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Hobs gas/electric

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Hobs gas/electric

Postby Hickybank » Tue Sep 01, 2020 10:44 am

When we moved into our new home it came with a gas hob, I hate gas hobs so just lashed out for an Induction hob
(also a set posh new saucepans & utensils )
I feel like a kid in a sweetshop :bounce: .

So what is your preference, also pro's & cons of induction hobs.
Thanks
Terry

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Sep 01, 2020 10:51 am

I hate electric hobs of any description with a vengeance! When I was at college there were about 12 gas hobs and maybe 3 electric, there was always a scramble for the gas ones.

Maybe it's whatever you "grow up" with.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Earthmaiden » Tue Sep 01, 2020 10:59 am

I had my first gas hob in my 30s and never looked back. I have used induction hobs and would get used to them (as we'll probably have to as gas goes out of vogue) but nothing really beats being able to see and adjust the flame IMO.

With ordinary electric hot plates the only advantage was being easier to get two pans to share the same hotplate or turning something like rice or a boiled egg off early and allowing it to continue cooking with the residue heat. I'll happily forfeit that though!

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Rainbow » Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:10 am

Love my induction hob! Much prefer it to gas and find it much easier to simmer on. Not being able to see the heat doesn’t bother me at all! Also so much easier to clean than gas!

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby smitch » Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:21 am

I love our induction hob too. I really hate gas, so difficult to keep the hob clean. We also don't have a gas connection to our kitchen.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby scullion » Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:35 am

i grew up with gas and have used both electric (rentals in london and st agnes) and now gas (bottle - no mains) i've also used the induction hobs at both of my young and at my brother's in france.
i like gas but as the others have said the hob cleaning is a pain. i don't like the old type electric - not instantly controllable and a pain to clean. haven't had a huge amount of experience with ceramic but easy to clean though not as instant as induction. i like induction - easily cleaned and as instant as gas. the hobs take a bit of learning - the touch controls aren't as intuitive as a gas switch but that's just a time thing.
i have bought an induction for the new kitchen - one that can have two zones linked for a bigger pan. it has the advantage, also, of not needing to lug around big gas bottles.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Sep 01, 2020 11:44 am

scullion wrote:gas (bottle - no mains)

Some of the most enjoyable cooking I've done has been on a camping gas burner!

Smoking confit duck...

Image

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Suffs » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:02 pm

I grew up with Rayburn/Aga type hotplates and love them. When first married we had bottle gas which I loved, then electric for some years and I loathed It ... eventually getting a brand new solid fuel Rayburn :woohoo:

When I came to Norwich it was lovely to have ‘town gas’ ... this house came with a new ceramic hob ... I was willing to give it a go cos of the easy cleaning, but I hated it and replaced it with a 5 ring with wok burner gas hob as soon as I could, and it’s wonderful. I’m assured that I’ll get used to an induction hob when the time comes ... but I doubt it somehow :|

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby scullion » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:04 pm

hahahaha - it's a proper 4 burner gas hob - not a camping one. very common to cook/heat on (large) bottle gas down here where many (most) villages are a fair distance from the main gas pipeline.

i've used a rayburn, too, but the friends who have them also have a 'summer' cooking method when the solid fuel is too hot for the house. (i also cook on the stove in the living room when it's on during the colder weather - it's a different way of cooking, needing trivets and movement to hot/cooler spots.
Last edited by scullion on Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Suffs » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:07 pm

Yes Scully ... that was what we had waaaay back. When I was a child we had bottle gas lighting... two large Calor cylinders were at the back of the house and the Calor man and lorry would visit regularly and replace the empty one.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Hickybank » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:14 pm

I thought I would get a mixed response to this, interesting,I have cooked on both but as other have said the cleaning is a pain, also the only way I know the food is ready is when I smell burning handles :lol: :lol: :lol: .

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Suelle » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:30 pm

I prefer gas, but will replace my current hob with an electric induction hob when it's necessary. My boiler maintenance engineer said the strength of my gas supply isn't really enough for modern hobs.

Gas appliances are being phased out over the next decade or so, so we'll all be cooking with electricity soon - if we live that long.
Traditional home baking, and more:
http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Pampy » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:43 pm

I have cooked on gas, elec and induction and, overall, prefer induction. However, one drawback is that you can't cook directly on the heat source, like you can with gas, when charring vegetables, making chapattis etc. Two heating areas can be linked together on my hob and it's got a "power" setting which can ramp up the power to (I think) 4KW, making it great for wok cooking and very quickly bringing things back to the boil. It's also got a timer and safety features that you don't get with gas and 'normal' electric. It's a doddle to clean too.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:47 pm

Lots of gas lovers here.

I'm pleased to see the back of mine. I find the flame too high even on the littlest ring.
And couldn't stand the "debris" that you have to clean all the time.

New house, new induction hob. Even cooking from my first week of experience, and with my new stainless steel set of pans, easy cooking.
I've actually lobbed my le Creuset set of 30yrs. They didn't even smash when I threw them in the recycling = my! they're solid.

What do you clean your hob with?
I've bought a liquid cream and it's pretty rubbish. I had pasta starch water to get off, but it wouldn't shift.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Pampy » Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:52 pm

I clean mine with Stardrops and it works well.
Why didn't you give your Le Creuset to a charity shop Gill?

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Renee » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:10 pm

I grew up with electricity but now have gas and love it, but having said that, I've never used an induction hob. The only problem with gas is that I can't turn it down as low as I would like.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby KeenCook2 » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:22 pm

I had gas all my life until we moved to this house 8 years ago. Despite having had to replace the old hob (OH broke it by standing on it to change a lightbulb :lol: ) with a much posher Neff, I really still haven't got the hang of cooking on an electric hob, although the cleaning is brilliant. (I use the Lakeland lemon hob cleaner for light soil and HG Hob Thorough Cleaner for burnt on debris.)
It's either too hot or too cold!
The electric oven, though, is much more reliable than any of our gas ovens had been. Just a shame about the integral grill, as per our discussion on the campsite.

All things being equal, I'd like an easy-to-clean gas hob with a fan oven and a working grill!

I hadn't realised that gas was being phased out, Suelle.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:32 pm

(Stardrops - that's a blast from the past. I'll get some.

Re the charity shop, they weren't nice enough. Some repairs using sugru, and whilst Tony was a demon with cleaning products to bring up the pots nicely, they stained every time I used them.
They weren't pass on-able.
Some things do need chucking out).

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby aero280 » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:38 pm

I was brought up with a solid fuel Rayburn. My father used to keep it running all the time. Damping it down at night, livening it up in the morning. Mother used it all the time and had a kettle of water "almost boiling" on the hotplate for instant use. They eventually went to a gas one.

When we put in the new cooker two years ago we got a John Lewis one with a gas hob and electric ovens. It's been fine. I prefer a gas hob because it reacts quickly. Cleaning access is much improved over the old ones. It even allows you to use the hob in the event of an electrical blackout.

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Re: Hobs gas/electric

Postby cherrytree » Tue Sep 01, 2020 1:42 pm

We are lucky enough to be in an old house in remote France and we had a brilliant intelligent Ikea kitchen put in. On our son’s advice we got an induction hob. It is so unbelievably wonderful. It is obedient, the controls work so quickly, nothing gets burnt on the sides and my apricot and peach jams come out perfect every time.
Back in Cumbria I have a gas hob. Things burn so easily round the sides of the pan and it just feels so dated somehow. I just don’t get the excellent results that I get with induction.
If I ever get a new hob there will be no question what it will be.

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