Cooktop recommendation

[k3am]

We're working on a renovation. We need to make a decision on cooktop. We currently have a gas GE Monogram that's served this house well for 20+ years, if the sellers are to be believed. Zero complaints.

DH and I have only ever cooked on gas as adults. We both grew up on, and have terrible memories, of old school coil top electric. He frequently cooks in cast iron. We live in CA and have solar, so going electric sounds nice, but we also live in CA, so being able to light a burner in a power outage is a consideration. Would love to be able to clean the stove without needing to move grates. 

[simpsongal]

What size? And range or cooktop? I wanted induction but had a hard time finding a reliable one under $10k in 36” size. But there’s more available for just a cooktop. I was fully ready to go induction but pivoted to duel fuel bc of the availability issues. Even if you’re not ready, could you have an electrician run a 240 line so it’s ready for induction should you decide to switch?

[dr.girlfriend]

Honestly I'm a little scared of gas. Every time people say it's a selling point I'm like -- not for me! But I am also no master chef. I have an electric stove that is all totally flat, and cleans very easily. Even if something burns on it comes off with a little Barkeeper's Friend. I definitely would hate electric coils but I don't think that's even an option these days.

On a side note, not that you asked, but we also got the double oven and love it! Again, no master chef, but it's nice being able to do two different things at once on the odd occasion, and even more relevant is being able to open the oven without worrying about the dog getting her face in there.

[deadwing]

I voted for gas, but I think I could live with induction. My parents have induction and it seems decent when I've cooked st their house. I haven't used it enough to be a convert on it yet.

Flat top glass cook tops are the worst thing ever. Induction looks like this, so I think that makes me somewhat predisposed to expect induction to suck. You couldn't pay me to have a flat top electric range in my house.

[k3am]

It would be a 36” standalone cooktop (not attached to an oven).

dr.girlfriend we currently have a set of double ovens from Thermador (also 20+ years old and holding up beautifully!) and now
I don’t know how we lived without them. The designer has built in a double oven but one is a multicook oven (apparently microwave/convection oven/other stuff oven).

The designer sent specs to the appliance guy, and he built out a package and sent a quote. We meet tomorrow and have to rein him in a bit - as much as we live in an expensive area, we can’t justify a kitchen loaded entirely with Sub Zero and Wolf appliances. But the cook top is one where we have to decide on type we prefer.

[k3am]

Dec 8, 2023 19:04:51 GMT -5 deadwing said:

I voted for gas, but I think I could live with induction. My parents have induction and it seems decent when I've cooked st their house. I haven't used it enough to be a convert on it yet.

Flat top glass cook tops are the worst thing ever. Induction looks like this, so I think that makes me somewhat predisposed to expect induction to suck. You couldn't pay me to have a flat top electric range in my house.

Do the glass ones suck because stuff gets cooked on and then the glass gets scratched trying to get it off? Or something else? I’m all about making my life easier when it comes to cleaning.

[mrsukyankee]

k3am, we prefer to have gas. We bought one with a glass top and it's already broken within 3 years. We can still use it, but it is cracked across. Just something to consider. We're gas oven people so we'd choose gas over induction.

[deadwing]

Dec 8, 2023 19:38:32 GMT -5 k3am said:

Dec 8, 2023 19:04:51 GMT -5 deadwing said:

I voted for gas, but I think I could live with induction. My parents have induction and it seems decent when I've cooked st their house. I haven't used it enough to be a convert on it yet.

Flat top glass cook tops are the worst thing ever. Induction looks like this, so I think that makes me somewhat predisposed to expect induction to suck. You couldn't pay me to have a flat top electric range in my house.

Do the glass ones suck because stuff gets cooked on and then the glass gets scratched trying to get it off? Or something else? I’m all about making my life easier when it comes to cleaning.

They take for-ev-er to heat up. Like 20 minutes to boil water. I think the old electric coils performed better.

[k3am]

Dec 9, 2023 6:18:25 GMT -5 deadwing said:

Dec 8, 2023 19:38:32 GMT -5 k3am said:

Do the glass ones suck because stuff gets cooked on and then the glass gets scratched trying to get it off? Or something else? I’m all about making my life easier when it comes to cleaning.

They take for-ev-er to heat up. Like 20 minutes to boil water. I think the old electric coils performed better.

WHAT!?!? 20 mins!The internet says 1-5 mins! The lies.

I’m glad I posted asking, I was really leaning towards it. Looks like my dream of easy cleaning might be sailing away.

ETA: reading fail. You’re talking about the glass. The possibility of the easy cleaning dream lives, at least for a few more hours.

[deadwing]

Dec 9, 2023 9:14:01 GMT -5 k3am said:

Dec 9, 2023 6:18:25 GMT -5 deadwing said:

They take for-ev-er to heat up. Like 20 minutes to boil water. I think the old electric coils performed better.

WHAT!?!? 20 mins!The internet says 1-5 mins! The lies.

I’m glad I posted asking, I was really leaning towards it. Looks like my dream of easy cleaning might be sailing away.

ETA: reading fail. You’re talking about the glass. The possibility of the easy cleaning dream lives, at least for a few more hours.

You know a glass top electric range and an induction range are two different thing, right? They look similar but induction performs better.

[simpsongal]

Dec 8, 2023 19:35:34 GMT -5 k3am said:

It would be a 36” standalone cooktop (not attached to an oven).

dr.girlfriend we currently have a set of double ovens from Thermador (also 20+ years old and holding up beautifully!) and now
I don’t know how we lived without them. The designer has built in a double oven but one is a multicook oven (apparently microwave/convection oven/other stuff oven).

The designer sent specs to the appliance guy, and he built out a package and sent a quote. We meet tomorrow and have to rein him in a bit - as much as we live in an expensive area, we can’t justify a kitchen loaded entirely with Sub Zero and Wolf appliances. But the cook top is one where we have to decide on type we prefer.

since it’s just cooktop I’d go ahead and make the switch to induction. I think we’ll all be there in 10+ years…

Beware the combo oven/microwave devices. My reading in those indicated they not particularly good at anything, like they’re hybrid but a bad version of each device . And very expensive. Fwiw, we’re doing a 36” duel duel range, a single electric oven, and a plug in microwave in a shelf below a cabinet (near the fridge). I like to cook and bake, this set up was optimal for how we live plus a little extra for entertaining and Christmas baking.

[k3am]

Dec 9, 2023 9:24:36 GMT -5 deadwing said:

Dec 9, 2023 9:14:01 GMT -5 k3am said:

WHAT!?!? 20 mins!The internet says 1-5 mins! The lies.

I’m glad I posted asking, I was really leaning towards it. Looks like my dream of easy cleaning might be sailing away.

ETA: reading fail. You’re talking about the glass. The possibility of the easy cleaning dream lives, at least for a few more hours.

You know a glass top electric range and an induction range are two different thing, right? They look similar but induction performs better.

Yes, my ETA was to correct that and acknowledge my fail… and apparently even that wasn’t clear. My reference to “glass” was just meant to be to a glass electric cooktop. Reading at 6am on a Saturday before caffeine wasn’t wise.

[deadwing]

Dec 9, 2023 10:15:41 GMT -5 k3am said:

Dec 9, 2023 9:24:36 GMT -5 deadwing said:

You know a glass top electric range and an induction range are two different thing, right? They look similar but induction performs better.

Yes, my ETA was to correct that and acknowledge my fail… and apparently even that wasn’t clear. My reference to “glass” was just meant to be to a glass electric cooktop. Reading at 6am on a Saturday before caffeine wasn’t wise.

I didn't even see the ETA. You must have updated between when I read the post and clicked quote!

[steamboat185]

We have induction and love it. We’ve had it for about 9 years and it’s in great shape. It is super easy to clean-I hate cooking on gas because of how hard it is to clean. It heats up so fast- we can boil a big pot of water in under 2 minutes and we live at 6k feet. Whenever I use a gas stove now I notice how hot it is to cook near and the smell of gas. With the increase in indoor air pollution and how bad gas is for the environment I would never switch back to gas.

If you are that worried about power outages get a camping stove as a back up.

Another nice thing about induction- you can get a thin silicon mat and put it under the pot and the induction burner still works. That makes clean up incredibly easy. We have a big cookie mat from ikea that works with no problem. (We don’t typically use it, but I do if I’m frying something).

[lolalolalola]

We have induction. It heats up extremely quickly, it provides more counter space when needed, is very easy to clean, is safer both from a burn perspective and from an environment perspective. I honestly don’t know why someone would prefer gas unless they like to “char” things or they don’t have pots that would work with induction.

[RockNVoll]

Another induction convert here. DH really wanted it when we built this house and I was sufficiently skeptical that I had the builders put in a gas line in case I hated it. Well, turns out I LOVE induction. Heats things up so much faster than gas and I still can't get over how much easier it is to keep clean. I hated that my old gas grates were always gross and would never look clean no matter what I did.

The one down side is that I can't use a traditional wok on an induction top, but I figured on the rare occasion I really wanted to do that I could get a portable butane cooktop on the side (spoiler alert: I've never done this). It's been 6.5 years now and no regrets.

[k3am]

Sounds like we’ve decided on induction. Decision made largely by ease of cleaning and my immense dislike of moving the grates.

We haven’t officially purchased, but the dealer will let us know if there are any upcoming price increases so that we can lock in pricing beforehand. Estimated 5-7 month lead time, which works well, since we don’t even have a detailed design or permits and no plans to start work anytime soon.

[macmars45]

H and I got induction a year ago (next month). We love it! It cooks great; very similar to gas.

[Susie]

We just replaced our gas range, and compromised with a dual fuel GE Cafe.  I didn't have any attachment to gas for the oven, but I was just not quite ready to switch over to electric for the cook top.  We have all copper bottom pots and pans, we use cast iron frequently, etc. etc.  One of the appliance stores we visited pushed induction really really hard, but it was honestly kind of a turn off.  They made us watch a demonstration on induction before they'd show us anything.  

This range isn't a forever appliance; we will probably (hopefully) redo our kitchen before it has exceeded its lifespan.  We'll see where we are next time around.

[k3am]

Susie, that's interesting... the appliance store we were at pushed gas really hard. He only showed us induction because we asked him to. He said the majority of people who *can* buy gas, want gas and nearly all of his induction sales are to new builds where gas is prohibited. Once he found out we were considering induction (and the extra cost that comes with it), he certainly sang it's praises.

[lacey]

Are those of you with induction willing to share what brand you have? Ideally we are switching to a 36” induction range, which limits us a little on brand.

[steamboat185]

Dec 11, 2023 23:36:07 GMT -5 lacey said:

Are those of you with induction willing to share what brand you have? Ideally we are switching to a 36” induction range, which limits us a little on brand.

We couldn’t find a 36in range we liked so we ended up with GE 36in cooktop and separate ge oven. It was a bit more expensive originally, but gave us way more options. Plus as they get older I like that we could replace or fix just one part.

I also want to make sure people know cast iron works great on induction and you can get discs that let any pan work.

[RockNVoll]

I know people poo poo Samsung appliances but we have several we've been happy with for the past 5+ years. Our induction stove/oven combo is from them and works great (it's not a combo though). Not that it's a reason to buy it, but I really like the blue lights that simulate flame so you know which burner is on.

[nicolewi]

I would love to try induction. My friend has it and loves it. Recent studies have come up with a lot of health concerns related to gas! I grew up with electric coils and frankly never had an issue. Now we have a really "nice" gas cooktop and it's fine but I don't have, like, an amazing great love for it. It takes a long time for water to boil.

So I'd love to try induction b/c it seems faster, safer, and newer.

[deadwing]

Dec 11, 2023 17:07:07 GMT -5 Susie said:

We just replaced our gas range, and compromised with a dual fuel GE Cafe.  I didn't have any attachment to gas for the oven, but I was just not quite ready to switch over to electric for the cook top.  We have all copper bottom pots and pans, we use cast iron frequently, etc. etc.  One of the appliance stores we visited pushed induction really really hard, but it was honestly kind of a turn off.  They made us watch a demonstration on induction before they'd show us anything.  

This range isn't a forever appliance; we will probably (hopefully) redo our kitchen before it has exceeded its lifespan.  We'll see where we are next time around.

Cast iron can be used on induction.  I'm certain I've used it on my parent's induction range.  Although if yours has a textured bottom, I could see there being concerns about scratching the cooktop.

Personally, I like the idea of dual fuel for my next stove/oven.  My current one is going strong, so I haven't put a ton of thought into it yet.

[RockNVoll]

Dec 14, 2023 8:57:20 GMT -5 deadwing said:

Dec 11, 2023 17:07:07 GMT -5 Susie said:

We just replaced our gas range, and compromised with a dual fuel GE Cafe.  I didn't have any attachment to gas for the oven, but I was just not quite ready to switch over to electric for the cook top.  We have all copper bottom pots and pans, we use cast iron frequently, etc. etc.  One of the appliance stores we visited pushed induction really really hard, but it was honestly kind of a turn off.  They made us watch a demonstration on induction before they'd show us anything.  

This range isn't a forever appliance; we will probably (hopefully) redo our kitchen before it has exceeded its lifespan.  We'll see where we are next time around.

Cast iron can be used on induction.  I'm certain I've used it on my parent's induction range.  Although if yours has a textured bottom, I could see there being concerns about scratching the cooktop.

Personally, I like the idea of dual fuel for my next stove/oven.  My current one is going strong, so I haven't put a ton of thought into it yet.

As mentioned by someone else above, you can use a silicone mat under any pans on an induction stove and I definitely do that on the rare occasions I use my cast iron.