Gas, electric or induction hob?

Green Bay Hacker

Green Bay Hacker

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We are having a new kitchen put in and are unsure what type of hob to install. We have had gas in the past but HID moans that she is the only one that ever cleans it (untrue). An electric ceramic hob is about £30 more than gas but an induction one is an extra £170 so quite a difference there.

Mrs GBH is all for the induction one but most of our pans will be totally useless so more cost there as well.What are the recommendations of the forum? Particularly interested in anyone who has changed from gas.
 
We moved house a couple of weeks back, leaving behind an induction hob and now have gas again. HID is over the moon! Induction is slow to heat up, Fiddley to control and just awkward if you pick the pan up and put it back down on the ring - according to the boss. Must say, as much as it galls me, I agree with her.

Yes, easy to keep clean but.... wouldn't rush out to get another, even if they were cheapest out there.
 
Hobbit said:
We moved house a couple of weeks back, leaving behind an induction hob and now have gas again. HID is over the moon! Induction is slow to heat up, Fiddley to control and just awkward if you pick the pan up and put it back down on the ring - according to the boss. Must say, as much as it galls me, I agree with her.

Yes, easy to keep clean but.... wouldn't rush out to get another, even if they were cheapest out there.
Click to expand...

How long did you have the induction hob for? The blurb supposedly says that the problems you experienced have mainly disappeared.
 
I do all the cooking at home and have had all 3. The induction is not worth the cash, add the cost of a full set of induction compatable pans as well. Gas is great, quick to heat and easy to use but does get messed up. Also easier to boil over a pan or burn stuff with gas. Electric is slower to heat but keeps a really nice steady temperature. I would not baulk at gas or ceramic but at a push would go electric. Partly would depend on the kitchen style as well. I do not like gas rings in a modern kitchen unless it has the industrial kitchen look in the same way as I do not like a ceramic hob in a country style kitchen
 
We don't have gas so need to use electric. Initially we had the solid plate hob but changed it about four years ago for a ceramic one which was a great improvement as it was quicker and easier to control and clean. Approx 6 months ago the cooker hood filter cover fell down and cracked the glass of the hob so needed to replace it. We have a relative who sells and installs fitted kitchens so we contacted him as we needed to replace it ASAP. The only hob he had in stock was an induction one and I must say compared with the ceramic one it's amazing. Extremely fast to heat and as controllable as gas, a 170 cm pan will boil from cold in about one minute (Faster than a kettle!). Timings take a wee bit of getting used to, for example when I boil eggs I used to put them in cold water bring them to the boil and give them about two and a half minutes, whereas now once they come to the boil they require about four minutes because the boil so quickly, although the total time is less. As said you need quality steel pans to work correctly and we needed to change a milk pan and a frying pan, but overall I would never go back to ceramic.
 
Clive - a 170cm pan?!?!

That wouldn't fit it my kitchen, never mind on the hob!

Having lived in a number of military houses, much prefer gas. I think it is more controllable. The wo st hob we had was with solid electric plates, took ages to heat up and then even longer to cool. We used to turn another ring on low when we needed to boil something then simmer.
 
We've had the same Bosch induction hob for the past 12 years. Just a plain black surface that wipes clean in less than a minute. Completely hassle free. You don't need special pans as such. As long as a magnet can attach to the bottom of the pan then they will work fine. We cook a fair bit from scratch and have no problems with the induction although you never have quite the precise control of gas. Having said that we would never go back to gas.
 
Gotta be gas. Full heat in a second and a zillion times more controllable. Need to simmer something after it's boiled then just turn down the burner.

Always been gas until moved into current house which had an electric cooker. Pure rubbish!!
 
JohnnyDee said:
Gotta be gas. Full heat in a second and a zillion times more controllable. Need to simmer something after it's boiled then just turn down the burner.
Click to expand...

I have an induction hob and I have to disagree.
Its just as controllable, cheaper, cleaner and safer and if your pots and pans aren't compatible, you can get an adapter plate that works with all pans so no need to replace all your pots at once
 
bobmac said:
I have an induction hob and I have to disagree.
Its just as controllable, cheaper, cleaner and safer and if your pots and pans aren't compatible, you can get an adapter plate that works with all pans so no need to replace all your pots at once
Click to expand...

Ah, forgot to add that I don't have any experience with induction hobs so I was looking at leckky v gas.

Are they 'instant' heat and if you turn the juice down does it decrease immediately?

Because with leckky you have to move the pan off the ring, go and make a cuppa until it "cools down" enough, then put the pan back on only to find that it's now too cold, so you have to increase the juice wait another 5 minutes to find that on number 2 nothing seems to be happening, swear loudly, and wait for the simmer to finally start. :D
 
when we had the kitchen re-done 3 or 4 years ago the trouble and strife went induction and she is over the moon with it cooks great and mega easy to clean. I've never used it.
 
Thanks for all the replies. After a day of thought and talking to the kitchen installer we have decided to go with the induction hob. One of the two makes offered by the installer has an offer on at the moment of a free set of induction friendly pans so we have gone with that.
 
Induction is quicker and cleaner than gas, just be sure to have a 32A circuit for it. There are some that run off a 13A plug, but the best ones need a full 32A circuit. Sounds like you're looking at a Neff?
 
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