will never have to clean a gas hob again thank god. You just wipe over with induction and voilá !

I wok on mine perfectly, not a problem.

And you cannot beat induction for cooking a big thick steak in a frypan or griddle pan.

I'm always in the minority on these threads. I fucking hated our induction. It could well have been a dodgy brand installed by the landlord, but it beeped at you incessantly, numbers 1-4 did nothing, 5 kept warm, 6-9 boiled furiously. There was no control.
I was so relieved, after 18 months of hate, to move back to our house with gas.

Gas, all the induction hobs I've used have had annoying high pitched buzzing noises.

Also it may have changed now, but when we were doing our kitchen 10 years ago, induction didn't appear to be very reliable, lots of reports of them not working at all or one hob not working etc. When getting a hob built into a worktop then we wanted something that was going to last as long as the worktop and it didn't look like induction would.

Induction. We had an induction fitted when my grandmother lived with us as she was wobbly and had a tendency to just put her hand down for stability. The idea of her doing that on gas was terrifying. Also it’s massively easier to clean and the heat control is as good and fast as gas.

Only issue is the buttons were a bit small if you had massive shovel fingers like my grandad 😂 took him a couple of tries sometimes! No problems for everyone else in the house.

Realise there's a chance I'll get crucified but!!

I've personally got reservations about the long-term food safety aspects of induction.

I'm a luddite/hippy type and don't have a microwave because I don't like the idea (and in fairness usually also dislike the end results) of irradiating food rather than using heat to cook it.

The reason induction is fire-safe and quick is that it also uses this heating model, albeit a different type of radiation. Hence why there are warnings for people whose pacemakers can be affected by the strong radiation the stove produces.

For me, I just feel like when I'm cooking - or even boiling water! - especially with feeding young kids, I'd rather it took a bit longer but was actually cooking with heat, vs in reaction to the radiation being produced and transmitted through the pan base...

It feels like humans have been cooking with flame since the dawn of time and we understand the dangers, vs cooking with radiation where we don't really know the long-term effects of what that does to the body.

So yes, totally prepared to be flamed and shamed as anti-science (which I'm actually not! Have vaccinated said kids BTW!) but FWIW that's why we've got gas going into our new kitchen.

I was always a gas hob lover until I got my induction. OMG it is amazing. Cleaning is much easier, way safer with young kids, faster to heat up and easy to control.

It takes some getting used to in terms of ensuring the pan fits the ring and learning how the buttons work. Also being aware of how quick things boil and boil over lol. But once you've done that it's by far the best

Induction all the way! Looks sleek, easy to clean and I don’t fear a gas leak. Even cooking is an advantage too, though others may be able to control gas better. I am not one of them.

I like my induction hob. It heats very fast.

BUT I have broken 2 of them by knocking things over. I am about to buy my 3rd one. I knocjed over a wine bottle - smashed the hob. And I dropped a pan - smashed the hob.

Induction without doubt! Had a gorgeous Smeg Opera huge has range in last house and was delighted to sell it to our buyers as induction soo much better. Much much much better at fine control of temperature then gas.
Get a good one not a cheap one as there is a difference. Same with the pans. I have a 5 burner Neff and it’s great.
I can also set timers for individual burners to either beep and remind me or else to turn off. It allows so much control. Also it turns off automatically if it boils over for a certain amount of time but I am a distracted cook and I haven’t had problems with it turning things off.
I made a gorgeous omelette for dinner tonight so no problems there.
And then the ease of cleaning an induction hob is such a bonus!

Induction - I have a siemens.

This one (chosen because it came in silver so looks smart on my quartz work tops),

www.johnlewis.com/siemens-iq700-ex679fec1e-induction-hob-stainless-steel/p3255134

I like the multifunction area as it makes it easy to gently simmer in a big casserole - use it a lot while making dahl in my enormous oval le creuset.

Have any of the induction lovers found that it makes funny noises? It will be in a large open plan living space so I can't have random buzzing or any such.

Induction. I had a Rangemaster with a 5 burner gas hob in my old house and loved it. There is no gas supply to the new house,so had no choice. I have to admit that I love it,easy to control,responsive,fast and so easy to clean. I do not miss my old hob at all, especially don't miss scrubbing the cast iron grids and cleaning the fiddly top. A quick wipe over and the induction hob is clean.

BewareTheBeardedDragon ours is in an open plan living/ dining kitchen and I can't hear it. We bought the IKEA one which has an integrated extractor,and when that is at its highest setting,you can hear it, but otherwise,no.

We moved from induction to gas. Massive regret. Can't wait to go back to induction.

@TheFnozwhowasmirage ooh - integrates extraction you say? How does the extraction perform in the open space? Would you recommend yours?

I wonder if gas v induction is a bit like a real fire v central heating? I love a really fire but also really appreciate central heating. Maybe I will get an induction job eventually?!

Have any of the induction lovers found that it makes funny noises? It will be in a large open plan living space so I can't have random buzzing or any such.

Yes mine does (as I said earlier, my dog bolts out of the room when I use the induction hob). But cooking is rarely silent anyway so not sure it's much of an issue is it (unless you're a dog!)

My in-laws can't hear the sound their induction hob makes but it drives me insane!

Mine is very quiet. A neff one. Occasionally, I presume there is a fan I can hear, but it is quiet.

BewareTheBeardedDragon It works brilliantly. I can't smell cooking smells inside the house very much whilst cooking and not at all afterwards. It vents at kick board level.We have a whole house ventilation system installed,so don't need any other extractor fans.I don't know if it would be quite so effective without the ventilation system though,as the steam/smell still has to go somewhere.

It looks awesome - I wonder if it could be vented outside in the same way an overhead extractor would be. Does stuff not get caught in the grills though? If something spills or boils over (or you're just a generally messy person like me...)?

Oh for goodness sake, induction doesn’t use radiation! It uses an induced magnetic field.

Induction is my favourite.

Only thing it can’t do it use the flame to char vegetables which I do relatively frequently.

We had a gas hob and replaced it with an induction and never looked back.

But then we moved house and now I'm back to gas 😭