So, I've had a few weeks using my induction hob now and I thought I'd give my thoughts for anyone that may be considering getting one.
Things I like.
The lack of flames. This makes it easier not to burn things! With gas I'd often leave a wooden spoon in a pan on full heat and come back to find it's charred from the flame
It seems pretty responsive, turned a pan down from full to low and almost immediately the rolling boil turned to a simmer.
Much easier to clean than a gas hob as it's just one big flat surface.
Things I don't like.
The main one for me is how the heat is applied. You basically get a circle of heat and then not much else. This means that things catch much easier than when using gas.
It also means that large dishes only have heat applied to a part of the base, again I find gas much better in this regard as the flame envelops the pan more.
I was caramelising some onions today in a large oval Le Creuset which is bigger than the induction surface. (I do it in big batches and then freeze portions) and found if I wasn't keeping an eye on it the whole time I'd get a circle on the bottom of the pan where things caught a bit.
The controls. This may just be my model, but to change a heat setting I have to press a button to select which induction plate I want, then use + and - buttons to select the heat level. I much prefer several simple knobs to control things.
The lack of flames. Even though it's handy not having flames for the reasons I mentioned above there's something in the fact that you can see the size of the flame that I prefer. I really dislike not having any visual cue about how much heat is being applied.
I was planning on redoing the kitchen at some point in the next year or two anyway and I definitely think I'm going to go back to a gas hob then. I definitely prefer induction to electric, but for me gas can't be beaten.
