Induction Cooktop?

[Onomea]

I am planning to have a kitchen remodled and am considering an induction cooktop. I would opt for gas, but place is a condo and gas is not available, from what I know so far anyway.

On the other hand, I have never liked electric ranges.

Been reading about induction. Does anyone have this, and, if so, how do you like it?

 

[da gimp]

my wife's late grandmother had one & one of her brother's & his lady had one also... & after listening to them.. my wife just refused to allow me to get our youngest daughter & her fiancé a range equipped with one for a new home house warming present... she's that opposed to them now after hearing her family complain about them... the two in the family were not the bottom of the line models either... but better grade stuff. Hope this helps you... we're getting them an electric range... but it is definitely not an induction top...

 

[e3mrk]

My Mother in Law has one and I think it is dangerous,especially if there are young children around.
You cant tell what part has been cooked on so You can get a bad burn if You remove the pot or pan and don't put it back until the surface cools. I learned this the hard way.

 

[klondike]

Hmm. I have one and think that it is great. Boils a pot of water as fast as gas.I have not put a body part on the surface after cooking and never thought that it was a risk. What I like is the ability to cook FAST if wanted with the ability to adjust the heat down to where it will barely melt butter.

 

[Onomea]

What I read about induction cooking is that it somehow uses magnetism to cook in such a fashion that the cooktop itself does not get hot at all, only the ferrous metal pot on top of a burner does. Gotta be ferrous metal cookware -- a magnet sticks to it -- so aluminum or ceramic does not work.

What attracts me to the idea is that it seems like it would cook like gas. I.e., fast on and off. Maybe I could get used to electric, but it just seems to take a long time to heat up or reduce heat to temp you want.

Da Gimp, do you recall why your wife's relatives did not like induction ranges?

e3mrk, you sure you are not talking about an electric cooktop? Nowadays they come looking like a flat, dark glass tabletop, unlike the old metal burner coils.

 

[tcon]

I have a ceramic cook-top but it's not induction - it's radiant. I picked it out when our house was built 10 or so years ago and I'm glad I got it.

The good -
It looks good and gets hot quick. it's easy to keep clean. Carbon from spills scrapes off with a razor blade and soap. Maybe needs occasional gentle rubbing with Softscrub.

The bad -
When turned off, it takes a little bit for the element to cool off. You don't want anyone touching the thing. Never been a problem with us. We don't lay our hands on stove burners. I think I learned that from my mom's kitchen when I was little. Most have indicator areas that illuminate to show which burner(s) are still warm. Heat quality: On mine, the element is either on or off. There is no half-way point so-to-say. Lower heat settings are gotten by a thermostat turning the element off and on at intervals.

For cooking, it's as good as or better than coil-type electric. It definitely looks better in a modern kitchen. I like gas best and I have a propane gas burner outside for wok cooking which I do a couple times a week.

 

[cmore]

I have one of the small ones. The biggest problem is finding
cookware that works with it. I have been to restaurant supply
stores that didnt have any ferrous cookware.

 

[walkinghorse]

I have one of the small ones. The biggest problem is finding
cookware that works with it. I have been to restaurant supply
stores that didnt have any ferrous cookware.

We have been using one of the small ones for several years also. We like it!
Temperatures are much more controllable (exact) than a regular electric range.
Heats much faster, almost instantaneous, but not exactly gas like. When off the top is not hot, but the pan does retain heat! There is a lawyer warning printed on the top though.
I like the timer function. Keeps problems to a minimum if distracted preparing other foods. Especially good when boiling eggs.
The only issue we have had is that you do have to make sure any pans you use are made for induction tops. The non-stick fry pans that came with the top are not really non-stick as advertised, but usable with the spray on type oil or for regular oil. But cleanup can be problematic if you use higher heat with meat. Wife says Easy Off makes cleaning easier! The SS pans work well.
If doing again we would consider an induction stove top over a regular electric top.
Gas is the best for professional cooking, but we went all electric, so the small induction type cookers available are a good way to try it out and see if it is for you.

 

[M&P Freak]

Something to consider...

Putting grandma's 100-year-old room temperature cast iron skillet on an induction cooktop and cranking it up will heat the iron too quickly and cause it to warp badly. No bueno.

Nothing cooks better than cast iron, but care must be taken when using induction cooktops.

 

[chaparrito]

I have two kitchens, don't ask. In one I have a Samsung induction cooktop. It totally rocks. I also have an old Wolf gas restaurant range that I love for its big flat-top griddle. The Samsung is faster and more far more controllable than gas. The notion that only the pan gets hot and not the cooktop isn't accurate. The portion of the ceramic glass that the pan sits on gets as hot as the pan, from the pan's heat. One complaint that is valid about induction is the fact that people got burned because they couldn't tell a burner was on. Samsung solved that problem. Each burner, under the glass, is encircled by little LEDs that look exactly like a blue gas flame. They glow brighter as heat is increased and dimmer as you turn the burner down.
There are some negatives. On the Wolf's cast iron burners I can bang a saute pan around all day long and not hurt anything. When sauteeing on the induction cooktop I have to be careful not to slide a pan back and forth in contact with the surface. It CAN be scratched.
The other possible drawback is cookware. Cookware has to be magnetic. Cast iron and blue steel - what I normally cook with - works fine. Some of my bigger stainless steel stock pots aren't magnetic and won't work. Aluminum, obviously is out altogether.
KitchenAid has an induction line as well, as does Sears. KA's are U.S. built. I really wanted to buy American last year when I bought the induction range but finally decided on the Samsung for better warranty and the (possibly gimmicky) LED burner feature. It really helps me tell at a glance what temp. a burner is on, without having to check.
Induction Ranges: Compare Cooktop Reviews & Prices | Samsung US

 

[msinc]

I have had an induction cooktop for several years...like a lot of things, there is good and bad. The top stays cleaner easier than most other glass top stoves. It does heat up fast, faster than gas. Heat up speed does depend on how much mass you are trying to heat up of course. In example, if you have a small pot with 2 cups of water to boil you will see bubbles start to form on the bottom of the pot literally in seconds...put a half gallon on there and now it's comparable to gas.
I don't agree with the safety factor...any stove top should not be touched because if you don't know it's already hot they can all burn you. As to warping cast iron...no, not happening. Ferrous metal is how it works.
One thing I didn't take into account when I bought mine is that you now have to probably have all new pots and pans to cook with...they must be induction type or steel/castiron or nothing happens. This proved to cost more than the oven at the end of the day!!!
Bottom line for me...it's neat and it was new at the time, but honestly I probably would not redo the kitchen and include induction. Would there be things I might miss about it??? Yeah, but not enough to travel that road again.

Edit: Doesn't bother me now, I'm 54 and in excellent health, but the bigger pots and pans are rather heavy. Even aluminum ones because of the iron insert they need to work get pretty heavy. I could see this being some trouble for someone not in the best of health having to lift on "heavier than really necessary to cook with" pots and pans.