It could be you played with an induction cooktop that did not give you fine enough control. Some cooktops don't have enough settings. Between control and ease of clean-up and less air pollution, I think induction is fab. But I totally and completely understand the allure of the lovely blue flame. I am a flame fan as well- especially after many years of coil top cooking!

ETA If you are really considering induction, then you should head over to an appliance store and test some cooktops out (unless your friend's induction cooktop did have sufficient settings and then you have your answer.)

The only thing you can't really do is char things over an open flame, like peppers. I use my outdoor gas burner for that. It's amazing how fast induction can bring a huge pot of water to boil and on the other end of the spectrum keep things at a constant simmer.

I boiled water for corn on the cob the other day. I could hold my hands mere inches from the pot, and i felt essentially no heat. If I had tried that on my old gas range, I would have burned my hands from the excess heat flowing up the outside of the pan from the burner. So, when working with high heat, you won't feel the heat, which can make the whole cooking experience more enjoyable.

I also had to use a flame tamer to get a really low heat on my gas range (possibly other gas units are different). I am able to melt chocolate in a pan -- not a double boiler -- on my induction range. So, I have more control on my induction than I did on my old gas range.

I agree wholeheartedly about the levels. To be good for cooking on, induction should have 17 levels (1-9 with half steps) or progressive levels (usually about 12 whole stops, but with smaller increments in the lower numbers). Then you have as good control as gas, and all the good stuff. I have top quality gas and induction, both, and much prefer using the induction for most things. The one thing that gas is consistently better at is grilling on a grill plate, because that's when one actually wants all that hot air. I haven't tried it, but I think if one had one of those deep grill-skillets for induction, it might be as good by creating its own hot air inside the pan.

In addition to the above: easy to clean and easy to contain any mess. Really like it so much more than I ever thought I would.

+1 about the cleaning. You can wipe with a sponge while still cooking and keep going. You can even put newspaper down underneath a pan while frying.

I'm following up with nightflyer's comment about a previous gas range having problems with low heat and noting "possibly other gas units are different. . ." Indeed, they are. With both my previous (and now deceased) GE dual range and the pro-style gas range I bought to replace it, there was never a need for a flame tamer or double boiler. Heck, there have been internet videos of the current model showing chocolate being melted on a paper plate.

Nobody should take this as criticism of nightflyrer.

I am only using this matter just to illustrate a basic point: every stove and cooktop (whether induction, gas or whatever) will reflect differing mixes of economic, engineering and design trade offs. Differing mixes will appeal differently to different people. Induction appliances are no exception.

As it happens, I'm straddling a fence here: like plllog, my kitchen has both induction and gas appliances.

That leads me to ask for some details on what Hilary found was "ho hum" about the friends' induction cooktop or stove.

It might have been something endemic to induction or it might have been the particular model. It might have been something else or even some misunderstandings. In that vein, I'm thinking of what some some friends of mine recently explained to me about their disappointment with the induction cooktop they had seen demonstrated. With all that they had been reading about induction, they had somehow gotten the idea that it it would be a transformative life experience. But it turned out to be .... well, cooking on a stove. :>)

Now I could go on about this, but we already have many threads here on gas versus induction as well as very long threads asking those who bought an induction range if they did not want to switch to a gas range which, in context, often means a pro-style range. There is, for example, this very long thread which started five years ago and was still getting posts a couple of months ago: second guessing induction.

I suspect that Hilary has already seen that or similar threads, and I do not propose to recite the many things said there. Instead, I want to invite Hilary to expand the details on what she found "ho hum" about the friends' appliance so that we can speak to her specific concerns. Maybe we can allay concerns or maybe we will not persuade her that she wants an induction cooktop or range, but at least we will be addressing her specific preferences and interests.

I don't think a chef coming from a good level of competency on gas can immediately transfer that skill level to induction. One outing isn't going to get through the learning curve into the area of exploiting the capacities of induction and the cookware you use. Especially the part about not having the visible flame indicator to always remind you. Zero in on the product itself for all your visual cues. Listen carefully and of course smell. Then the near instant response will start to shine. Not available with gas.

A chef Dan? Or did you mean cook? I was taught to cook in a way that is highly transferable and the kind of fuel doesn't matter to the outcome, though I'm not experienced enough with solid fuels to build and maintain the fire myself. I started Coq au Vin at home on the induction, and just finished it on site for the dinner on coil. Other than the middle number being hotter than I expected (as in, hm, I'd better turn this down, nothing preventing success), it was just cooking. Well, while the stew was heating in Farberware, there was a lovely old cast iron pan for the finishing bits. That was nice. Cast iron on gas, electric coil and induction cooks exactly the same. Exactly. Because it's not a great conductor, you don't really see the response variation between the three.

Which is another important point about induction. Because of the responsiveness, the type of pan matters a lot more, and I'm not talking about having to be iron or steel. Cast iron cooks as normal. Carbon steel is immediately responsive and fabulous for eggs and pancakes. Clad stainless is somewhere between, and depends a lot on the actual construction of the pan.

Thank you for the great info. I have decided to postpone my purchase and cook on my friends stove for more experience with induction. When I said ho hum what I meant was I'm second nature with the heat from the gas. I instinctively know how much to turn up or down. With her TOL Electrolux I found everything cooking much faster and hotter. I now realize it is going to be a transition for me and I'll accept that. Before I drop anymore money on stoves I'll be more informed. I did just purchase a single induction burner (Waring Pro) to use on my island and get a better feel for it. I appreciate all the input. I deduce there are more for induction than lp gas. Im glad I asked and now I need to see how many of my pans will work. I have mostly All Clad, cast iron and a couple of French omelette and crepe pans.

I think people who prefer gas over induction do understand the benefits of induction. It's not that they haven't cooked on the right induction cooktop, or one with the latest innovations. That is overthinking it IMHO. It's that cooking with gas is more enjoyable for them, less clinical--so what if gas is less precise or takes longer to boil water. Some people just viscerally like cooking with gas more.

There's also a sometime buzzing situation.

Appliances Forum thread on induction buzzing

Subzero-Wolf FAQ on induction buzzing

I found a world of difference between cooking on a single portable induction burner and cooking on my induction range. In the first place, a 110v/20amp plug in model won't have anywhere near the power of a 220v/40amp system. My portable induction burner also only had 10 steps, not the 19 of my Bosch range, so was not as flexible. But, it does help you get an idea of what induction is like.

in regards to gas vs induction, in one of the other threads (I forget which), someone rightly points that you really do need to change your way of thinking about some cooking techniques. Only the part of the pan within the magnetic field will get direct heat on induction. But, due to the way hot air rises around a pan, gas will also provide some direct heat up the sides of the pan. I've found it akin to cooking in an unfamiliar house -- I need to vary my cooking slightly to adjust to the different conditions. But, if you don't know that going in, you might misjudge whether you would really like induction.

I would say that the life of a quality gas range is at least 3 -4 times that of an induction range. Our original Garland range (from 1981) is still working for a friend of ours (who bought it from us in 2000). That range is 36 years old!

Geoffrey_b's comment got me thinking about the state of our choices when stove shopping.

So, first off, what is a "quality gas range" that will last "at least 3 -4 times that of an induction range?" We're talking about pro-style ranges like his old Garland, right? Garland had their "quality" pro-style (residential) ranges made by Prizer-Painter back in the day. When Garland got out of the residential range business back at the turn of the Century, PP started producing the stoves under its Blue Star brand. There are other some other brands with similarly minimalist gas ranges.

Isn't it the minimal electronics (basically just the burner ignitor control module) that seems to make for a long life? That was my bet when I bought my pro-style gas range.

These days, major brand gas ranges (not to mention the dual fuel versions) are all loaded up with electronics, too, With those electronics, and in the absence of reliable reasonably available data, it is hard to say if and how much longer lived the gas stove's electronics will be versus those in the induction ranges.

So, are we saying that most gas ranges today are not "quality gas ranges?" Hmmm. :>)

Second, It is not that induction ranges and other major brands' stoves cannot be fixed when a control board (or two) goes. It is just that the expense of repairs may not seem economic for the major brand ranges.

Say, I buy a Frigidiare induction slide-in for $1400 and six years from now it needs replacement boards costing $1200. That's more than the stove is worth at that point. I'm probably going to junk it in favor of buying something else. And maybe I'll make many angry posts wherever I can, saying I'll never buy anything from that #@$%ing company ever again! :>)

On the other hand, let's say I bought one of the Miele induction ranges for $7500 (with the five year warranty --- that's the US price, its even higher for Canadians). Relative to the cost/worth of the stove, the cost of buying and installing new boards seems more economic. If I spend $3k to $3600 on one of the TOL Electrolux ranges -- the one that Hilary's friends own -- it seems like more of a toss-up on whether to repair or replace. We had a recent thread here discussing that very point and on the Electrolux model, btw.

For someone who likes to cook, induction is worth a look/test. After using various options over the years, I'm a convert. There's a learning curve every time you use a different stove/cooktop, much less different heat sources. I watch the food and adjust.

Even if I had a gas cooktop with as much control/response as my induction, I would rule it out for my kitchen due to the emissions, ambient heat it produces, and safety for kids/impaired individuals (being able to lock induction or not likely to accidentally turn it on). Each person will have their own list of pro/cons.

As to reliability, you can't guarantee it with any appliance. You just try to stack the odds in your favor! There are a LOT of gas cooktop/range threads that lament an issue. They're not an exception to disappointment.

It's great that you're curious and willing to explore new things!

Hilary -- which model Waring Pro did you receive?

Following up on what freidajune mentioned, most portable countertop induction cookers (PICs) like the Waring are much noisier than your friend's ELectrolux range, both with cooling fans and pan noises.

There are some other caveats to bear in mind when testing out induction cooking using inexpensive PICs. These will reflect some of the differences you may notice when switching between your PIC and your friends' TOL Electrolux range.

Some PICs have a very limited number of power settings. IIRC, the least expensive Waring Pro models (ICT200?) have only 8 power settings. You can get the rapid response for which many like induction, but not so much of the vaunted control especially at the low end. (Note plllog's first comment above,)

The less expensive Waring PICs, IIRC, only pull a maximum of 1500 watts. May be fine for some things and not so much for others. It wIll not win any speed-to-boil drag races with stockpots and pasta water. Too little horsepower for a speed race. Your friends' Electrolux pumps 3800 watts into its big burner, which is 2½ times the power of the Waring.

What you do get is rapid response to adjustments in power. That will be more noticeable with your All-Clad pans and your French omelette and crepe pans (which are carbon steel?). Cast iron will be slow to respond as cast iron generally is, but will still be rather more rapid than you might be used to on other stoves. (Do note the comment below about hot-spot heating with CI).

PICs' power steps are mostly rather crude and the jumps can be abrupt. Same with the pulse-width-modulation (PWM.) You might ask, what is PWM? PWM is how induction --- and microwave ovens --- simulate low power settings. Basically, it is switching/pulsing the power on and off to maintain an average heat low heat. The lower the heat, the more the power is off and the shorter the bursts of power. High quality induction components (as on your friend's Electrolux) do the switching many times a second. Such high-frequency PWM can be indistinguishable from the effect of a steady low flame on a gas burner.

However, most PICs use much less expensive components that produce much cruder PWM. At their low heat settings, you get a couple of seconds of OMG full heat followed by several seconds of no heat, then back to full heat, etc. The result can be pulses of momentary boiling, stillness, boiling, stillness, etc. instead of a steady simmer. This effect can be mitigated somewhat with heavier bottomed pans. The pulsing effect will be most noticeable with PICs when using small pans and smaller quantities of liquid which you might do when, say, fine tuning a sauce.

Speaking of pan sizes, there are the hot-spotting issues that nightflyer described. These occur because inexpensive PICS use inexpensive small induction coils. They put out a field that, depending on the maker, will be between 4 and 5 inches in diameter. Some are even smaller. IME with PICs, the cheap components also can produce uneven heating on higher power settings. You depend on your pans' construction to spread the heat and you may need to stir your sautes and stir-fries more frequently with a PIC than with full size induction or gas appliance. Stoves like your friends' Electrolux use larger and higher quality components so they produce larger and more even fields and more even heating.

For stir-frying and sauteing on a PIC, you basically need to give your pans time to preheat and spread the heat. It is a good idea to start on lower heat and then dial up. With your All-Clad pans, this will happen fairly quickly. It will take longer with your cast iron. Your French omelette and crepe pans will be somewhere in the middle. IME with PICs, the hotspotting is particularly notable for cast iron and carbon steel. The particular concern with cast iron is that it is so inefficient at spreading heat (as opposed to holding it.) Crank up the heat too quickly with cast iron and you can quickly get a very hot ring around the middle and barely heated outer edges. If you have vintage cast iron, that can be a recipe for cracking the pan. Crank up too high too quickly with carbon steel and you may warp the pan. So ramp up slowly. You'll need to experiment to figure how quickly this will work for you.

If you have pressure cookers, the timer feature can be handy. Laura Pazzaglia's HipPressureCooking site has detailed advice on using pressure cookers with induction. The one comment I would offer is that it holding the correct pressure on an inexpensive PIC can require attention where you may wind up switching down to power setting 1 for awhile, up to setting two for a while, back down to 1, etc.

Please let us know how the Waring and the Electrolux work for you.

@jwvideo: So, are we saying that most gas ranges today are not "quality gas ranges?" Hmmm. :>)

We have to separate low cost gas ranges - like the cheapie stuff sold in big box stores, and higher end stuff - Blue Star, Wolf, Viking, etc.

Many all-gas ranges have simple igniters and glow rods for the oven - that's it. These ranges will last a long time. They have no boards.

As for cooking speed - I've been cooking for 45 years - all those on higher end gas ranges. 18-24k BTU - how fast do you want to cook? Seems immaterial to me.

Our Garland (now Blue Star) had really even heat, even at a low setting, and if you need it super low - use a flame tamer.

As an engineer - I can't imagine any induction range (that's used every day) would last more that 6-8 years. And at that point they aren't worth repairing (compared to the cost of a new one). If you don't have gas - then I think it's a good alternative.

One advantage to cooking with gas no one's mentioned (as far as I've read, anyway) is that you can still cook during a power outage. For some, that's not a big deal. For others, it's often a/the deciding factor when choosing a cooking surface type.

The Waring was an inexpensive single unit ($249.) retail. I thought it would be a great item to cook simple things on my island when the range is busy. It won't be wasted money, anyway. I realize it won't cook the same. I've decided to just keep researching and reading pros/cons for both but I must say 5 days ago I wouldn't entertain the idea, now it's very likely going to be the way I go. Now I narrow it down between Bosch (which I know and have used) or Electrolux (which I only have second hand knowledge). If anyone out there has a great range they love, minor repairs, and wants to chime in, I'd be grateful. It's still new technology (when comparing to gas or electric) and I'd like to know what to expect in longevity. $4000. Divided by 6-8 yrs is a hefty investment that moves to the luxury side. If we are looking at 10 yrs, more appropriate. Bottom line, this 2500. JennAire piece of junk was expensive folly since it's been basically nothing but trouble. I've owned it 3 yrs. It's a mistake I can't afford to repeat.

With respect to cooking during a power outage, that's the main reason why I went for gas many years ago (we were losing power once a month, it seemed, for short periods). Other threads have talked about how some gas stoves won't work without electricity to keep the valve open -- it's not just a matter of ignition. So, if that's important, be sure to check the particular stove(s) you're interested in.

When I switched to induction, I also bought a portable butane burner, so I can use that if need be during a power outage.

For us, outages will be pantry items, charcoal grill, and a possible future purchase of a butane stove (kids want me to deep fry once in a while and I refuse to do it inside because of no hood). Opening the fridge/freezer during a short outage isn't a great idea. Ours usually occur during summer/hurricane season when it's hotter than blazes outside. No cold storage on the porch in our locale!

Induction is far from new technology. Kitchens in a middle class NY suburb had induction since the 60s as installed by the builder- and that's just from my personal experience. Induction is neither new, nor European as some would have you think.

You can put your gas range on a UPS. Power problem solved.

Just don't open your fridge during a power outage. It will hold your food cold much longer than they can legally tell you.

I'm the poster child for gas vs induction lol.

I love gas and have cooked with it for decades. Our last house I put in a Monogram 36" gas cooktop and despite losing BTUs to propane conversion and elevation (8300'), I would never use anything else there. That house is in the mountain boonies, in the middle of a national forest, with real winters and power outages all too often. It's too cold in the winter for outside cooking (grill has the same propane/elevation issues of course) and being able to cook inside with no electricity is a no-brainer. We did have a small genset for the fridge and freezer for multi-day events like when a beaver downed a tree on the lines and started a forest fire.

But I'm getting induction for my new-to-me house in Phoenix AZ. No way do I want all that extra heat in the kitchen here from gas cooking!

@geoffrey_b, the idea with a UPS sounds great a first sight, but you might want to actually test this approach before relying on it.

Many (but not all!) gas ranges will let you operate the stove without even needing power. The only thing that doesn't work in this situation is the spark igniter. That's not a huge deal, but yes, you could use a UPS if it bothered you to manually light the burners. The spark igniters draw minimal amounts of power and can easily be run off battery backup. In fact, my outdoor gas grill has AA powered igniters and I have not had to change the batteries in years. My gas fireplace also has AA backup batteries in case of power failures. Works just fine.

The big unknown is the oven. Most gas ranges have glow igniters for the ovens. And I believe they draw on the order of 400W each. Some ovens have more than one igniter, too. And in addition to that, they have the convection fan which also draws a noticeable amount of power, and an old-school incandescent light-bulb. A normal household UPS won't be able to keep up with that power demand for more than maybe 10min. So, don't expect to use your oven in a power outage. In fact, if it was on before the power failed, run over to the kitchen and turn off the oven unless you want to be stuck with a dead battery in your UPS.

Now, if you have a whole house battery bank (e.g. lots of lead-acid batteries or Tesla PowerWall) or if you have a gas generator, then this discussion could be moot. But in that case, you are self-sufficent anyway, and you really don't worry all that much about power failures.

M: there was a discussion on another thread about how some gas ranges use electricity to keep the gas valve open -- not just to ignite the burner -- and how those won't work if there is no power. So, it behooves ne to ensure that they understand how their particular range works in the case of a power outage if that is important to them.

Here's a link to discussion of the newly revised Bosch Benchmark induction range.

Hi

I am also a person who likes to cook using gas than induction. But induction heats up instantly and they are safe to use than gas. But for gas, there are greater risks of fire or combustion.