Building a house: Which cooktop? radiant or induction

[Roger Feeley]

We are building an all-electric house and are considering an induction cooktop. Two questions:

1. Do you have experience with induction and how do you like it? I already know that I will have to replace my cookware.

2. What do you think about the flat glass cooktop? Does it scratch? I think I would really like being able to clean that flat glass.

[Larry Browning]

I cannot answer question #1, but on #2 we have a glass cooktop and really like it. We built our house 20 years ago and the cooktop looks as good today as it did when we got it. We also have one in our rent house that does not look as good. Not really that bad, but it has dark stains around the most used burners that won't come clean. I believe the difference is just basic house keeping by cleaning the cooktop after each use. Most messes can be cleaned up with a sponge and cooked on stuff easily comes off with a razor blade scraper. We have never had a problem with scratches, even the one at the rent house have very few scratches.

[Bruce Volden]

I have a "glass" cook top and so far NO scratches. There are however, MANY cooked on looking scuff marks!
There is no way I have found to remove them##!! I am looking into induction also as it is very fast in coming into heat
and would serve great for pasta making, canning. The glass top also looks like the "scuff" marks are under the glass.
There is no way of removing them!!!!!
If you go induction, you have to use a ferrous pan/pot/skillet.
But then again I am not finicky as I like to cook and eat! So whichever way you choose to go I'm certain you will
be satisfied.
I REALLY LOVE cooking on my wood burning stove which also heat the house!

Bruce

[James Baker SD]

I would prefer a gas cooktop as it spreads the heat on almost any type of cookware. Instant on and instant off. However, the builders of the house decided gas was for the furnace on the opposite end of the house. Kitchen was originally all electric with a downdraft cooktop with coiled burners and rotating knobs. We did a lot of frying and the grease splatters were heck to clean up, especially on the fan's grill, around the knobs and under the coils. When two the controls died (too old for replacements) we went with an overhead vent fan (downdraft did not catch anything) and an smooth glass induction cooktop.

1. hated to lose my copper pans, but did so. I find that thin steel cookware tends to mimic the location of the induction coils under the glass creating hot spots in the pans and often burnt food over those locations. Ended up with many heavy enameled cast iron cookware which spreads the heat well. Induction is as close to instant on/off as gas would have been with these cast iron simply do to their mass. All in all I am satisfied with the performance of the induction cooktop and just for the memories, polish my copper pans now and then.

2. cleanup is a breeze to get to a presentable, if not perfect, level. Surface is completely flat with touch pads for heat control. Soapy sponge does a pretty good job. Glass cooktop cleaner does a better job, but kind of hard to get all streaks removed. In just the right light angle, there are some blotches that are hard to remove, but under most lighting cannot see them.

3. I did chip a small piece of glass out of one side edge. It was a stupid freak accident that I doubt you need to worry about. I am very careful to not drop the cast iron on the top as I am sure it would shatter. I have not scratched it yet and it is about 4 years old. I think outright breakage is a bigger risk than scratching.

4. Would I buy induction again? No, if I was willing to pay a plumber to run gas to the kitchen island (not a small, easy job). Yes, if I am was staying with electric.

P.S. I also have a modular little cooktop in the island. It is usually configured as a grill, but also has griddle, coil, and halogen radiant modules. I prefer the induction of the main cooktop to the halogen radiant burners

[Andrew DiLorenzo]

I can put on the water for a cup of tea, get a teabag and put it in the cup. By then the water is boiling -- that fast. One has to see it to believe it, as my wife did not believe it after seeing it!

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Our glass cooktop is 16 years old, and looks like the day we bought it.
Doesn't scratch at all, and burnt on stains cleanup fairly easily with cooktop cleaner. It's sort of a liquid rubbing compound, and can take a little elbow grease on thick spills.
But for the most part, it cleans up fine with windex.

[Brian Elfert]

My mother got a glass top range recently because the old range died and part was not available. She likes it, but she hates keeping the top clean. Regular cleaners just make the top look streaky. She has to use a special cleaner supplied with the range to get the top clean.

[Roger Feeley]

Many thanks to all that replied. My wife and I grew up with electric stoves. Our last one was gas and we liked it.

Our new house is really an in-law 'pool house' on our daughters land. It would have gas only for the cooktop and the contractor would have to run pipe underground about 150'. I didn't ask for an exact estimate because I suspected that the price would be high. I just asked if running the line would be over $3K (northern VA) and he said 'oh yeah'.

So, is a gas cooktop worth an extra $3K+ to me? No.

I looked up cookware and the most expensive All-Clad set is about $1200 on Amazon.

I think we have a consensus that the glass surface is fine but you have to take care of it and not drop things. There also seems to be agreement that, if you have the right cookware, induction rules.

Again, thanks. I knew the creekers would come through for me.

[Michael Weber]

Don't try to separate a package of frozen hamburger patties by slamming it down on a glass top range. DAMHIKT

[Don Kondra]

I purchased a new glass top range a year ago, hated it.

You can't fry an egg without having to clean the top, every little thing shows..

But more importantly, the heat isn't consistent. The heating elements pulse on and off and over time the temperature climbs. Simmering sauces means you slowly have to turn the heat down until the element is almost at off.

Sold the darn thing and purchased a new - old style coil element version with a convection fan, couldn't be happier

Cheers, Don

[Thomas Hotchkin]

I do not do much of the cooking in out home. But when the grand kids are here I do make pancakes, on her glass induction cook top. I do like my old cast iron fry pan to make them in. I just place a paper towel between glass cook top and pan, no clean up and no scratches.

[Ruperto Mendiones]

After 4 months of induction cooking with new All Clad pans I remain impressed. The surrounding area does not heat up. The heat levels are totally consistent from day to day [with gas I could not duplicate the consistency--not even close]. Glass top takes some more effort to clean relative to a gas stove. However [may not be recommended practice] I find that a sheet of brown paper bag material on the cooktop takes most of the splashes and splatters and does not interfere with heating.

[Roger Feeley]

Don,

Was that a radiant cooktop or induction.
Also, can you recall the brand? Model is probably too much to ask.

I purchased a new glass top range a year ago, hated it.

You can't fry an egg without having to clean the top, every little thing shows..

But more importantly, the heat isn't consistent. The heating elements pulse on and off and over time the temperature climbs. Simmering sauces means you slowly have to turn the heat down until the element is almost at off.

Sold the darn thing and purchased a new - old style coil element version with a convection fan, couldn't be happier

Cheers, Don

[Jim Laumann]

Speaking on behalf of wifelet - she wouldn't have a glass top. She cans (preservation of food in glass jars - so why is it called canning? ) and glass tops w/ a canner full of jars and hot water won't cut it....

[Mike Ontko]

Speaking on behalf of wifelet - she wouldn't have a glass top. She cans (preservation of food in glass jars - so why is it called canning? ) and glass tops w/ a canner full of jars and hot water won't cut it....

I was just having a conversation about this issue yesterday--water bath canners can concentrate too much heat on the surface of the cooktop and there's presumably a risk of cracking or damaging the surface as a result. I think most owner manuals for glass top stoves provide a caution for this situation. For that reason, I do all my canning in the garage/shop using a Coleman cook stove.

Cleaning the surface of splatters and spills needs to be a regular thing. There are glass top cleaning products available that make the process relatively easy--just scrape off any burned on residue with a razor then squirt a little cleaner on, wipe and buff.