
But if you’re switching from gas, expect to pay an electrician several hundred dollars or more to install the necessary outlet. Induction cooktops and ranges use the same outlet as a standard electric range or cooktop. If you’re replacing an electric range, the swap is simple. It can get expensive when you convert from gas to electric.

That’s why manufacturers have started adding virtual flames and other lighting cues. In fact, because the electromagnetic field on an induction cooktop doesn’t create a glow, you won’t even know it’s on. No electric option, even induction, can replicate that feel. Some avid cooks really love cooking on a flame and the immediate visual feedback they get from it at the turn of a knob. Induction cooking feels very different from cooking with gas. Like other smoothtop electrics, induction surfaces are easy to wipe down.īefore you shop for an induction cooktop or range, consider your budget and your cooking habits. No more simmering sauces that break into a splattering boil or chicken thighs that emerge from the pan scorched. With heat generating from within your pot or pan, induction ranges cook more precisely and evenly. You’ll find that 6 quarts of water will approach a boil 2 to 4 minutes sooner than on a gas or electric stove, which can definitely be helpful when you’re making dinner on a busy weeknight. Compared with electric or gas, it cooks more quickly when you turn up the heat and responds faster when you dial it back down. It cuts out the intermediate step of heating up an element and then transferring the heat to the pot.

No other technology we’ve tested is speedier than induction. That surface might merely feel hot in the way a kitchen counter feels hot if you put a pot of just-cooked soup on it.įood cooks faster. So the glass surface never gets as hot as it would on a traditional radiant electric range, and you’re not at risk of burning yourself if you touch it. That’s because the heat is created from within the cookware itself as soon as you remove it from a burner, that heating stops. If you turn on an induction burner with no pot on it by mistake, it won’t get hot.
