Best Electric Stove Options

[brittonv]

Hello,

I am hoping someone can advise me as to what my best option is for electronic cookery.

Unfortunately, a gas stove isn't an option. Down here in South Florida there aren't a lot of gas lines. When I purchased my house I intended to bury a propane tank when I remodeled my kitchen. Well as a result of not attending HOA meetings, a rule has been passed baning all large volume propane tanks. (Large volume is anything above a 20LB tank).

I too find this rule stupid and the decision silly, but that is not the topic of this tread. I do want to move, but the wife doesn't so I loose!

Is there any electric option that is better then another? The only electric stove I have ever cooked on is coil so I don't know if the induction options are better, or if there is anything else out there. I hope the experts here can shed some light on my crappy situation.

Appreciatively yours,

Vince

[MichaelB]

Hello,

I am hoping someone can advise me as to what my best option is for electronic cookery.

Unfortunately, a gas stove isn't an option.  Down here in South Florida there aren't a lot of gas lines.  When I purchased my house I intended to bury a propane tank when I remodeled my kitchen.  Well as a result of not attending HOA meetings, a rule has been passed baning all large volume propane tanks.  (Large volume is anything above a 20LB tank).

I too find this rule stupid and the decision silly, but that is not the topic of this tread.  I do want to move, but the wife doesn't so I loose!

Is there any electric option that is better then another?  The only electric stove I have ever cooked on is coil so I don't know if the induction options are better, or if there is anything else out there.  I hope the experts here can shed some light on my crappy situation.

Appreciatively yours,

Vince

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Absolutely look at induction. The downsides are higher initial cost and limitations oh the cookware you can use -- cast iron or magnetic steel. If you also need to purchase new cookware, it makes going to induction easier.

[brittonv]

I had looked in to it a little bit. But I figured it was all hype.

Are the induction cooktops really as good as gas, performace wise?

Vince

Edited March 20, 2006 by brittonv (log)

[Joe Blowe]

Not to steer you away from this forum, but do check out the Appliance Forum over at GardenWeb -- many, many threads on induction, pros and cons, etc. If I was limited to electric, it would be my only choice...

[pigeonpie]

Three words: induction, induction, induction.

Having always cooked on gas hobs, and only ever experienced electric hobs in the form of coils or old ceramic-topped things that took an age to heat up/ cool down and were, frankly, so awful to cook on I'd rather have a sandwich, I was horrified when I learnt that the flat my SO was buying would have to have an electric hob, and I would have to cook on one of those things.

And then I did a bit of research and found that electric hobs had moved on; I discovered induction. They do not come cheap, but I refused to do any cooking, ever in that flat if a non-induction hob found its way there. An induction hob was duly ordered .

There just isn't any other form of electric hob that has the kind of responsiveness that gas gives you (and, if the kitchen is small - and this one is tiny - there is the added advantage that an induction hob just heats the pan, not the kitchen and the cook ...).

Does mean you have to chuck out your aluminium cookware, and copper ain't happening, but hey, it's a good excuse for some new pots and pans if ever I heard one.

pigeonpie

[brittonv]

I am almost giddy!

I had checked around but wanted to start this thread with out any pretensions as to what I was looking at. I wanted the opinions of foodies, and it is looking good!

This is going to be a 2 fold treat for me I think. New pans and I'll be able to take my old LTD's to the in-laws and have something to cook with there too!

Thanks you so much!

Vince

PS. What is a HOB?

[pigeonpie]

'Hob' is UK English for a stove. I keep forgetting to translate when I post here! 'Stove' is very much used, but more in an everyday, colloquial context - I guess perhaps it's a little bit old-fashioned. If I was going to a shop to buy one, I'd ask for an induction hob, not an induction stove.

I have to say, I think stove is a much nicer word though.

[DTBarton]

FWIW, we decided not to install a buried propane tank when we remodeled due to space and budget issues. So, started looking at electric stuff. Ended up buying a Maytag Gemini electric stove with double oven.

http://www.epinions.com/content_78116916868

It's been the best electric I've ever cooked on. Heats up quickly. Can't shut it off immediately like gas, but with the ceramic top, it's easy to slide pans off the heat. The large right front burner has two heat ranges, regular and low (where only the inner half of the element comes on). This is a great feature that I wish all the other burners had. I can make hollandaise in a heavy saucepan right on the burner, no double boiler needed. You have to clean the cooktop a lot to keep it from getting grungy, but no big deal, I clean the stove top every day anyway.

Has a small upper oven and a regular sized oven below. This does do away with any storage drawer. We LOVE the small oven and use it all the time. With just two of us, most things we bake/broil fit in the top oven. It heats up to 400F super fast. I know I've saved a mountain of money on electricity using this oven over the years. One other issue. Since the big oven is on the bottom, it takes some extra effort to get a big turkey or something in there since it's so close to the floor. A bonus is that if you're baking in the lower oven, the upper oven becomes a warming box without turning it on.

For us it's been really satisfactory and gives the double oven capability in the same sized package as a regular electric stove.

[JAZ]

For more discussion of induction ranges, here is the most recent topic, and here is another slightly older one.

[Pallee]

In case you haven't quite heard it yet - INDUCTION! I got to cook the first meal at a friend's newly remodeled kitchen in Chicago and was blown away. Even better heat control than gas. My gas range at home goes up to 16,000 BTU's and their induction had the equivalent of 30,000! Wow. Kenmore even came out with a stove top that's reasonably priced. And if you're in Florida, you'll appreciate the way it won't heat up the air in the kitchen, just the pan.

Have fun, I'm jealous!

[brittonv]

I had seen them but didn't know how they worked. I just assumed that it was a heater under a glass top!

I am really getting excited and now comes the more difficult task of selecting one. I have read some opinions that the "Power thing" in the kenmore was underpowered.

Also that you should be careful when selecting an induction range as the maximum output of the devices is split between the burners that are on. In other words, it takes to longer to boil 4 pots of water then 1 or 2.

What would 'you' get in a 36" cooktop (HOB)

Vince

[dougal]

Vince - here's another voice in the Induction chorus...

But because I'd call it a 'hob' too, I can't advise on specific 110v models.

When you said

I had seen them but didn't know how they worked. I just assumed that it was a heater under a glass top!

its worth noting that that is exactly how conventional (and halogen) ceramic 'hobs' *do* work.

Induction is very different. And in the UK pretty rare, and expensive.

My induction hob is a very basic one, but its damn good.

The wider ones (over here) seem loaded with non-essential toys. I don't want timer functions on a hob! And the wider ones seem disproportionately expensive...

I find 9 levels of 'on' adequate for me. But someone that would make really tiny adjustments to a gas flame might appreciate the more expensive models with 15 power levels.

As the units become more complex, be sure that the 'user interface' is utterly simple. You really don't want to have to think about *how* to work it.

You don't have the visual feedback of flame size - so you are reliant on the units indication of its power setting (as well as whats happening *in* the pan, of course).

Its responsive, simmers steadily and is super-easy to clean. But you probably should avoid banging pans around the way some folk do on gas...

Don't forget that if you intend deglazing your roasting pan that it will have to be magnetically susceptible too, just like your stovetop pans.

And a minor point. The touch controls on mine *demand* a perfectly dry operating finger!

[rowansslavegirl]

Does anyone know how to clean burn marks off an induction stove top?

I tried seasoning a new carbon steel/iron pan and managed to leave a fantastic burn mark on the stove because of the manufacturer's coating left on the outside of the pan.

I've tried scrubbing with a plastic scrubby, scouring powder, vinegar ......any ideas?

[memesuze]

Does anyone know how to clean burn marks off an induction stove top?

I tried seasoning a new carbon steel/iron pan and managed to leave a fantastic burn mark on the stove because of the manufacturer's coating left on the outside of the pan.

I've tried scrubbing with a plastic scrubby, scouring powder, vinegar ......any ideas?

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How about Dawn Power Dissolver?