Induction hob v gas hob in kitchen

M.E.

We have a gas hob and a small stand alone induction hob, from Lidl which has been excellent. Very useful and have used it outside as an impromptu fry-up pseudo BBQ.
I am happy with the gas hob, but do like the extra burner and as it has a timer function that has been useful too.

AndyPK

madjay wrote: »

Please be advise that your oven and hob have been dangerously fitted. You should always have a seperated supply for an Induction Hob and the Oven even if the cooker only needs a 13amp supply. You will find that if there is an electrical fire in you house your isurance may not cover the damage because of a wrongly fitted installation

It's not dangerous. Just not ideal.
Bloody kitchen fitters!

madget_2

ey143 wrote: »

Well we do a lot of Indian cooking, only occasionally Chinese cooking but my wife has already raised deep concerns about all the brand new cooking wear we have been buying over the years and from the US during visits / family. So it would be an expensive switch but the clean look of the hob does attract me.

If budget is not a concern, well, lets say maybe £500 to £600ish, what decent spec can I expect to get and what makes do people recommend? I'm tempted by Samsung as they have made a real push into the UK consumer market in recent years so was thinking about getting many of their products.

What are the new gadget functions on these things?

I have had a Siemens induction hob for over 3 years and would never willingly switch back to gas or anything else.

It can bring things to the boil incredibly quickly and, at the other end of the spectrum, I can use it on a very low setting to melt chocolate, etc directly in a pan - without having to bother with setting up a bain marie.

It only heats up the area where the pan base sits on the hob, meaning that it can save on energy consumption and that overspills don't burn onto the glass.

It's also incredibly easy to clean.

As someone else posted, check your the base of your current pans with a magnet to see whether they would be suitable. You might be surprised. My Le Creuset pans and casseroles (cast iron) work brilliantly, which was a pleasant surprise. I didn't have to replace my Stellar pans either.

I use a chef's pan instead of a wok, which works well for me. This is a bit like a flat bottomed, high-sided wok with a lid.

jimi_man

To the OP. Like everything else you buy there are pros and cons and it will depend on which ones suit your style of cooking as to what you go for. Based on using both here are my thoughts.

Style. - Induction hobs look good, no question. The whole smooth flat glassy thing appeals to most people far more than gas. Personally it doesn't overly bother me, I wouldn't choose one because I think it looks better - substance is far more important to me than style, however I can appreciate that others may value it differently.

Safety. - Bit of a non starter this to be honest. The argument is that it's possible for children to be able to put their hands on it and not get burnt or anything like that. However familiarity breeds contempt and if you're buying it with that high on your list of priorities then you may find that they'll get a shock when they try this at their friends' houses who don't have an induction hob. I would rather instill a healthy respect for all hobs than buy one so that they can sprawl all over it. Each to their own though.

Cost. - They are more efficient than gas hobs or other electric hobs and so use less energy whilst cooking. However there are several points to make here.

Firstly once they are switched on they use an amount of power in standby mode. There are a few articles on the Internet stating that they use some incredible amount of electricity, usually where people have tried to monitor them with some measuring device. I would suggest treat them with caution. However they do use energy and multiplied over 24 hours, 365 days a year it will mount up. Gas hobs use none when they are switched off.

Secondly, whilst they use less energy because they are more efficient, (apart from the standby issue) electricity is way more expensive than gas, about twice the price per kWh, which means that they are more expensive to run than gas. A gas hob per year (average usage) is about £17. Induction comes out at about £31. However both are cheaper than electric which is about £44.

When you factor in the higher price of induction hobs compared to gas hobs, and the fact that you might have to replace your pans and things, then they are not a cheap option.

In all honesty, the usage costs are so low as to be not worth worrying about, but this is a money saving site so if you want the cheaper to run option then gas wins hands down. Again I wouldn't make my decision based on £13 a year difference.

Pans. - Others have mentioned this, so no point in going over it too much. I prefer aluminium pans, more conductive, more even heating, lighter and less prone to sticking/burning. However they are totally useless on induction hobs. As are my corningware casserole dishes which I like. But that's just my preference, most people have stainless steel pans which are perfect. So it's generally not a problem.

Woks are a no go I'm afraid, you can't use them successfully. Yes you can get a flat bottomed wok, but then that's simply not a wok and its not how woks work as you need the rounded bottom to be able to get at the food at the bottom and toss it all about. Secondly, wok cooking involves tossing the food whilst holding the handle and using a wrist motion to do this and generally jiggling it about, that doesnt suit an induction hob which needs contact. Flat bottomed woks are a compromise and just don't work very well, you'd be better off with a large saucepan. Im also not convinced that they get hot enough.

If you do a lot of wok cooking then an induction hob is simply not for you. If you barely use it then it won't be a problem.

Controllability. - Better control, very even heat, quick to boil stuff etc. This is one of the main strengths over gas, no question. However this is marred considerably by...

Ease of use. - Whoever designed the user interface for induction hobs really needs to find alternative employment. Though its not helped that one of the problems with the flat form glass top is that the controls need to be of the touch sensitive electronic buttons, usually with a plus/minus control to get hotter or cooler, as in cheap hifi systems. This is a totally impractical way to cook. The first one I used you had to select the area first then the plus/minus button, very awkward. The later ones were better, though not by much. Even the sliders aren't great, though better than the plus/minus affair. You really need to go and try this before you buy, it's the most essential part of the hob so you need to make sure it's for you.

This is an area where gas wins hands down and ultimately was the clincher for me. So much easier at a glance to see what setting you are on gas as well.

Cleaning. - Induction wins every time, very easy. Not that I find gas hobs difficult but inductions are much easier.

Couple of other points. I don't know how durable the glass tops are compared to my cast iron hob thingys, but I wouldn't be happy about crashing Le Creuset pans around. Same with sliding them as well, I always wondered if it would scratch them. For most cooking situations though I wouldn't think that it's a problem, I imagine they are fairly strong and durable.

I'm told foil is an issue, can melt into the top, though I don't cook with foil directly onto the hob so I can't see that being an issue.

Ultimately it's down to whatever you think will suit your (your wife's) cooking style. I do lots of Indian cooking and also wok stuff, and my honest opinion is that you would would be better off with gas.... at the moment. In a few years time that may be different. Whilst the idea of an induction hob is not new; the idea dates back to 1900 or so, the implementation is still very new and as yet they haven't stood the test of time. The user interface is poor at the moment, however it will improve over time. In 10 years I would imagine they will be considerably better than they are now. If you are doing a new kitchen then why not plan for both in terms of gas and electricity supply, then it gives you the option to change over at a later date.

In terms of buying an appliance I would be very wary of buying from one manufacturer purely on the basis that they have made a big push into the UK consumer market in recent years! It doesn't mean that they make good products. I would choose one because they offer quality, long lasting products that do what you want, for the price you want to pay, which is why I tend to go for Miele stuff for that reason, though not exclusively.

Good luck with your purchase anyway. Just make sure that you try before you buy rather than go on the opinions of anonymous forum posters.

DirectDebacle

Excellent post.

Artytarty

Thanks from me too,if you see my post, I'm considering buying a new hob.
But how do you trey before you buy? Most shops have only a catalogue for them or a few on display not connected.

Errata

Artytarty wrote: »

Thanks from me too,if you see my post, I'm considering buying a new hob.
But how do you trey before you buy? Most shops have only a catalogue for them or a few on display not connected.

Try one out at the BBC Food Show, Ideal Home Exhibition?

Linton

Disagree to some extent with jimi_mans assessment of wok usage with an induction hob.......

If you want to wok properly you do need a gas burner. However in my experience a standard domestic gas burner isnt up to the job. You would need something more powerful with higher flames designed for the purpose if you were a serious wok user.

Using a flat bottomed wok on an induction hob isnt the real thing but I find it works well enough stirring with a wooden spatula/spoon. You can quickly get the wok to near smoking point on a standard induction hob.

jimi_man

Linton wrote: »

Disagree to some extent with jimi_mans assessment of wok usage with an induction hob.......

If you want to wok properly you do need a gas burner. However in my experience a standard domestic gas burner isnt up to the job. You would need something more powerful with higher flames designed for the purpose if you were a serious wok user.

Using a flat bottomed wok on an induction hob isnt the real thing but I find it works well enough stirring with a wooden spatula/spoon. You can quickly get the wok to near smoking point on a standard induction hob.

You are right, a lot of them just aren't powerful enough, I use the Miele hob with a wok burner. However even a normal gas burner with a proper rounded wok is infinitely better than a flat bottomed one on an induction hob.

My point was that if wok cooking is the OPs thing (or anyone to be honest) then an induction hob is really not the best choice, it would only ever be a compromise, and why would you buy something that is plainly unsuitable for what you want.

Please don't take my post as a rant against induction hobs; far from it. They are good and with a decent rotary control they would be very good. Not better than a gas hob or worse, just different.

The whole slant of my (rather wordy, admittedly!) post was to provide some balance in the gas V induction discussion, which I find tends to get tied up with the less important details.

Interestingly, friends of mine who have bought them cite their major plus points as; the fact that you can put your hand on it at virtually any time - (I have no idea why you would want to do that) and that it heats up a pan of water much quicker than a gas hob (I don't run a restaurant therefore an extra two minutes is not particularly critical to me. If I was that worried I'd use the kettle. If you are simmering something for 25 minutes then it doesn't really matter whether it's gas, induction or nuclear fusion - 25 mins is 25 mins!)

They seem to completely ignore their major plus points, energy efficiency, even heat, good control (with a better controller!) and just focus on the above! Countless YouTube videos are similar with people boiling water with a magazine under the pan. Never been able to work out the obsession with how quick they are to boil water.

I maintain that the OP should buy a hob to suit his (wife's) style of cooking, rather than buying a hob and changing the style of cooking to fit in with the hob, which was the thrust of what I said. (I hope!)

hebridean

I/We bought a ceramic hobbed rangemaster cooker (£1500) last year as we had a similar 15 year old Zanussi. What a dissapointment in comparison and we checked the wattages etc of the rings. Go for gas, as i wish we had.