Question: Electric Stove Options

flatbield@beehaw.org to Food and Cooking@beehaw.org – 11 points –

We are looking at new electric stoves. Does anyone understand the options?

Specifically wondering the types of surface units (burners). Are there various options or modes: constant current (constant heat flow), or temperature control (on/off cycling, or variable current). The old stoves were mostly constant current surface units. The new flat top stoves seem to cycle somehow (temperature controlled?). I have no idea how inductive works. We have gas now which is constant heat flow of course.

Why I ask is I'm not very interested in this cycling stuff at all, and temperature control only.

Thoughts, recommendations, or experiences?

Thanks.

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Induction is where it's at if you want electric. It works similar to how a transformer works. The stove makes a magnetic field that your cookware reacts to. The downside is that all your pots and pans need to be magnetic. Fortunately this is easy to test with any magnet (like a fridge magnet even).

You can get single stand alone induction burners for less than $100 if you want to try it out. Some are more powerful than others.

I've been wanting to replace my stove for a while and I still keep going back and forth between gas an induction. I still kind of prefer cooking on gas but there's some controversy about air quality and gas stoves. But I can tell you, if I don't get a gas stove... I'm gonna get an induction one.

I have one of those single induction stove things.

It gets very hot. My wife never goes above level 3 or 4 out of like 10 when cooking. The only time she will go higher if she is boiling water.

Agreed, 3-4 seems to be a sweet spot, 10 seems to be pretty much only for boiling water. 🤣