We completely remodeled our kitchen two years ago. Foolishly, I went with gas, but have always cooked on an electric cooktop. Well, wish I had a penny for every time I said that gas cooking is SO OVERRATED! I much prefer electric. Our daughter has the smooth top electric. Wish I'd gone with the same thing and didn't fall for all the crazy hype about gas cook tops.

I don't have gas hookup or utility company here, so it's electric for me. Got rid of the coils a few years ago, now my smooth cooktop is broken, so I'm trying to decide between induction or another smooth top. As I currently have a 30" range with 1 electrical outlet, an induction cooktop would require me to pay $$$ for an additional outlet for double ovens plus a double oven cabinet, not to mention the higher cost of those appliances compared to 1 range. I wish I could figure it out as I have been without a stove for months!

I love to cook and was able to choose between gas and induction, and I chose induction. My uncle is a chef/owner of a restaurant in Hiroshima, and the last time I visited he was cooking everything on induction cookers. I think induction is much more prevalent in Europe and Asia but it seems to catching on in the U.S even in some professional kitchens.

rennovatorjen, have you seen the new induction range from Kenmore? I'm including a link to a Consumer Reports review. If you do a search I think there are several people on the forum who own one.

Some people have to upgrade their electrical service for the high amperage requirements of an induction cooktop/range. I hear that can be expensive.

Erika

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenmore Induction Range Review

Different strokes for different folks!

My dear old mother is in her late 80's and wouldn't have anything but an electric stove. Of course, in my opinion, she was never much of a cook, and she never much cared for cooking. I grew up hating almost everything except canned green beans and ham. It wasn't that I was picky, it's just that those were the only two things she didn't ruin. Not until I left home did I find out how good food tasted.

I love to cook, and I love food. As long as the choice is available, I wouldn't have anything but a gas.

I cook. A lot. And my friends call my food "fancy". Because I avoid soy I make everything from scratch. I had gas, and induction blows gas out of the water.

I have cooked on regular electric, but since it was usually for just a few days (vacation rentals and such) I never had time to "learn" that stove. My mom cooked on her electric all my life and she was an amazing cook. My Italian grandma cooked on coils and her cooking is still talked about in my family.

I like gas so much better, but to each his own.

What would be the best of both worlds would be induction. Just too modern a look for my kitchen, although now Viking is coming out with an induction range that would have worked for me, but a little too late.

Wow! How nice to see there are others who don't deify gas. I don't hate it, I like it. I liked it for 25 years, and I like to cook.

But as Kat1 says, its virtues over other heat sources are SO OVERRATED (and their virtues SO UNDERRATED). Its popularity IMO is based very heavily on its current image as the serious cook's choice. If it ever falls from its style pinnacle, this forum will no doubt become flooded with complaints about its smell, occult gas poisoning, cleaning problems, and probably other problems newly discovered and interolable. Poor old gas...

I don't think it is possible to dislike anything as much as I disliked my smooth top. Removed the day it got a mind of it's own & I discovered it glowing red and all of the burner knobs were in the 'Off' position.

Uninstalled it myself, hauled it out of the house & destroyed it, repeatedly, with a sledge hammer. A very large sledge hammer.

I'd have to disagree with some of you.

Those that are proficient at and love to cook could be successful cooking over a campfire - the heat source wouldn't matter. I do think in the case of electric source cooking, the type and quality of pans make a bigger difference and the cooker needs to be somewhat more in tune and on the ball (learning curve, maybe?).

The marketing world would have us believe that if we have a pro style gas range in our kitchens (and I love the look, personally), we can turn out high quality/fancy meals with a flip and a spin. Ya think?, lol

I have always had electric. I did want to try gas this time, but I don't even have gas lines running to my house and DH didn't want it. So, I ended up with another smooth top, I love it! Its a viking and its not only beautiful and gives me "that" look, but it cooks like no other electric I've ever had.

I agree with Paulines.

I find it amusing that people declare themselves to be good cooks simply because they use gas and assume the rest of us can't possibly know how to find our way around a kitchen.

My choice of the smoothtop was merely a personal preference, not an assault on other peoples choices.

I've vacillated between gas and induction, heck I am still a little waffley. I like the ease and response of gas, and there is a gas line almost exactly where I need it. I keep coming back to induction because it is so much cleaner for both cooking and cleaning. I am the messiest cook ever, and I am only a so-so cleaner upper ;-P So induction, even though it is more expensive, is going in my kitchen. Though I have thought about putting in one gas burner to use for grilling, griddle and stovetop espresso. It seems awfully complicated!

I don't know much about induction. Maybe some of you could enlighten me? From what I know, the cooktop itself is more expensive and you have to have pans that work with the magnets, right?

I would actually consider induction, honestly, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Calphalon One pans, which are not induction capable. I've only had them for 3 years and paid a bunch for them -- what to do?

After almost 20 years cooking on electric (first coils, then cast iron burners), I'm back to gas. I do the dance of joy every day!

For ease of cooking and control, and especially cleaning, INDUCTION!!!!!

I was so close to choosing gas for all of the reasons mentioned above. Fortunately, several relatively less expensive induction cooktops came out just as we had to make our final decision over a year ago.

Give up something else and spend the money for induction! If you can't see a demonstration of it, read as much as you can about it (appliance forum has had several threads on it), and really think it through before you decide to get gas.

Also, unless you and your visiting friends/guests are style purists, probably nobody will notice, or care, if you have a smooth top vs gas burners. Especially when you show them induction's wonderful features!

Anne

My mother, an amazing cook, adores electric coil, and hates it when she is forced to use anything else. To each their own!

I'm surprised to hear folks talk about how much cleaner their smoothtops look, though. I inherited an electric smoothtop with this house (a nice Maytag Gemini), and what drove me bats were the darkened rough spots and discoloration that had developed on the burners over its 5-year life. No amount of scrubbing got these circular marks off, they were literally baked into the surface. Add to that my collection of cast-iron pans, and that smoothtop was just impossible for me to cook on without harming it in some way.

I'm most definitely a gas person. To my mother's horror. :)

I grew up and learned to cook on a gas stove, then ended up with electric stoves for 35 years and hated them all. I have a gas cooktop now and love cooking on it. Since it doesn't have to be House Beautiful clean every night, I don't worry about the crumbs, etc. It cleans up well. I hope I never have to go back to electric.

All smooth tops are not equal.

Electric smooth tops do not equal induction cook tops.

Different animals in many respects, so don't make cleanability choices regarding induction based on other smooth tops. We have a smooth top on our lower level range, and it's a pain to clean. The induction cook top is an absolute breeze. NO PROBLEMS cleaning it!

Anne

I also dislike gas. The cleaning, the smell, etc. I do miss being able to do things like starting a tagine in the same clay pot that goes into the oven, but on balance, I wouldn't have gas ever, if I had a choice.

For years I felt like you did and I certainly enjoyed the 5 yrs of my Thermador electric, ceran top. Then we came here and already had a Propane tank so I went with the flow. I must say I enjoy cooking more now and in 40 yrs all DH ever did was occasional help, now he helps most nights. Can't explain it but there is something more fun about it thus we experiment more. The top on my DCS is SS and very easy to keep clean.

I've cooked on/lived with coil, smooth top, gas, induction, campfire, grill... You name it I've probably cooked on it.

Yes, smooth/ceramic tops including induction are "easy to clean". Provided you don't spill anything - especially anything sugary (which will etch the surface) or greasy (which will bake on and have to be scraped off). BUT, they will also scratch if you look at them cross-eyed. They require careful attention and special equipment.

They all have their pluses and minuses. It's all a matter of what is important to you.

BTW, I have induction now and would give my eye teeth to have a good, solid gas range. Induction is a prima donna - it'll give you a great performance but you have to pamper it.

cotehele,

I also think I'd like induction plus gas. So, I've have been wondering if I should do the Wolf 30" induction with a gas module along side it. They fit together so it looks like one unit. I could get a 15" two burner gas module or a one large 15" multifunction gas module. I'd put a 45" downdraft in.

The other thought is to get a 15" two burner induction and a 15" gas, either the one burner or two burner.

Agree with paulines and pbrisjar. Both have plusses and minuses and a really good cook will turn out great food with either. I was curious about induction, but gas made sense and fit my budget for my current kitchen remodel. pbrisjar - curious what you mean by having to "pamper" your induction.

I openly admit, I hate to cook, hubby hated my cooking so he has done all the cooking to his liking for 30 years. That said, more than the chore of cleaning his big gas Dynasty, I HATE the damage gas does to the intire house! Most particulary the ceilings/walls and crystal chandeliers! If we build again, I want the stove alcoved/roomed by its self and air vent the whole house out the stove vent so it can never migrate into the rest of our home. in addition to the kitchen entry I'd also have a wide patio door so it would double for outdoor cooking.

I don't want misinformation out there. I have induction and I don't "pamper" it. I do have a few heavy iron pans that I put a silicon sheet under, but other than that, no pampering at all. I spill all the time. That is one of the JOYS of induction. I don't understand what you are saying about oil baking on the cooktop. Nothing burns on my cooktop because it isn't the cooktop that is getting hot. How many people are into candy making enough to make it a valid argument against induction? It is a kitchen appliance that is used daily, so if it gets scratched I'm okay with that.

I've have my induction a year now. I have yet to have to clean it with anything stronger than fantastic and windex. Clean up is literally a minute. I've never had to scrape anything and I've yet to see a scratch. I cook a lot, I am messy, and I am a clumsy ox FWIW.

AllClad and cast iron are excellent to cook with, so no complaints there. But, if I had all copper, I would have gone with gas. I do have one plug in electric hob in the event someone comes over and needs to heat something up in their own pan, and of course I have my gas grill.

As a huge induction bonus point, when I fry things, I cover the whole cooktop and surrounding area with newspaper. (Nothing burns, remember?) I don't have to worry about grease splatters.

Some like gas, some like induction, some like electric coils, some like open camp fires. All have pros and cons. The OP asked who else didn't like gas. It isn't a competition.

The pampering...
Induction is basically a smooth top on steroids. So that means you have to follow all the "rules" for smooth tops and then some.

Your pans must be smooth and level on the bottom. They also have to be magnetic. Depending upon the level of performance you want, there are/may be even more issues (i.e. anything but all-stainless and not too thick is slow).

Avoid spills at all costs - especially with anything with a high sugar content.

Despite the hype, induction tops DO get hot - sometimes very hot.

Don't slide your pans around.

That fancy electronic pad? Make sure it's kept clean and that your fingers are clean and dry otherwise they won't work. (This is a real challenge with the way I cook).

I also wonder just how long all those fancy electronics will really last.

There's more but that's what I can think of.

I'm in my 6th house, 3 gas and 3 electric. I actually like and can use both. The electric stoves were a pain at first, since I started on gas, until I got to know them.

Gas is EASIER. Period. It is easier to be a good cook with gas. You get instant visual feedback on the heat you are using. There is a longer learning curve with every electric stove. Not only is each stove different, all 4 burners can be different. So there is always this period of time where you burn things, and they stick, or boil over, etc. But it doesn't last forever. :)

No gas to our current house so I debated getting propane. Never tried that one and some (on here) said it doesn't have the same power as a gas line. So in the end I stayed with plain electric but got a smooth top for the first time. I have to say I LOVE the way it cleans up, compared to everything else I've used.

But I do clean it every night, with a razor blade if anything boiled over and baked on. It's just my habit to clean the kitchen after everyone goes up. (Maybe it's harder to clean if it's left on and cooked over again?)

Have to say I'm very interested in induction, since that's one I haven't tried yet. Maybe my NEXT house! :)

"Avoid spills at all costs"
pbrisjar, obviously, your experiences with induction must have been negative. But I have spilled all kinds of things on my cooktop (not sugary though), and EVERYTHING has come clean with water, dishwashing soap, and no scrubbing. So I can only assume that either our cooking/cleaning styles are different, or that our induction cooktops were made of different materials.

I agree with nightowlrn, that this isn't a competition, as well as everything else she said.

I don't pamper the induction any more than I pamper my granite. In other words, I don't bang things around on them.

Induction can get hot after cooking something on it for a long time, but it's never as hot as a gas burner, and since it has no flame it won't set anything on fire. This was another reason for me to get induction, since I'm getting older and older people can get careless and forgetful--as in reaching across a burner and having a sleeve catch fire over the gas flame, or bumping a towel or hot pad into the flame, which I did when I was younger. And no matter how hot the induction burner gets, it's never even close to the amount of heat that's given off when using a gas cooktop.

Anne

Perhaps you have a bad induction unit? There are no "rules" that I am aware of other than not slamming an iron pot onto the glass. As I said, I do put a silicon pad under my iron pans because I can be clumsy, but that's the only thing I do to protect the top. Honestly, I spill, boil over, slide pans around, and have no problems with the touch pad (wet fingers and all). I have no more concerns about the "fancy electronics" that control my cooktop than I do the ones in my expensive car, television, or advantium oven. Not having or wanting flat 18/10 or iron pans is definately a con for those considering induction.

It must be stressful to be so unhappy with your cooktop.

True, induction is new and there are bugs to be further ironed out. I'm waiting for a very quiet one that I can afford.

Glass tops on any heat source apparently come in different flavors, some dreadful to clean, some very easy. No one's mentioned the improved electric stoves attempting to compete by narrowing the responsiveness gap with gas, but they're out there. I suspect a major problem with glass, it that so far no one's pointed proudly to a patinaed glasstop, not matter how well they clean up, a decided negative to weigh against advantages (there should be inexpensive replacements available). But that's an appearance issue, not a cooking issue.

BTW, after spending years with gas, I change the response on my electric by sliding the pan sideways. Instant, and not exactly difficult.

Bottom line, for cooking heat is heat, all sources with their own tradeoffs (I personally love the smell of wood smoke). For anyone who chooses an open flame and cast iron elements, enjoy! But for the sake of everyone trying to make the right decision for themselves, I wish we would tone down the unreasonable and inappropriate villifying of electric stoves and accept that a good one can be excellent in its way, even if someting else is preferred.

Wish I had taken pictures of the mess my wok left on my induction stove. It took three rounds of Barkeeper's Friend, a razor blade and two rounds of ceramic top cleaner to get the mess off. No, I didn't let it sit. I started cleaning it as soon as I could touch the stove safely. I now use a Silpat between pan and stove for the wok and my cast iron.

I've had my induction for about three weeks now and used it heavily. There are things that I love about it and things that I hate about it. It was (and still is) the best solution for our kitchen set-up. I'd still much prefer to be able to have a gas stove but it's just not practical for us.

Oh and BTW, there are many, many things with a high sugar content. It's not just candy making.

If you don't cook much, I can understand the allure of an electric range. However, I cook often and the lack of precise control with my smoothtop is very frustrating. Trying to bring food down to or maintain a simmer on my smoothtop electric range is next to impossible. The oven is now failing and while I'd MUCH prefer gas for the control it offers, the cost of bringing it in from the street is prohibitive at this time. I'm hoping that a new smoothtop will offer better control. However, if I win the lottery, it's gas or induction for me.

It's another of those personal choices.

I grew up with gas. Almost every place I've lived have been fortunate to have gas except for two and to be perfectly honest I never could get used to electric. I love the control gas gives me. Being able to eye the flame and know exactly what I'm doing as far as heat intensity means a lot. Cleaning can be a hassle, but that's the tradeoff. It's like living in the south and not having to deal with snow & ice, but the tradeoff is 6 months of heat & humidity, lol. C'est la vie!

Until now I've had mainly electric. I cook quite a bit and am just starting my remodel. Prior to moving in here we were in temp housing for 2 months with a gas range. We had two gas leaks that scared the bejesus out of me and pretty much slam dunked electric. That and I have longish hair that almost went ablaze since my gas cooking learning curve was in it's infancy. Plus the cleanup. Just the basic cleanup on the low quality gas range... ugh.

I toyed with a 36" Bosch electric but am winding up (fingers crossed) with a 36" Seimens induction. I've already started the 'treasure hunt' at TJ Maxx/Tuesday Morning etc... for pans (a great tip found on this forum btw). Scored some really nice German induction cookware for pennies on the dollar. But of course now I want the stockpot to match running at $250 list price....

"I promise no one here hates gas as much as I hated my smooth top. "

Hey, I was going to say that!

The only good things I can say about the now-land-filled Kenny POS was that it looked good and was easy to clean. It was the pits as a cooking appliance. It took 10+ minutes to heat a wok for stir-frying, and I couldn't even cook an egg without a boil-over. Oh sure, you can move a pan off the heat to moderate the temps, but that's really tough if you have another pot on the adjacent burner. Otherwise every pot did need two burners - one to cook on, and one to cool on after its contents had been plated.

I've recently installed my first gas range, and I can't believe how much fun cooking is! It has been wayyy easier to clean than I was led to believe - almost as easy as the smoothtop. I'm not an particularly messy cook - I slop a few things out of my pans, but I haven't had a boilover. The entire cooking surface is so much larger than the old cooktop, allowing the use of large pots on any burner.

I ain't going back to electic, ever.

So how do you with gas keep the rest of your home clean? And what is it from gas burning that results in that film?
Would it be fair to say, if you are use to electric, gas will be easy to learn, if you don't mind what it moves in the air. If you are use to gas, electric will delight you being so clean, but will be frustrating to break gas habits for learning to wait for electric to do what you want? Both can get the job done, but requiring different skills, same as BBQ, campfire, or solar cooking.

"So how do you with gas keep the rest of your home clean? And what is it from gas burning that results in that film?"

I really don't know what you're talking about here. I've had gas and electric, and neither has produced a film or affected other parts of my house. The only think I can think of is that my sister had a very, very old gas stove in an apartment that she used to have, and it produced an odd sooty stuff around it. Is that what you're talking about? Because it isn't normal.

I'm not sure what you're talking about either, Bodica. In all the many gas (and propane) stoves I've used and lived with over many years, I have never ever had an issue with any "film". (Unless you count the film from deep fat frying.) Heck, even my very first "on my own" apartment - which was in pretty much a "welfare" building and was not in the best repair (and also had a wall-unit gas heater) never produced any kind of film.

bodica, if you are finding a film of some sort it is the type of cooking and inadequate venting not the source of heat. If you fry it doesn't matter if on electric or gas you get spatters and fumes.

Bodica, I, too, don't know what you mean by "film"? I've never had any sort of gas residue or buildup from cooking, even with my 1949 gas range. I've never used propane, though -- is this a propane issue perhaps?

In terms of keeping clean, I can totally see preferring a smoothtop. But one thing I love about my gas range is being able to chuck the grills right into the dishwasher whenever I need to - a much more hygienic job than I could ever do by hand.

No I as well as several family members and friends have propane. No film. I still say it has to do adequate venting for your cooking style.

30 years later, Now you tell me! I will show this to my dear hubby the Chef! I honestly believed the problem was related to the gas but it's his frying, That's the end of That, banished to fry outside from now on! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for educating me. I love this forum! Frankly, I am embarrassed, but maybe my admission and your correction will save someone else from the years of heartache I've endured. Loving my crystal chandeliers,ten of them, and the other glass and crystal collections, I have sobbed an ocean of tears trying to clean.......thank you

Bodica,
What kind of ventilation system do you have? Perhaps it's as simple as switching out to a new and much stronger fan?

Datura, we have a gas cooktop - four burners plus a center grill. Beside that, we have a two hob induction. I love having the flexibility of both - nothing beats how fast induction can boil water or keep something at a perfectly consistent simmer!

But I do agree with what many have said - it's not the equipment, it's the cook. I cooked on a electric coil top for 18 years and produced some pretty amazing meals from that stove.

Eliz

I have cooked for almost 28 years on electric and then spent one week visiting our son and cooking on on his new gas stove. That's all I needed. When I got home I immediately started planning for my new kitchen. It HAD to be gas. I absolutely loved it. I consider myself an average cook, but love to cook for friends and I "always" experiment. I guess the gas just feeds into that part of me. I am concerned about keeping the stainless cooktop clean and the range hasn't even been installed yet. Any tips out there how to keep the stainless clean--any good products out there?

if you like the reactivity get an induction cooktop. Its response time is instantaneous. Its glass-ceramic top is clean.

Mbarstow, Barkeeper's Friend is great for stainless. You can get it at Target (and other places I'm sure).

Eliz

In my mind cooking is cooking. Whirlpool recently recalled our new smoothtoop that was built into the granite counter/bar space facing kitchen bar seating. We decided to replace it with a gas cooktop. Had to bring in a gas line, install 110 wiring and waited forever for the cooktop. Now that it’s finally installed, it’s big, fat and SO UGLY. With huge knobs. We have exposed flame inches away from seated guests. Totally hate the look of it and don’t like the idea of the flame also heating up the house. My husband loves cooking on it. I hate it, the food tastes the same. I I miss my nice smooth, pretty cooktop that blended so well with our modern kitchen.