Most Responsive Modern Electric Cooktop?

[sudsmaster]

I like old Wedgewoods, but if they are abused or not maintained they can look pretty awful after a while (as can any cooking appliance).

For a while I was collecting old Wedgewoods, and found I could move them relatively easily single handed with an appliance dolly and my pickup truck. The secret is that these things are generally bolted together. The tops are generally easily removed, as are the heavy cast iron parts like grids, burners, griddles, etc. They are also generally bolted together so simple tools are all that are needed to disassemble them further, if necessary. After the heavy stuff if removed, the remaining porcelain coated (or chromed) sheet metal is relatively light. I consider them easier to move than a washer.

 

[sudsmaster]

re: halogen burners

I thought they were available in the USA some years ago, but haven't seen any on display in stores for quite a while. I understand the halogen burners tended to have relatively shorter life spans, which might be another reason for their disappearance.

GE electric ranges and cooktops have gotten top or very good ratings from Consumer Reports for years. It is one appliance that GE appears to have consistently done well. Although I confess I'm not a fan of the pushbutton controls on the back panel. They are impossible to clean and one has to reach over hot pots and pans to reach them. I had one of those ranges in a rental flat in the 80's. I moved to another rental after a few years and it had a cheap Tappan gas range that I liked much better.

Yes, a good cook can get used to electric. But I think there's a very good reason why most restaurants and chefs use gas.

 

[rp2813]

For sure Rich -- I don't care how well built it might be -- there is no way in hell an electric stove would hold up in a restaurant situation.  Do they even make electric stoves in "professional" models?  I doubt it, as the premise is truly ludicrous.  Gas is a cheaper fuel, and gas ranges of restaurant caliber can endure decades of heavy use and abuse.  It's a no-brainer for that particular application.

 

The GE cook top in question does at least have knobs instead of push buttons and they are located up front.  I agree with you about GE's use of buttons.  I'm not a fan.

 

[ozzie908]

Yes you can get professional stoves in electric

They tend to be where gas is not available and having cooked on all types of cooktop including solid fuel I would choose Induction over any of them you can get settings that boil quicker than gas as no heat is wasted up the sides of the pot unlike gas. As far as solid electric goes they are zoned so you have boiling and simmering areas and are extremely wasteful of energy as you have to leave them on like an AGA !! Personally I now prefer Induction to gas as it does not heat the air around you thus helping to keep you cool but at the end of the day its a personal choice but if anything like UK its a fortune having gas pipes run due to having to have registered installers. I found it cheaper and easier to learn to use a new form of cooking I have one of those steel discs that enable you to use non ferrous cookware but it hardly gets used.
Austin

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Austin.  I wasn't aware of the steel discs.  That's a bit of a game changer, as I do find induction intriguing.

 

I guess if the vast majority of us are putting our faith in microprocessors without being able to see and/or understand what they're actually doing, we can adjust to doing likewise with induction controls instead of looking at an actual gas flame.

 

[combo52]

Halogen vs modern smooth top electric cook-tops

Halogen is only about 3 seconds faster to heat up and because there is more thermal mass they that longer to cool down when you reduce the heat setting.

Add to this they are far less durable, there is good reason that they have stopped making and selling them.

 

[earthling177]

If you do use the "interface" steel discs to cook with non-magnetic cookware on induction, please be aware of a couple of things: they work "very well" for the countertop induction burners, although it becomes very obvious that the disc has a thermal mass/inertia associated with it, it will feel more like using a regular electric burner and also be very careful using the disc on a cooktop -- the countertop burner will barely get 1800W and can deal with the disk, but several people visiting my home got very confused when they put the disc on the cooktop instead, and set the thing on power boost (over 3000W) and got the stove to shut down the burner a minute or so later because it was overheating. You need a very good flat bottomed pot with a lot of liquid to absorb that much power quickly enough from the disc so it won't case unscheduled shutdowns.

 

[sudsmaster]

Good point about the steel disks. They are a band-aid sort of solution for using non-induction ready cookware on an induction burner.

I'm noticing, at least at Costco, that more and more cookware sets are induction ready. There can be a bit of a price premium for this, but it's probably a better solution than having to cook everything with an inefficient steel disk under every pot.

There is however a lot of 100% aluminum or non-magnetic stainless cookware out there. It will take some time for people to wear it out and replace with magnetic stuff. I have very few induction ready pieces of cookware, other than the cast iron stuff or steel woks etc. Even my stainless set is non-magnetic (but it looks wonderful). I'd hate to have to replace it all in order to enjoy induction. Meanwhile the main kitchen has a gas cooktop, and the patio range has coil type elements, so I'm good to go.

 

[revvinkevin]

electric professional / industrial models

 

 

A quick detour back to this.  

 

Prior to 9/11 I was able to get a "behind the scenes" tour on a cruise ship.  When walking through the very large galley, which produces thousands of meals each day, I noticed their stoves, or cooking surfaces were something similar to this.   At first I was surprised to see an all electric galley (growing up with gas), but thinking about it this makes total sense from a safety and convenience stand point.

 

Kevin

 

"I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread..."

 

[vacerator]

Most even moderatley

priced cookware is induction compaitable now.

Cruise ships would have to carry LPG tanks, or LNG in order to cook with gas.
That would also add weight.
I don't think Wartzilla makes a ship engine that is not diesel.
As the generators have to make electricity for everything else on board, plus the air compressors for the engines, etc., it's the most efficient.

 

[askolover]

I use gas and I love it.  But....if I lived where gas service wasn't available I'd go with induction.  If I ever build a new house I plan to have a gas range on one side of the kitchen and an induction cooktop on the other.  Currently have a Duxtop countertop 1800W model to try it out...had it now for almost 2 years and I use it more than the gas range...especially in the Summer and it won't heat up my kitchen like the gas does.  I went ahead and bought a new stainless cookware set at Walmart that's induction compatible. 

 

[kb0nes]

I went out to buy some new cookware for my Volrath induction unit and most all of now has a magnetic layer in it. There is even hard anodized aluminum that they are incorporating a magnetic layer into if one can't deal with abandoning aluminum cookware!

Replacing the cookware seems a small price to pay to be able to cook with a higher performance heat source.

 

[sudsmaster]

It does make sense that a cruise ship would go with electric instead of gas. Why have to cart around a completely different fuel source when there's already tons of diesel on board making electricity? Plus piping propane through the ship would add another level of danger. A gas explosion in a house is one thing... a gas explosion on board a ship at sea filled with thousands of tourists... a whole nother level of tragedy.

Although I confess I don't quite get the square heating plates on that range, vs. round, but maybe there's a good reason. Maybe the food gets cooked in the same rectangular pans that go on the buffet steam table? Probably great for casserole type cuisine.

 

[sudsmaster]

I remember when the word "induction" had a scary meaning for young men in the 1960's and early '70's. As in, "You're in the Army now!"

 

[vacbear58]

In a commercial situation

When I joined the commercial cooking business 14 years ago there were units available rather like the one Kevin illustrates above, they are not that popular as they were not as responsive as gas. But since the introduction of induction tops all electric units are becoming more and more popular as they are much easier to install, cleaner to operate and do not require the extensive ventilation requirements (with gas, by law, you are required to have mechanically assisted fresh air into the kitchen as well as extract) where is any part of the ventilation fails the gas supply is shut off through the interlock to the ventilation.

Another interesting feature is "invisible" induction on the likes of server counters where the induction unit is placed under the top and so is not visible but a magnetic cooking vessel placed on top will work, we did one of these before Christmas but it took a trial of three different types of chafing dish before we could get one to work properly - all to do with the magnetic content apparently.

Like many others, I would recommend induction in your situation too.

Al

 

[vacerator]

Many finer restaurants

use at least on small induction stand alone plate for making speedy sauces, searing, etc.

 

[rp2813]

It's going to be a competitive situation with bidding on the house.  Today is the deadline for offers to be submitted.  I think it's a long shot that her offer will be accepted.  I did tell her that as far as traditional electric goes, her GE is as good as it gets.  She wasn't thrilled to hear that, but it could be a moot point anyway.

 

Thanks for all the input.  On the outside chance she ends up with the place, she'll have options to consider.

 

[sudsmaster]

Well, if this is her first house, she'll have a whole lot of other things on her mind besides the cooktop. And yes, that view is wonderful. I'm assuming the home is in the hills, but wondering which ones? San Mateo/Santa Clara? Fremont side? The yard looks interesting... with the fencing she might be able to have a veggie garden without the deer decimating it. Maybe. I hear they can leap over 6 ft fences.

I wish her luck with the offer. This can be a very stressful time. When I bought this place, I was nearly beside myself with the bidding process, taking out the huge (to me at the time) mortgage, signing a stack of paperwork that I just had to trust my real estate agent to tell me what it all meant. Then I spent a month fixing up the place: painting interior, pulling up old green wall to wall carpet, refinishing three rooms of nice broad plank hardwood, replacing the water line from the utility box to the home, etc... it never seems to end, either, but one just gets used to things... aging in place... lol, like the owner.

 

[rp2813]

The House

Rich, it's in an unincorporated portion of San Pablo known as Bayview.   The view in the pic above is across to the north shores of San Pablo Bay, mainly portions of Marin and Sonoma Counties that for various reasons will likely remain unspoiled by development.

 

My sister's bid fell short.  Out of 19 offers, five were better/higher than hers.  It's fine.  The house needs about $40K worth of work.  The declarations document is some 215 pages long and the place is being sold as is.  The highest offer didn't reach the $600K mark.

 

She owns her place in Los Angeles and has decent equity in it, but San Pablo is a hot market and a contingency offer wouldn't stand a chance.   Hers would have been a cash deal, but she drew her line in the low 500s.

 

Here's a link to the listing on Zillow.  So far there's no mention of any sale pending.  If you view the pictures, you'll see that the kitchen is the sorriest room in the house, and quite small.

http://https//www.zillow.com/homedetails/2071-Cypress-Ave-San-Pablo-CA-94806/18498719_zpid/

 

[sudsmaster]

The kitchen is on the small side, but well laid out, IMHO. It's obviously been refinished... the coppertone cooktop hood is a dead give away. Why they didn't paint that white, along with everything else (including the cooktop, apparently) is a mystery to me.

It took me a while to figure out how that house is laid out. From the street it looks like a run of the mill tract home. But the rear portion with the Great Room and vaulted ceiling sets it apart. I guess that's a family room, since there's also a smaller seating area opposite the dining "room". I think. Also the house mostly appears to be over a crawl space, except for the rear great room which looks like it's on a slab. That's probably a good thing, since it allows the plumbing to be accessible under the main floor, although it also looks like a very tight crawl, which could complicate the gas line extension.

It's right on the water, with a set of train tracks running just n.e. of the rear of the lot. Depending on what runs there, that may or may not be a problem. The view is nice but I notice that similar sized homes inland of that site are going for substantially less.