Leaving Induction for Gas?

Hello everyone,

Have had a GE Cafe 30” Induction range with a double oven for the past 5 years now. I love it. Induction is wonderful.

We’re moving next summer though and the possibility of moving back to gas intrigues me. We’re actually planning on getting the exact same range in gas while keeping the electric oven. The highest powered burner is 21k BTUs. Just the front left.

Now why go back to gas? The largest reason is that I’m starting to miss how evenly gas heats. I own Demeyere Proline pans, Atlantis saucepans and saute pans, and their 7-ply Teppanyaki pan. All of those pans experience pretty uneven heating. Making bacon in the proline pans require clever movement of the bacon to cook evenly. The Teppanyaki pan is just two hot spots above the elements and nothing in the middle really gets hot enough. Pancakes have to be carefully poured over the elements to evenly cook.

I created this thread to ask if there is any new induction technology out there for ranges I should check out as I’ve been out of the market for awhile. I have a feeling whatever I do find will still have the same problems.

Looking forward to using my Mauviel copper fry pans and Mayfer Bourgeat copper saucier again too.

Anyone switch from Induction back to gas? How did the transition go for you?

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Nothing especially new that I’m aware of. The makers fiddle with bridgeable and oval zones, but until the coils are pixelated or better yet configured to surround cookware, the mode is limited.

I guess I’m odd because I try to use all modes regularly–I don’t migrate or progress from one to another. If I had servants to keep me in solid fuel and stoke, I’d probably stop there, but gas is my realistic ideal.

BTW, a 21k gas hob is not an embarrassment.

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Not an embarrassment at all. Just considering the possibility of a Blue Star with two 22k BTU burners. 6 burners on the Cafe is nice though, but given they’re squeezed onto a 30” range, not exactly using 6 at once. The Teppenyaki takes up some real estate if it’s in the middle too.

Thanks for the reply. Glad to find the Chowhound Crew

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First of all, welcome to HO.

Second, if you are a gas person, induction will just never do. It’s not about “improving” induction ranges, it’s just simply the technology does not suit your expectations, which is exactly how I feel about induction.

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I’m planning to have a new house built soon (pending permits), and I’m planning to stick with induction. I used to use a 30" GE profile Induction range and am hoping to move to a 36" inch induction cooktop, brand TBD. I’m surprised that you’re seeing uneven heating with the Atlantis line to the point that your cooking would suffer without moderate adjustments. With pans like that, I generally see very good performance. I was able to sear scallops with the Demeyere searing pan, giving them all the same time on each side. The 24 cm Atlantis saute pan has done exceptionally well too. The cool spot I would see in the center of lesser pans (All-clad et al.) virtually disappeared when simmering.
Is it possible that you were preneating too quickly or using undersized induction elements?

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No. I know what I’m doing. I get even heating when searing scallops, or dumplings for the most part, or duck breast. Bacon in a cold pan though gets me that cooked in the middle and not so much on the ends so I have to manipulate it. Pancakes on the Teppanyaki need to be over or close to the elements to even cook/color. It’s just a limitation of induction. The elements are only so large.

All due respect, but if you knew what you were doing you’d have realized sooner that Demeyere cookware is not the best performing on induction cooktops. It’s inherently compromised by the relatively thin layer of copper in the straight-sided vessels, and the clad construction of the skillets and sauciers. You’d have been far better off with a mix of aluminum, disc-based or hybrid Fissler, Paderno, Lagostina, Agnelli and Ballarini cookware, depending on use.

Further, there are newer induction cooktops that heat more evenly, but it’s true they are few and far between. The best solution is to find cookware that performs optimally with the cooktop you’ve purchased, which you don’t seem to have done.

As it stands, you should be able to use your Demeyere cookware on your gas cooktop with minimal issues.

God I did not miss chowhound.

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I must say that I disagree. There is a learning curve with induction . The pan only heats when it is in close proximity of the burner. So tossing and lifting the pan will interrupt the heat flow. But if you are using a heavy carbon steel pan, the heat loss from a quick flip is minimal. You will need to stir things with softer spatulas or wooden spoons to protect the seasoning.

The reality is that with global warming, the days of gas are near an end. At some point, we will need to eliminate gas ranges which are very inefficient. Induction is at least 3 times more efficient than gas. We will not have the luxury of gas.

My prediction is that around 2030, gas will be on its last legs. So investing in a spendy gas range will have a limited lifespan.

At my restaurants, I could not go to induction as we did not have the electrical supply. So we used induction burners and learned to cook on them so well there was no way you could tell which method we used. Some items, like olive oil poached fish were exclusively induction. And some items like clams or squid needed extra care as the water content of the edible parts is so high, you do not wat the shellfish boiling internally and exploding.

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Imho

Gas > induction (more direct and responsive)

And then on induction: thick aluminum disc bottom cookware (Paderno, Fissler) > Demeyere

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I’ll subscribe to this. I absolutely love induction and find it comparable to gas in some ways and better than gas in some ways. My range has knobs so it’s really wonderful to use.

In terms of cookware, I have no interest in rehashing old chowhound bits that I’ve read a million times. I remember all of the things that went into my decision. Personally hate the look of Paderno and Fissler. Don’t love disk based. LOVE the look of Demeyere and love the blend of clad and disk based. They are fantastic on induction and I’m truly just picking nits. If I had to use them on induction forever, I wouldn’t be upset at all.

I always knew I may go back to gas based on living arrangements and wanted Demeyere because they are also excellent on gas. Excited to really take advantage of the Teppanyaki on the gas range as I do feel that pan suffers some on induction. Everything else won’t be much of a change, just a bit more evenly heated. Also researching and realizing the copper pans I bought 6-10 years ago aren’t really available anymore. Excited to get those back into rotation.

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I’m guessing by 2030, I will be dead.

So gas ranges, induction, global warming, etc., will be the least of my worries. Cuz, I won’t have any worries.

We may all be dead by 2030.

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  1. 1966: Oil Gone in Ten Years
  2. 1972: Oil Depleted in 20 Years
  3. 1977: Department of Energy Says Oil will Peak in 1990s
  4. 1980: Peak Oil In 2000
  5. 1996: Peak Oil in 2020
  6. 2002: Peak Oil in 2010
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Peak Oil was, as ideas go, especially pernicious because it plays into the equally stupid idea of economic (and now environmental) end times. It was, obviously to me, the philosophical justification for the Neocon attempted grab of Iraq’s oil and gas reserves. It’s also an enduring psy-op by Big Oil to… no pun… grease the public into accepting ever-increasing oil and gasolene prices.

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Will crematoria be induction by then?

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Exactly. Maybe we all die because of Global warming.

Or, maype the eternal battles over cookware construction will lead to a global pan race, culminating in fusion frypans whose uncontrollable reactions cause all life to hotspot and suddenly disappear.

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I hope we call these times Pandemoanium

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How it started:

How it’s going:

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