Gas v induction hobs - your experience please?

[Houseplantmad]

I'm considering an induction hob - are they any good. I have an impression (not sure where from) that they're slow to heat up - is this correct or am I misguided?

You are completely wrong. Induction hobs are wonderful and certainly not slow to heat up! Very quick in fact and some have a boost function that’s ultra quick.

The main bonus is they are so easy to clean. I have induction at home but gas in a flat I own. The gas hob is far more of a pain to clean! You need suitable pans for induction hobs so factor that in. However it’s induction all the way for me!

Induction every time. Life is transformed!

I love my induction job and I wouldn’t go back to gas again.

No naked flames, fast to heat up, easy to clean, very responsive.

I always thought I was a gas only person because I once lived in a flat with a bad electric hob. Now I have induction and I love it. LOVE. So easy to clean, very responsive in heat and completely controllable.

I used to have gas - then got induction. I'd never go back!

Only thing that does worry me is power cuts. You can't cook anything if there is no electricity. Would have to put the bbq on instead!

Definitely induction. I also used to love gas but now I have induction I would recommend it hands down. Just be careful not to scratch it!

Power cut- get a takeaway!

Convert too, and will never, ever go back,

But quality of pans has impact, it’s proportion of a specific metal in the base. I notice difference between pans.

Kitchen designer here. Pretty much every kitchen we sell customers upgrade their existing hob to induction. They all want them. Super quick to heat up. Easy to clean. No naked flame and quick to become cool to touch also. Only issue is potentially replacing your pans.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but can anyone recommend good brands/ones to avoid? 'Specific features to be sure to get/avoid?

I am definitely getting induction, but having heard so many people skate them over the years, I really want to get a decent one.

I had induction in my last house and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. We redid the kitchen here but put in gas.

Induction hobs are not slow at all. They are easy to clean. I got an induction job and a single gas domino job. Best of both worlds.

Re. power cuts - I do a lot of camping so I have a gas stove handy to use, but even if you don't camp a small "suitcase" style stove is cheap and doesn't take up much space.

@MJMG2015
We have a Bora
Cost an arm and a leg but we love it

Mine is Siemens - v quick to heat up v responsive to changing temperature. Mine is 6 years old & going well. I was dedicated to gas and reluctantly had this one but I too would not go back.

I have had both.
Gas absolutely every time for me.
Induction does heat quickly but it doesn’t cool quickly and you need that as much as you moderate things from a boil to simmer and you don’t always want or have room to move it off the heat.
Just much less flexible. I often heat syrup and when hot just leave it at the side of the flame or want to cook with a pan at an angle (induction there is simply no heat once you lift one side).
Induction just doesn’t to the same job at all for me.
Aesthetics - I’m not fond of look of induction.
All v personal and to suit ways of cooking.

Thanks guys. Bora, Siemens, noted.

Though @HeronLanyon you are making me doubt my decision...

The one thing that's always bothered me is that I do Tip/lift pots to stir them & it's going to puss me off that the heat goes off all the time.

I thought induction went cold pretty quickly?! I won't have much space, so do really need to be able to turn the heat off but leave a pan where it is.

The induction I use is around 5 years old though and so I am sure there have been improvements and maybe they cool more quickly now. The lifting tilting thing I don’t think I could ever fully live with.

I just love A flame (sounds worrying!).

Induction is very difficult to control temp and when we’ve used them on holiday it’s been a nightmare as you are wandering round trying to cool the pan down. Gas all the way.

Induction is great for boiling etc....rubbish of you ever use a wok etc. It is also higher maintenance.
I would get half and half, with an induction and gas.

@HeronLanyon I changed from gas to induction two years ago and I love it.
I found it much more controllable and when something is boiling, I turn it down and it instantly reduces. With my gas hob I had to remove it from the hob as it retained the heat and was terribly uncontrollable. I hated it with a passion.

I have an unusual make as it was so much cheaper and am very happy. It is made by Gorenje and looks very different from other ones.

quitmoaning this is thought provoking. I think it boils down to having lived with induction through lockdown.
Eg a fried egg if you want to tilt the pan (to stop it frying very thin) I found the part of the pan not longer in contact cooled too quickly unlike hovering over flame. Or melting butter where you can just put it next to the side of a low flame to keep warm. Or blackening a pepper. Or actually I found boiling pasta took forever (I did have the right pan). Four burners didn’t seem to give me the qui valent of my gas big ring and small ring - they were all to similar in size and power.

Think my aversion is also having lived with gas all my life and kind of cook accordingly.

Interesting though they may be very much ‘improved’ now.

@HeronLanyon I have a new (less than a year old) NEFF induction and it’s super responsive. I find it easier to control than gas, which I’d cooked on for years.

OP, I’ve found induction absolutely brilliant for cooking, I wouldn’t go back to gas. It’s also so easy to clean and no naked flames in the kitchen any more.
I will concede the point about wok cooking being slightly less good, but I’ve managed, and we cook using a wok at least weekly

I love my induction hob - didn't think I would, was totally committed to gas but when we did the kitchen it wasn't an option for reasons I can't remember.

Cools immediately, heats very quickly. Tilting is perhaps the only issue but you get used to tilt, put back on the hob, tilt, put back on the hob. Mine has a setting for things like melted chocolate or butter and a boost for boiling water. It's quicker than my kettle. I'm an absolute convert. We have a whirlpool.

Induction cools down pretty much instantly. I think some people confuse ceramic hobs (slow to heat and to cool) with induction hobs because they look pretty much identical.

Not sure I understand the comment about higher maintenance - couldn't be much easier. Just wipe it down with a damp cloth, or occasionally with glass cleaner and a dry cloth. The hob itself doesn't heat up, so you don't get burnt on stains.