Finally compared my gas stove to an induction burner after 6 months of debating

I've been arguing with my buddy about gas vs induction for forever. He kept saying induction sucks but I finally got a cheap single burner from Amazon for $40 last week. Ran a boil test with 2 quarts of water. Induction boiled it in 3 minutes flat. Gas took over 7 minutes. No contest. My electric bill jumped like $8 but honestly worth it for the speed. Anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in cooking time?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_xena11d agoMost Upvoted

Hold on a sec with the $8 electric bill jump, that's not just from the induction burner unless you're cooking like 5 hours a day. I swapped my gas range for a full induction cooktop last fall and my bill went up like $20 the first month because I was testing everything. It settled down to maybe $10-$12 more after. But here's what nobody talks about: induction is way more efficient with the heat since it goes straight into the pan instead of heating up your whole kitchen. So in the summer my AC runs less, which probably cancels out some of that cost. Also your boil test is legit but it depends on the pot too, I had a cheap stainless pan that took 5 minutes then got a good triply one and it dropped to 3. Just saying the numbers might shift around a bit depending on your gear.

taylor_hayes2526d agoMost Upvoted

Did your buddy admit he was wrong yet or is he still clinging to his gas stove like it's gonna give him gourmet cooking powers? I mean, 3 minutes vs 7 sounds like a pretty clear win to me.

the_holly26d ago

Yeah but gas gives you way more control though.

the_logan11d ago

the_holly mentioned control and that's actually where induction surprised me the most. I thought I'd miss being able to see the flame but the response time is insane. Like you turn the knob down on induction and it's instant, no lag. With gas you get that residual heat from the burner for a few seconds. I've been making a lot of stir fry lately where you need to go from screaming hot to simmer real fast for the sauce to not burn, and induction handles that way better. Plus the surface stays cool so I can set a wooden spoon directly on the burner without worrying.