Gas or electric hob on an island

[anotherlongwalk]

I want electric as I think it looks sleeker and on an island will look tidier. DH is adamant he was gas.

For context we currently have electric (not in an island... the island will be appearing in new kitchen extension) but DH has always wanted gas as he feels it's easier to control.

Induction would give you the best of both worlds

Until recently it would have been GAS every day for me. However, after using an induction hob I'm a convert. It is as controllable as GAS and it doesn't put GAS grime over your ceiling and walls.

I had induction on island, then moved house and chose to go back to gas (not on island). I prefer gas but on an island would compromise and get induction for sleeker lines and easier to clean

Another induction convert here.

Had one put in my island last year and love it. I can’t believe how quickly it reacts when you turn up/down.

So easy to clean and looks good. I say all this as a die hard gas hob user of many years.

Another vote for induction!

He's still saying gas! I'll work on him!

We have induction at the minute which I think works well, he's just got a bee in his bonnet about wanting gas!

If your husband does the bulk of the cooking and cleaning,he gets to choose. Gas has culinary advantages over traditional solid plate and ceramic electric cookers but not over induction. In terms of air quality and overall safety, even a quaint old solid plate hob is safer than gas. The only fly in the ointment I can see for induction is that they scratch or crack and(all the controls) aren't likely to last anywhere near as long as gas or traditional electric.

We had induction and got gas in the house we just moved to. I HATE it. Its slower, more difficult to clean, the heat creeps up the sides of the pans and makes the handles too hot, you cant simmer properly and it smells.

But i wouldnt put a hob on an island as i find it dangerous unless the island is really really deep. Children especially can push stuff too close to the back of the hob which is a fire hazard and anyone sitting on the island could lean back and get burned. Induction is less of a hazard woth both of these points as it wont heat anything thats not ferrous

I posted before I saw you already have induction. I take it he's never learned to use it properly,perhaps he's too old or hasn't spent enough time cooking.

To be fair we both do a lot of cooking, we split cooking about 50/50 and we cook everything from scratch.

No kids (and none will be arriving!) and it's a big island so don't need to worry about those issues!

Its slower, more difficult to clean, the heat creeps up the sides of the pans and makes the handles too hot, you cant simmer properly and it smells.

All good points that I can argue with!

Gas does not smell if the hob is working correctly. It doesn't make the handles hot if the flame is set correctly. Simmering works fine. Cleaning a doddle as it is so controllable so doesn't boil over like electric does.

And my lpg hob is incredibly cheap to run and like all gas hobs, works in a power cut.

Now the power cut thing is a good point... doesn't happen often but when it does gas would be good!

Cleaning gas hobs is a total faff. We have one in a London flat and it’s ok but I would prefer to be rid of it.

Some of the comments about induction and controls breaking are rubbish. Mine is a 10 year old Miele. It’s as good as the day it was bought. It’s touch control. Each “ring” has numerous positions for heat. It has a timer. It has a boost for ultra rapid heating. Level 1 just warms. Warp factor 9 is rapid boil! It’s utterly controllable and it’s just as quick as gas! It’s wide (90cm) so you can move pans around to non cooking zones. It cleans with a quick wipe over. It has a lock to prevent stray fingers turning it on.

The downside is the cost but DD has a much cheaper AEG with fewer features and it’s great. You do need induction pans though. Buy good ones and they will last forever though. I wouldn’t buy ceramic. Definitely not gas. I have an older ceramic hob in my holiday house and it’s slow. Induction all the way.

I'm a induction convert.....but what was even better advice was to change it from the island to the working top. The large island is a lovely social and work space

Induction all the way. Easy to control, easy to clean. Looks beautiful. No way would I go back to gas, so old fashioned imo, never looks clean, and more safety issues.

I like gas and find it perfectly controllable. I've never used induction though, so nothing to compare it to.

I like to have a gas hob where the possibility is there because as someone already pointed out, you can still use them even in a power cut, so there is flexibility there. I've lit mine with matches before, but there are some purpose made hand held gas lighters that you can buy (yes, I really ought to get one for here).

Induction all the way. I was a huge gas preference chef, but totally converted to induction now. So much more energy efficient my eco-concerns are happier with it, and I can't see any downsides compared to gas. Hob is MUCH easier to clean too!

A sleek induction always looks better on an island too. Gas looks clunky by comparison. My induction is on a big island and I like that I cook and look over the garden. I’m not looking at a kitchen wall. You can chat to people if the island has seating. It’s good to prep on the island and not have to move anything to the hob. I have waste bins in the island too and a sink with a waste disposal so I can keep it all neat and tidy.

I have gas and always had it - am Indian origin so I thought I needed it for Indian cooking. So I was shocked when I went to India to find all of my relatives using Induction. I tried it there and I loved it so when we do our extension that’s what I’ll be having.

You absolutely need flat bottomed magnetic pans and a cooker sensitive enough to recognise different sized pans to make the most out of it. Plus if it’s on an island a built in downdraft extractor is a good idea as it can be cleaned easily in a dishwasher

Gas for me - otherwise how do you use a proper Chinese iron wok for stir frying.
Most professional chefs seem to use gas - the only one I saw using an induction hob was on Saturday Morning kitchen 😳 - was an Australian chef cooking from her kitchen down under who was showing a guest on the show how to cook a dish - the guest was finished first and hers was also more browned.

Also, electric is potentially more environmentally friendly, especially if you buy from one of the renewable schemes, which are growing. When a gas hob is always going to be burning dead dinosaurs and plants and releasing lots of carbon dioxide.