Gas hob or electric touch hob?

Doozergirl

neilmcl wrote: »

Good point, the OP need to ensure there's a suitable power supply for an induction hob, most wont run via a 13a plug. Do you have a spare 45a cooker switch nearby?

Plenty of induction hobs run off a 13a plug!

It's the ceramic that won't. Induction is hugely more efficient and responsive.

I wouldn't even entertain the idea of a ceramic hob, they are inferior to both gas and induction. Either if those is a no-brainer in comparison.

OP, you need to do a little bit of homework on the difference so that you're not just referring to them as 'electric'.

Fwiw, I have always chosen gas (we had a rather cool looking ceramic glass hob when I was young but it's nothing like cooking on gas) but we are moving to induction in our new house. Even Michelin starred chefs are switching their kitchens to induction.

It's totally sleek, so much easier to clean because it's heating the water molecules rather than the hob itself so food won't burn to the surface, and there's zero nooks and crannies, unlike any gas hob.

We're also doing away with the kettle as a result of the speed it can boil water (faster than a kettle) and not bothering with an instant hot tap either. We'll have an induction kettle for when needed.

keith969

Look at any restaurant kitchen - there's plenty on TV today. Which do professional chefs prefer?

keith969

Doozergirl wrote: »

It's totally sleek, so much easier to clean because it's heating the water molecules rather than the hob itself

This is untrue. A microwave heats water molecules, but an induction hob induces eddy currents in the ferrous pan, it does not heat the food directly as does as microwave - the pan does.

silverwhistle

Carrot007 wrote: »

Fine unless your OH has a pacemaker/ICD and you don't want to do all the cooking ;-)

I think that's the only thing that would make me change back to gas from my induction.

They're actually really efficient as there is little wasted energy into the atmosphere along with the moisture from burning gas.

I've a little camping stove which was useful when the local sub-station went bang (in the winter I've cooked using the wood-burner in the lounge!), but that's a very rare event to influence your choice unless you have an unreliable over head supply.

Try and see a friend's induction in action to see if it would suit you.

neilmcl

premkit wrote: »

There a lot of pluggable induction hobs out there, so if there is no cooker supply or the oven and hob together is to much load for the cable then a plug and play hob is the way to go.

There's a few, more of an exception rather than the rule, and those that do have a 13a plug will be restricted to how they operate at full power.

Doozergirl

keith969 wrote: »

This is untrue. A microwave heats water molecules, but an induction hob induces eddy currents in the ferrous pan, it does not heat the food directly as does as microwave - the pan does.

Thanks for letting me know.

It doesn't heat the hob, so it's easier to clean; that's the bit I'm interested in

Linton

Induction is much more controlable than gas. I find a slow simmer impossible with our gas hob even on the smallest ring. In our previous house the induction hob could be set down to an occasional bubble. Electric hobs are just awful, slow to heat up, slow to respond to chanhges in settings, Avoid.

FreeBear

Carrot007 wrote: »

Fine unless your OH has a pacemaker/ICD and you don't want to do all the cooking ;-)

From the NHS on the subject - https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pacemaker-implantation/

Anything that produces a strong electromagnetic field, like an induction hob, can interfere with a pacemaker.

If you have an induction hob, keep a distance of at least 60cm (2ft) between the stove top and your pacemaker.

If this is a problem, you may want to consider replacing the appliance with something more suitable.

TELLIT01

Gas hob for me too. I've used induction hobs and they do heat up impressively quickly. The decider for me was having to replace all our pans, and a couple of them were extremely expensive.

EssexExile

A gas hob for when the electricity goes off, which it does around here from time to time. Well designed gas hobs are easy to clean.