Gas Hob V Induction Hob
Discussion
We moved into a house that has an induction hob. Make sure your pots and pans are suitable, or you'll be buying a new set, as the induction hobs only work with suitable pans.
I always had gas, and preferred it as it was 'controllable'.. The traditional wok is no use with induction either.
The plus point = Cleaning a flat induction hob is so easy.
I am getting used to the induction system, but I do miss my old wok.
I always had gas, and preferred it as it was 'controllable'.. The traditional wok is no use with induction either.
The plus point = Cleaning a flat induction hob is so easy.
I am getting used to the induction system, but I do miss my old wok.
d hot. I'd bet professional kitchens all use gas.I now have induction and used to have gas.
As far as I can tell it's just as hot and controllable as gas. I don't have any trouble using my traditional wok on it, infact the first time I used it the oil caught fire as it got so hot.
Granted, the vast majority of commercial kitchens use gas, but the supposed best restaurant in the world (Noma) use induction.
As far as I can tell it's just as hot and controllable as gas. I don't have any trouble using my traditional wok on it, infact the first time I used it the oil caught fire as it got so hot.
Granted, the vast majority of commercial kitchens use gas, but the supposed best restaurant in the world (Noma) use induction.
I've always preferred gas, I've suffered electric rings, ceramic and halogen but ended up with a Neff induction hob a couple of years ago and find it perfect. Fast, controllable, easy to keep clean, I'd recommend it to anybody. The only downside is the cost (purchase price plus you'll need >40 Amp cable to a dedicated MCD, too).
On induction for the last five years or so.
Been faultless. Don't miss having to disassemble the whole top of the hob after every little boilover like with our old gas hob, where everything looked like it was designed specifically to catch crud and be as difficult to clean as possible.
Is the problem with many woks that they don't have enough flat contact area to heat up? Ours has quite a flattish bottom and seems to work well enough.
Been faultless. Don't miss having to disassemble the whole top of the hob after every little boilover like with our old gas hob, where everything looked like it was designed specifically to catch crud and be as difficult to clean as possible.
Is the problem with many woks that they don't have enough flat contact area to heat up? Ours has quite a flattish bottom and seems to work well enough.
I used to have a halogen hob. I cook a lot of stir fry and curry dishes which tend to splatter and make a mess. On a halogen/ceramic hob, these splatters cook onto the glass and have to be scraped off which is time consuming and irritating as the red-hot glass bakes them on.
Got rid of the halogen and bought a 5 burner gas hob which we had for years. Very controllable power levels but was a royal pain in the harris afterwards as being clinical about cleanliness, I always used to bung all the fittings in the dishwasher. Then you have to wipe down the stainless then reassemble the bloody lot
I went along to Abingdon and watched a demo cooking session on a induction hob at the manufacturers head office. This was performed by a couple of ladies that had both gas and induction side by side. They had CCTV cameras watching what they were doing, and there was a pair of very large plasma's on which 'we', the audience could follow their demonstrations. They brought two pans of water to the boil simultaneously; one on gas and the other on induction - the induction hob was twice as fast as the gas! The best thing about induction is because the pan becomes the element, the only residual heat on the glass is from the radiation of the pan, so you can touch the glass not long after removing the pan.
As an engineer, I was sold on the technology So I treated myself to a four ring induction hob. When I got it home and set up, I was surprised to find out that my cast iron pan set worked a treat. Also a boring cheap pan which appeared to have a copper base also worked well. My 'gourmet' medium range pans didn't even get warm so they went in the bin. I tried a few pans including the Jamie Oliver range, but these made different noises depending on what power level you set - I'm not saying they didn't work because they did, but for some reason the pans were 'noisy'. I settled on the triple wall LeCrusez pans which I am very pleased with.. but they were not cheap, the set was north of £500
A lifetime guarantee should mean I should not need to buy pans again - ever. Time will tell 
So how do I rate them all?
Ceramic? Ancient technology; the temperature was very hard to control, and not responsive - you were either boiling things over or waiting for the heat to ramp up - it was like cooking on full boost at 27psi
you dare not go near it, it had species living on that David Attenborough hadn't discovered, and they were now part of the hob and could not be removed 
Gas? Well anyone can cook with gas, it's old school but I would never go back as the cleaning just did my head in, and I want to use my spare time for leisure and not cleaning. They just look so 18th century... I was always fearful of an explosion with gas (rather too paranoid I think) but the thought was always there.
Induction? Sexy, futuristic, sleek, cutting edge, it the Bang & Olufsen of hobs! Typical bloke response, but it's very alluring. It is the unknown. There's something special about it. I used to just turn it on and stare at it for no good reason with the lights out - it's like the bridge of a Klingon warship but you don't get Klingons with induction - you just wipe them off
The power is savage compared to the gas, but its a lot more controllable than ceramic. With my gas hob, I had to keep adjusting the knob to get the right simmer, but the touch controls on the induction are easy to use - it took some time to adjust, but think of the difference of going from an old push button phone to a touch-screen smart phone, because that's exactly how the controls are. If you forgot to keep an eye on it and something boils over, it turns off the ring when it detects the water on the glass. There are loads of features which you just don't find with the others. The more I use it, the more I want to use it. It's like driving a car: the more you practice, the better you get.
Positives?
Cleaning - none other than a wipe with a damp cloth.
Power
Looks
Ease of use
Negatives?
Dedicated pans for induction.
Cost.
I'm paranoid of something falling on it and breaking the glass.. that would be a £400 replacement
Got rid of the halogen and bought a 5 burner gas hob which we had for years. Very controllable power levels but was a royal pain in the harris afterwards as being clinical about cleanliness, I always used to bung all the fittings in the dishwasher. Then you have to wipe down the stainless then reassemble the bloody lot
I went along to Abingdon and watched a demo cooking session on a induction hob at the manufacturers head office. This was performed by a couple of ladies that had both gas and induction side by side. They had CCTV cameras watching what they were doing, and there was a pair of very large plasma's on which 'we', the audience could follow their demonstrations. They brought two pans of water to the boil simultaneously; one on gas and the other on induction - the induction hob was twice as fast as the gas! The best thing about induction is because the pan becomes the element, the only residual heat on the glass is from the radiation of the pan, so you can touch the glass not long after removing the pan.
As an engineer, I was sold on the technology So I treated myself to a four ring induction hob. When I got it home and set up, I was surprised to find out that my cast iron pan set worked a treat. Also a boring cheap pan which appeared to have a copper base also worked well. My 'gourmet' medium range pans didn't even get warm so they went in the bin. I tried a few pans including the Jamie Oliver range, but these made different noises depending on what power level you set - I'm not saying they didn't work because they did, but for some reason the pans were 'noisy'. I settled on the triple wall LeCrusez pans which I am very pleased with.. but they were not cheap, the set was north of £500
A lifetime guarantee should mean I should not need to buy pans again - ever. Time will tell So how do I rate them all?
Ceramic? Ancient technology; the temperature was very hard to control, and not responsive - you were either boiling things over or waiting for the heat to ramp up - it was like cooking on full boost at 27psi
you dare not go near it, it had species living on that David Attenborough hadn't discovered, and they were now part of the hob and could not be removed Gas? Well anyone can cook with gas, it's old school but I would never go back as the cleaning just did my head in, and I want to use my spare time for leisure and not cleaning. They just look so 18th century... I was always fearful of an explosion with gas (rather too paranoid I think) but the thought was always there.
Induction? Sexy, futuristic, sleek, cutting edge, it the Bang & Olufsen of hobs! Typical bloke response, but it's very alluring. It is the unknown. There's something special about it. I used to just turn it on and stare at it for no good reason with the lights out - it's like the bridge of a Klingon warship but you don't get Klingons with induction - you just wipe them off
The power is savage compared to the gas, but its a lot more controllable than ceramic. With my gas hob, I had to keep adjusting the knob to get the right simmer, but the touch controls on the induction are easy to use - it took some time to adjust, but think of the difference of going from an old push button phone to a touch-screen smart phone, because that's exactly how the controls are. If you forgot to keep an eye on it and something boils over, it turns off the ring when it detects the water on the glass. There are loads of features which you just don't find with the others. The more I use it, the more I want to use it. It's like driving a car: the more you practice, the better you get.Positives?
Cleaning - none other than a wipe with a damp cloth.
Power
Looks
Ease of use
Negatives?
Dedicated pans for induction.
Cost.
I'm paranoid of something falling on it and breaking the glass.. that would be a £400 replacement
vladcjelli said:
On induction for the last five years or so.
Been faultless. Don't miss having to disassemble the whole top of the hob after every little boilover like with our old gas hob, where everything looked like it was designed specifically to catch crud and be as difficult to clean as possible.
Is the problem with many woks that they don't have enough flat contact area to heat up? Ours has quite a flattish bottom and seems to work well enough.
If a wok has a flat bottom you use too much oil. A tablespoon is often too much in a round bottom wok IMO. I used woks with flat bottoms but will never do so agian. Been faultless. Don't miss having to disassemble the whole top of the hob after every little boilover like with our old gas hob, where everything looked like it was designed specifically to catch crud and be as difficult to clean as possible.
Is the problem with many woks that they don't have enough flat contact area to heat up? Ours has quite a flattish bottom and seems to work well enough.
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