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0 pointsbsder2y ago0 comments

On old school electric.

Induction is way better for control and latency than gas.

The only issue is if you need to genuinely ignite something (like in wok cooking--but, then, get a blowtorch--if it's good enough for J. Kenji Lopez-Alt it's good enough for you).

One real problem is that the standalone induction burners are only 110V in the US and that hamstrings them dramatically. Induction cooktops, however, do not suffer from that issue as they will be wired into 208/220V.

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ska2y ago

Agree induction is pretty great, although it limits cookware and still doesn't work for all techniques (blowtorch doesn't replace everything). And you are right that the 110V are underpowered.

The ones I've used are less granular than gas (which is essentially continuous) and latency is similar. From what I've seen europe is still way ahead on induction offerings, but it seems to be getting better.

I'd probably lean towards induction these days because the particulates from gas are obviously a problem and not easily dealt with - but I won't pretend induction is a 100% drop in replacement/improvement.

bsderOP2y ago

> The ones I've used are less granular than gas (which is essentially continuous) and latency is similar.

However, I find that gas has no granularity at the lowest settings. Induction has like 4 or 5 settings below the minimum setting of gas. This is really great for melting or softening things.

Maybe this is different on a professional gas stove, but I've never used one of those.

wharvle2y ago

Induction’s still pricey, too. The low end of gas ranges is low-priced, indeed. And ranges (can) last a long time, so old-school electric is gonna be the “normal” electric range for many years yet, I expect.

Just checked Lowes. Cheapest induction range, $999. Four gas options are $499 or lower, four resistive electrics $499 or lower.

ska2y ago

True. Even Ikea's cheapest seems to be about 800.

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ska2y ago

Agree induction is pretty great, although it limits cookware and still doesn't work for all techniques (blowtorch doesn't replace everything). And you are right that the 110V are underpowered.

bsderOP2y ago

> The ones I've used are less granular than gas (which is essentially continuous) and latency is similar.

However, I find that gas has no granularity at the lowest settings. Induction has like 4 or 5 settings below the minimum setting of gas. This is really great for melting or softening things.

Maybe this is different on a professional gas stove, but I've never used one of those.

wharvle2y ago

Just checked Lowes. Cheapest induction range, $999. Four gas options are $499 or lower, four resistive electrics $499 or lower.

ska2y ago

True. Even Ikea's cheapest seems to be about 800.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse