We bought a single induction plug-in burner to use during power outages as our regular induction cooktop is not hooked up to the generator. Also great for outdoor parties where you want to keep a pot hot. Do note that not all stainless will work on induction. You need to test the pot with a magnet. If it sticks, it will work.

Thank you! I will do The magnet test! I primarily use my one cast iron or my enameled cast iron. we do have a large stainless, that if it wouldn’t work on induction we would be ok. I haven’t started thinking about replacement appliances other then I am sad that I can’t expand my footprint. I imagine we will go to induction, homeowners Insurance wont allow propane, so if that pan won’t work I will pass it on to one of our kids. ( Is it weird I love a fry pan so much?)

Any opinion on GE cafe appliances? I am going with mid range appliances so please don’t suggest higher end. I like the look of Cafe and I am cooking for my family....I had high end in a previous home but my food is still as good!

What's nice about the portable induction we have is it allows you to set it by temp as well as by number so it can get any pot you put on it to act like an electric frypan with a temp setting.

IKEA has a portable induction burner for about $50.

If your favorite pan is not magnetic, you can buy a magnetic disk to put between the induction hob and the pan that will heat the pan.

I got by with a microwave, toaster oven and electric frying pan, plus lots of takeout food. My kitchen remodel did not last a terribly long time, so it was okay. It also happened in the winter, so I used a cooler on the porch for a fridge. Sometimes had milk with ice chunks in it on my cereal.

Re GE Cafe products: NO! NO! NO! You are better off with a campfire in the backyard!

I have a GE Cafe range. In the first 3 years that I lived in my new house, I had 3 GE Cafe ranges. The first was all gas. It was horrible. Heated unevenly and had multiple service calls. Finally, GE agreed to sell me a Cafe dual fuel at a reduced cost. The first dual fuel was damaged. The next one was adequate but that is all.

Customer service is total crap. When someone has a serious, on-going problem, they are assigned a “Consumer Advocate.” The better term is “Consumer Placator.” They do nothing except say they are going to help and then don’t.

My neighbor also had the GE Cafe all gas range. Within the first year the electronics burned out on hers and had to be replaced. GE replaced them but it was a fight to get it done. Then the gizmo that lights the burners went out. She was having to use a fireplace lighter to light the eyes. GE would not stand behind their product. She finally got tired of trying to get them to do right and bought a new range. (I’m not sure of the brand, but I know it is not GE.)

I love the looks of the GE Cafe range that is white with the brass handles and knobs, but there is no way I would buy it. My experience with GE has just been awful. And my neighbor’s experience was also awful.

"Any opinion on GE cafe appliances?"

Anne, I think most mid-range appliances are pretty equal with quality these days that's not exactly what it used to be. Your best bet, IMO, is to look for features you like and don't get stuck on any particular brand. If the GE Cafe seems a good fit, go for it.

FWIW, we had a repair technician come to look at our washing machine. We got to talking about kitchen appliances, and his advice was KitchenAid is good for mid-range. Who knows...another tech might not agree. Opinions seem to be all over the place.

We redid kitchen 2 years ago and got the Duxtop portable induction burner from Am***n. It is the one currently listed for around $116. It doesn't heat as fast as an induction range, but served our needs along with the crockpot, grill and microwave. The Duxtop was recommended by someone on this forum.

I just checked, my double ovens (electric), just say "GE". I love them. My dishwasher is a GE. I hate it. My refrigerator is also a GE, I got a package of all three appliances. The fridge has been OK, but it's about 5 years old and is now making a clunking sound when the ice maker runs. Still works.

My cooktop is a 5 burner Bosch, and I'm not particularly excited about that either. It has never had a burner low enough to simmer anything, even the simmer burner keeps everything at a full rolling boil. Various calls to service resulted in a new part, but it didn't help. One front burner doesn't light at all, needs to be lit with a match, and the part has been on back order for nearly 5 months.

Good luck, I also think with mid-range appliances it's a toss up, they are all approximately equal, with none being wonderful.

Annie

Annie, my far right front burner is my low smallest simmer, but too strong. It lives with an enameled cast iron heat diffuser 24/7. It keeps our Chemex morning coffee at just right for an hour or so. My back left has another type diffuser for simmering beans and stocks perfectly.

I'm not really familiar with induction but have this one mentioned above in my saved Amazon list. It seems to have what I need like a timer, dual temp and 1-20, boil button and 'keep warm'. I need a portable for the deck and garden kitchen. And most important is timer. Good reviews for a portable.

From experience...all appliance should be taken out of box and checked asap when delivered. If it is a lemon it can be dealt with right away rather than holding it and opening later, possibly out of warranty. Or not useful when needed.

I've read negative things about disks for induction cooktops:

The disc absorbs the magnetic waves from the induction stove and converts that energy into heat. My advice? Do not use induction converter discs unless you absolutely have to, because you lose a ton of efficiency, and the disc gets so hot that it can damage some induction stoves.

Induction all the way!!! Love it! And I have a working stove.

Sorry, no time to read responses so this has prob. been suggested but we used our gas grill, m/wave, toaster oven, and induction burner.

For the temp kitchen, you can sauté in an Instant Pot. Before induction, I probably would have given up my cooktop and oven if I had to choose between them and the IP, but I'm not sure now.

Clarification: A heat diffuser disk can help temper an overpowered gas burner. "induction disks" for heating non-induction capable pots on induction work but not well. It's like (and can be substituted by) putting a pot in a frying pan to cook. Big energy loss. With one, you're trying to reduce the heat, with the other you're changing how it's delivered.

Thank you so much all. I probably get by with what I have and I have a griddle area on our grill but I am into kitchen stuff so I am probably over preparing. it probably will help me see what gadgets I really don’t need.

I use the instant pot (love the sauté feature) and counter oven a lot so I think we will do well.

I definitely need to research the appliances more!

Do your research, then look for a scratch and dent place!

We just got a nice range with good reviews for about $2500 installed. We saw ads for the same thing nearby for $6000+!!!!! Full warantee, also!

We are in the middle of a remodel and I have two 8 foot lifetime tables in our garage with my kitchen stuff on it. I use my IP the most. I also have a single electric burner and microwave. I am cooking for 7 (we rarely eat out) and so far (3 weeks) those appliances are enough. I will, of course, be glad to have my oven and stove top again but it is amazing what you can make do with. I also have 3 bookcases with all my dishes, pans, and pantry staples stored on. It is definitely an adventure! We will probably be doing this 6 more weeks.........

I did well with an Instant Pot, toaster, outdoor grill and an electric griddle. I kept the cooking very simple and the dirty dishes to a minimum. I wasn't trying to replicate meals cooked in a full kitchen. We do not eat fast food other than an occasional sub.

Umm...I am signed in as Elizabeth and I see the about post is an HU-*********

Whatever.

My remodel was prolonged, but we did just fine with microwave, coffeemaker, toaster oven, crockpot, and George Forman grill.

If I were doing it now, I would probably use an instant pot type cooker, and delete the crockpot and perhaps the GF Grill (but I really was delighted with how well the grill worked, quick and easy to clean.)

We used a toaster/steam combi oven + induction hob during our remodel. It was fantastic.

Post-remodel, we have a gas GE Cafe double oven range that we use daily, and it's worked flawlessly for the past three years. If we were going to replace it, we would probably switch from gas to induction based on how much we enjoyed our single hob (which we still have and use outdoors). We even decided, mid-remodel, to have our electrician put the wiring in place in the wall behind the range for that future switch.

I survived a 10 month total house renovation, living in our unfinished basement with 2.5 year old twins. Dual burner hotplate (induction wasn't a thing then) a microwave, crock pot and probably most used was an electric skillet. We used it for breakfasts; pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, lunch; grilled cheese, bacon and tomato, and dinner; spaghetti sauce, meatballs, hamburgers, pork chops, stir fry, chicken breast. .. My husband was general conractor for the reno, much of it being sweat equity after an 8 hour day of work. We often did breakfast for dinner, it suited us all. We ate a lot of veggies and dip, salad (with chicken, tuna) and cut up fruit. I think the reason that I survived is that I drastically lowered my standards at the beginning. Did I mention that I did dishes in the basement powder room sink and that as soon as the house was framed, we installed a tub? No walls, no windows, just a tub in a framed house! It was actually quite luxurious after schlepping the whole family to my parent's condo for showers several times a week. I also may have hosed my kids down in the back yard after a particularly dirty play time. You do what you have to do. Looking back, it was kind of fun and we all reminisce fondly about it.

I imagine the butler pantry with a toaster oven and pressure cooker will be used more often but I hope parties come back

I think you’ll be fine with 2 instant pots, a toaster oven and a BBQ.

I’ve been making do with a multicooker and an air fryer. I have a portable propane gas burner (my camping stove) that I use occasionally outside. My microwave, toaster oven and crock pot are buried in the basement somewhere.

I’ve been buying individually frozen meats to minimize the amount of raw meats prep I need to do. We limit take out to weekends.

We're into week 3 of our Kitchen/First Level rennovation and our temp kitchen, in our laundry room) is working out pretty well. Were using our old over the range microwave, toaster oven and a Coleman Road Trip propane grill. The Road Trip grill has been great.

I ordered this for a nephew and he loves it, they come in doubles too. The brand is well made. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K73ML7Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Enameled cast iron and regular cast iron work fine with induction.

I have one - I'll come back and edit with the brand name (haven't gotten out of bed yet, and the cat is keeping me warm....) -- I used it outdoors a month ago intensely for rendering down maple water into syrup. Worked well!

Duxtop induction cooktop. This one is 1-burner.

^That is what I could use it for as well. Didn't think of that. For maple. Curious what size pot could be used. We usually start on a wood fire outside then finish in a smaller pot on a portable cheap coil single burner but it is hard to regulate the temps.

In the long list of Amazon comments, many use a portable while renovating to give induction a trial run to see if they might want to include it in their new kitchens.

For temporary use (maybe a week), I'd haul out my camping stove. Its a two burner unit using Coleman fuel ( same as the mantle lantern fuel). However, these can be cantankerous and should be used outside the house - never inside due to a fire hazard. Its good for patio use. I don't recommend this if you are not familiar with this type of stove. If electric power is available to you, several excellent units are suggested in prior posts.

I do have a camping stove as well as a gas grill with a flat top. It gets so dang hot outside! I think I have fear of not having a kitchen doodad! I think we could use the burners for family parties later; I am having a hard time paring down because pre Covid we had 1 or usually 2 family/ friends get together a week. We have a huge extended family and our friends groups among the family groups tend to intermeld so a small gathering is 20 on up. Very relaxed but food focused.

I can’t wait for a huge party!

We are only doing outdoor things right now but our weather is unpredictable and soon it will be blazing!

I truly appreciate the advice.

We have each done remodels of different scopes but this will be different, we are going to try to manage the project and while not DIY I have a project manager relative that is retired and willing to help as well. Also the budget is pretty small and because of the age of our home we are being careful about moving walls and such.