Building a house: Which cooktop? radiant or induction

[Don Kondra]

Don,

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

Radiant elements, Kenmore 30" self clean smooth top range from Sears...

New stove and pan.jpg

Cheers, Don

[Roger Feeley]

I'm looking at the manual for the cooktop and they have a special section on canning. They say it can be done.

Are you speaking about the weight being too much? We don't do canning and probably never will but you never know what we will be doing. Last summer we learned metal spinning metal and how to make soap.

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....

Here's the text from the manual on canning:
Canning can be performed on the induction cooktop. See the
“Cookware” section to check if the canner will work on the
induction cooktop. When canning for long periods, alternate the
use of surface cooking areas or elements between batches. This
allows time for the most recently used areas to cool.
■ Center the canner on the largest surface cooking area or
element. On electric cooktops, canners should not extend
more than ¹⁄₂" (1.3 cm) beyond the surface cooking area or
element.

■ Do not place canner on 2 surface cooking areas or elements at
the same time.
■ On ceramic glass models, use only flat-bottomed canners to
avoid damage to the cooktop and elements.
■ For more information, contact your local agricultural extension
office, or refer to published home canning guides. Companies
that manufacture home canning products can also offer
assistance.

[Roger Feeley]

I'll be. I wasn't expecting that to be a problem. I would think that blackening chicken would impart much more heat. Maybe it's the fact that you have to warm such a huge volume of water. A radiant element would really have to run hot to produce that many BTU's. Following that train of logic, an induction cooktop might be different. Heating a lot of something would just mean that you up the voltage to the coils. You don't have to heat an element any hotter but you are causing the bottom of the canner to get hot.

This is interesting. Like I said, we don't can but we do make big pots of soup and chili for the week. Generally, I start them out on the cooktop and then move them to the oven for simmering because I never could get a good simmer on our gas cooktop (or any other).

[James Baker SD]

Roger,
We have 2 All Clad frypans. While they clean up easy (ours are the non stick versions) both are thin enough that they tend to warp when they got hot presenting a convex cooking surface (high in the center). I still use oil when cooking even with non stick, but in these the oil all runs to the sides of pan. This experience, admittedly only with a sample of 2, is what led me to the Le Creuset cast iron cookware. I am very happy with it.

[James Baker SD]

As I wrote in my original reply, I also have the modular grill cooktop. I have a heavy duty coil burner for it just for the purpose of canning. My induction cooktop manual warns against canning.

[Jim Koepke]

When we had a gas stove life was good. We now live in an all electric house. Our electric stove is getting to the point of being time for replacement. I am seriously considering the cost of installing a gas cylinder in order to have our new stove run on gas.

jtk

[Graham Wintersgill]

Roger

My mother has an induction hob from Ikea (so probably a rebadged Hotpoint/Whirlpool) and while it seems to cook okay actually using it annoys me intensely. It has touch control rather than knobs which always seem unresponsive which makes it awkward to control and has a habit of turning everything off, maybe I would get used to it if I used it more often. It has warning beeps if you place something on it. Yes the splatters show up but are easily cleaned. Cookware was also bought from Ikea so not too expensive. If I had to get one I would check the user interface.

Regards

Graham

[Mike Null]

Having spent my working career in the appliance business it might surprise you to learn that we were selling induction cooktops as far back as the 60's.

If you are inclined to cook like a "chef" then a gas stove top is mandatory. But gas is dirtier, much more difficult to clean and can leave some gas odors. The advantages of instant, well distributed heat are undeniable. There is a caveat: in order to do such things as canning you must have higher btu burners. So if considering gas check on the btu specs of the stove top.

We have used a glasstop electric stove for about 20 years. It doesn't look like brand new but it looks surprisingly good for a 20 year old range. As you might imagine, precise control is not achievable with an electric range but experience is a good teacher and you can cook quite well, as millions do, with an electric range. In terms of cleaning nothing matches a smooth top range.

I could have had an induction range anytime but chose not to get one because of the need for new cookware and mostly the need to learn to cook all over again. Heating element control is even more of a challenge with this type of product. Incidentally, one of the issues with early models was radio wave interference.

FWIW, electric ovens are the superior oven choice for all baking because of superior heat distribution and temperature control.

[Jim Laumann]

Roger

I can only tell you what I learned from the wife. We remodeled the kitchen in 2009, and as part of that remodel, she go new everything - cabinets, appliances, wiring, plumbing, floor, you name it.

When we went for the appliances, the dealer tried to steer us to a glass top stove (she will not use gas). When she asked about canning (she uses the large blue porcelain (water bath) canners and pressure cookers), the dealer took us to the conventional electric stoves. They had control knobs, and the ability to swap out burners for ones that sit higher on the surface - allows the stove surface to stay a bit cooler).

She has two pressure canners, and w/ both of them are quite heavy when loaded full w/ jars and water. She likes me to be around when she does that sort of thing just to help w/ the lifting of the canners on/off the stove.

Maybe you can do it w/ smaller pots, but I'd say that based on the wife uses - you'd have trouble.

For what it's worth....

Jim

[Roger Feeley]

I remember the gas odors from when I was a kid. Back in the days of pilot lights, you could walk into a house and tell instantly whether they cooked with gas. We had electric in our house.

Our stovetop in our last house (gas) never gave off any odors so that doesn't scare me. I think if you smell gas these days, you have a faulty part or something.

I'm in total agreement about a gas top being a pain to clean. I do the kitchen cleaning and that's a big driver of my desire for a glass top.

Our choices are all electric because gas is simply too expensive to run. It's really down to radiant or induction. Our cookware is all kind of old and funky anyway so I'm sort of looking for an excuse to replace it with something nicer. I will miss my cast iron if it turns out to be unsuitable. I won't know until we unpack it.

There seems to be wide disagreement about induction (cookware aside). Some folks love it and others hate it. I'm thinking that, coming from gas, I'm going to be a bit more in the love it camp. I'm used to the instant adjustment of gas and I should get that same adjustment with induction. As to adjustability, I agree with you that knobs would be very nice. I'm not a fan of numbers. The human brain is essentially analog and we just don't do well with digital adjustment unless we are trying to match a setting. My ideal would be a knob with a digital readout. Best of both worlds.

Having spent my working career in the appliance business it might surprise you to learn that we were selling induction cooktops as far back as the 60's.

If you are inclined to cook like a "chef" then a gas stove top is mandatory. But gas is dirtier, much more difficult to clean and can leave some gas odors. The advantages of instant, well distributed heat are undeniable. There is a caveat: in order to do such things as canning you must have higher btu burners. So if considering gas check on the btu specs of the stove top.

We have used a glasstop electric stove for about 20 years. It doesn't look like brand new but it looks surprisingly good for a 20 year old range. As you might imagine, precise control is not achievable with an electric range but experience is a good teacher and you can cook quite well, as millions do, with an electric range. In terms of cleaning nothing matches a smooth top range.

I could have had an induction range anytime but chose not to get one because of the need for new cookware and mostly the need to learn to cook all over again. Heating element control is even more of a challenge with this type of product. Incidentally, one of the issues with early models was radio wave interference.

FWIW, electric ovens are the superior oven choice for all baking because of superior heat distribution and temperature control.

[James Baker SD]

Roger:

I have never heard of any cast iron failing to work with induction. The electrons in iron are pretty free to move when subjected to a magnetic field. Some steels, mostly stainless steels may fail to work (or heat very slowly) with induction as their electrons are less free. Aluminum, copper and glass all fail as they are not magnetic. Laminated pans like All Clad, tend to have an iron or soft steel layer somewhere in the inside to respond to induction cooktops even if they have a hard stainless cooking surface for the food.

Our digital readout on the induction allows 10 settings, that is pretty fine resolution.

Only downside I see to induction (cookware aside), and it may apply to radiant cooktops as well, is if a single element dies it may be difficult to have the unit repaired, then you buy a new one or live with 3 heaters. Coil burners are certainly easier to replace and it is hard to imagine how gas could fail. I will take that risk because of the ease of cleanup as I am also the one responsible for cleaning the kitchen.

[Roger Feeley]

Thanks again,

We will certainly give the cast iron a try before adopting it out. I will be looking for flat bottoms that will work well with induction and not make funny buzzy noises. I will also make darn sure that the bottoms are smooth so I don't mess up the glass. I suspect that some pans will be ready to go and others may need some remediation.

Most of my CI is over 100 years old so I don't expect perfection.

Roger:

I have never heard of any cast iron failing to work with induction. The electrons in iron are pretty free to move when subjected to a magnetic field. Some steels, mostly stainless steels may fail to work (or heat very slowly) with induction as their electrons are less free. Aluminum, copper and glass all fail as they are not magnetic. Laminated pans like All Clad, tend to have an iron or soft steel layer somewhere in the inside to respond to induction cooktops even if they have a hard stainless cooking surface for the food.

Our digital readout on the induction allows 10 settings, that is pretty fine resolution.

Only downside I see to induction (cookware aside), and it may apply to radiant cooktops as well, is if a single element dies it may be difficult to have the unit repaired, then you buy a new one or live with 3 heaters. Coil burners are certainly easier to replace and it is hard to imagine how gas could fail. I will take that risk because of the ease of cleanup as I am also the one responsible for cleaning the kitchen.

[Judson Green]

I had a client that somehow melted a small hole in her glass cooktop. i dont know how she did it. remember that the company wouldn't replace it under warranty

[Jim Becker]

If you cannot do gas...which is IMHO the best for cooking (although electric ovens are preferable for that function)...then go induction and don't look back. Induction gives you most of the fine control with timely response you have with gas but with electrical power. Any other form of electrical cook tops are marginal at best at providing any kind of consistent cooking capability and are slow to respond to temperature changes. That can compromise the cooking experience, especially with delicate operations.

I wouldn't give up gas for anything if I have the choice, but if I had to move to electric for some reason someday, induction would be it. I'm a "serious" foodie when it comes to cooking and provide more than half of the meals for my family weekly.

[Peter Kelly]

Lot of info in induction if you decide to go that route: http://theinductionsite.com
The Yale Appliance blog is also a great resource about appliances in general: http://blog.yaleappliance.com/most-p...ction-cooktops

I tried out my brother's induction top a while back and didn't particularly care for the feel of it but lots of people who own them rave about them. My main concern with induction is the longevity of the electronic components which all seem to flake out after not too long. Replacement of a burnt circuit board typically equals a totally new (expensive) induction range or cooktop.

Going to bite the bullet and get an electronics-free Bluestar cooktop for my upcoming kitchen remodel. Should outlast me.