Induction range: best gift ever

[emisi]

H said I could get a new stove for my birthday this year. Our old stove wasn't even that old - the flippers put it in when we bought the house July 2011. However, I hated it. It was so slow to heat anything, you put water on to boil and walk away to do other things. Maybe 15 minutes later, it would be ready. Hated.

After listening to me bitch and moan for over a year about it, he said we could get a new range. I was initially going to get a gas stove, but the cost to put in a propane tank (no natural gas in my neighborhood) plus the stove was way too high. I decided to get an induction stove instead, I'd heard about the tech for a while and thought it sounded good.

Best. Idea. Ever. OMG. I haven't had the chance to do much with it yet, but it is AWESOME. I put a pot of water on to boil for pasta tonight, and I kid you not, it boiled in THIRTY SECONDS. I was shocked. Pan-fried steaks - the pan heated up so fast I hadn't even seasoned the steaks yet. And it'll be great for when the kid gets here - the stovetop around the burners doesn't get hot at all, so super easy to clean.

TL;DR - if you need a new stove, get an induction. Cook with science.

[Deleted]

You can tell you are a grown up when you get excited about appliance purchases for you birthday/Christmas/anniversary. : )
That sounds awesome. I'm glad you like it. I wish we could heat stuff up faster. Cooking would be less of a hassle.

[Deleted]

YAY! There is nothing worse than a crappy stove.
Mine is just a regular one of the mill one, but I LOVE LOVE it. Heats faster than most electrics, cooks even and the oven temp is always perfectly exact. I want an induction down the line I think though. 10 minutes on mine to boil water isn't bad, but 30 seconds would be awesome.

[chanteltbarrett]

That's amazing! What a great gift. I wish I had one.

[mie]

I know what you mean. I researched ranges and finally decided to go with induction and it was the best purchase ever.

[FoxInFiji]

We're planning to get one when we remodel the kitchen. It's many years down the road but I'm still looking forward to it. We live in the country and don't have access to natural gas either. Our entire house is electric so our options are limited.

[thatgirl2478]

hmmm - now you have me interested in an induction stove. I bought a new electric last year when we remodeled the house, but I HATE it - it's way too freaking slow.

How does the oven do? Does it take forever to heat up too? I would think so since it's not induction in there...

[Deleted]

Which model did you get?

I've been looking at the Samsungs.

[adlove]

Jealous!! Are you very limited on what type of cookware you can use with it?

[emoflamingo]

I snorted so hard at "TL;DR - if you need a new stove, get an induction. Cook with science."

I keep seeing an infomercial for some induction thingy. I sort of want one but I bet it would be $$$ so I'll use my ancient stovetop (and wall oven, for that matter) for awhile.

[bunnymendelbaum]

We keep talking about getting gas in the new house (love it now) and one induction burner.
We have some really nice pans that won't work on induction and DH loves a gas cooktop, so we are hesitant to go all induction.

[sa]

Do you find it tricky to adjust cook time on dishes you cook? That had been my hesitation.

[emisi]

Things I can answer so far:
The oven heats up about as fast as my old stove, maybe a hair faster - the oven on the old one worked fine, it was the stove part that drove me nuts. No biggie. It's a Kitchenaid, and it has an "Easy Convect" thing that I'm looking forward to trying on Thanksgiving. You tell it the time/temp the recipe calls for, it adjusts it for a convection oven for you. Brilliant.

You are a little limited on cookware you can use - they have to be magnetic, meaning a magnet has to stick to them. I had a few pots and pans I can't use anymore, but for the most part the better pots and pans will work. I have a set of Tramontina from Wal-mart that Cook's Illustrated rated highly, they're tri-ply and they work fine. Cast iron should work too, I think. Copper doesn't work.

The stove actually wasn't that pricey. It's on par with the same level of Kitchenaid regular electric or gas. I paid around $1600 for, after taxes and delivery.

ADjusting time is an issue right now, because everything just heats up so fast. I need to wait until closer to dinner time to cook, haha. I consider this a good problem to have.