would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. everything I have used is designed by a person that never had to cook for more than 1. the automatic off during the slightest spill, and the impossibility to operate buttons with wet/greasy hands, has to be one of the biggest design mistakes in the history of engineering.

my idea of a great time is to invite this engineer to cook with me a 4 course dinner for 8, where everything is timing crucial, and I get to scream at them like Gordon Ramsey the minute the stove switches off and they lost momentum with the heat but can't operate the button because "wet fingers".

the problem isn't induction and consumers cooking with gas, but that we have a culture operating on "ownership and exploitation" of the environment.

I like induction stoves. Easier to clean, and do 90% of what I need doing in a kitchen. Not having to run gas lines is a plus, and for the other 10%, I'm probably working on a grill or using a dedicated burner anyway.

But the UIs are awful.

Stop turning yourself off. Yes, I do intend to cook the thing I put on you for six hours. Just fucking do it.

Give me a knob. Gas stoves use knobs for good reasons. You don't need to invent new UX, just give me a motherfucking knob. A knob without complicated family issues is fine as well.

My stove does not need Bluetooth or WiFi. It's a stove. I expect it to work with minor maintenance for 40+ years. Protocols are going to change a lot between here and there.

I am not installing your app. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Baphomet will call up and tell me he got right with Jesus before I install your app.

There has to be a market for people that want appliances that just... work.

Addendum: there are a few induction stoves with knobs, but they are definitely the exception, rather than the rule:

- https://www.bluestarcooking.com/cooking/cooktops/36-turn-ind...

- https://performwireless.com/7-best-induction-cooktops-with-k... (half of these are not full-size built-ins)

The other problem to watch out for is poor reliability due to gradual "cooking" of the circuit board -- after all, the knobs are not physically connected to the power electronics; they're just a digital input to a controller, same as for the touch controlled units.

The showroom had this Beko range with knobs and no Wifi or "smart" stuff for ~half the starting price of their (so-called) "pro" ranges: https://www.yaleappliance.com/kitchen/cooking-appliances/ran...

I think I'm going with this GE ("Café") double-oven option for my small kitchen, as long as I can confirm the Wifi stuff is strictly optional and isn't in the failure path: https://www.yaleappliance.com/kitchen/cooking-appliances/ran...

Other options with knobs were from Miele, Fischer and Paykel, and (less expensively) LG. I believe Samsung also sells a range with knobs; see the photo in the article.

Spilling have to be a gas thing? I experience it maybe once every three months on a induction oven (what I have at home).

I hated the gas oven when I studied in US, impossible to control the temperature accurately and boilover almost every time. Not even any faster.

If you're not spilling, you're not cooking hard enough. :)

Gas does provide easier temperature regulation, as the change is (a) instantaneous; and (b) infinitely fine-grained compared to the average "levels" of an induction stove.

A good gas burner also puts out a more consistent heat pattern, as opposed to the "ring of burning" that is common to most induction cooktops.

But for most things, induction is good enough, and I appreciate the day-to-day versatility of "just wipe it down".

I bet none of the commercial induction cooktops are internet of shit devices.

I bought an AEG stove last year (similar to [1], but an older model I think). Physical knobs for temperature control, no auto off on spills. Touch interface only for a few convenience features and the extra power mode, which is fine by me. I'm very happy with this stove and like cooking with it just as much as I liked gas when I had it a few years ago.

[1] https://www.aeg.com/kitchen/cooking/cookers/electric-cooker/...

Mine has all touch controls but I love it. I think it might be my favourite appliance in the new kitchen.

A big slab of black glass with nothing to trap dirt on.

We had to replace a few old aluminium pans with nice Samuel Groves carbon steel ones but I think it was well worth it.

I haven’t had many boil overs or any switch offs.

It has more than enough power when needed. 230v 40amp dedicated supply and RCD I think but it could be 50amp, can't remember.

I would not go back to gas.

I’m not sure I’d want a plug-in 13amp unit though. Seems a bit weedy compared to a real hob.

The fan and high-pitched pan noise is not my favorite though.

How is it for keeping a constant, low-mid temperature? One of the issues I have with induction is that the heat is applied in bursts rather than as a constant with gas

This means that when frying with some oils, induction will either heat them past their smoke point in the burst or the temperature will be too low in-between bursts

That said, I'm probably an ok cook at best and I don't eat meat so I can't really say how it would work with that. However, I found that at least the gas range I used when I lived in the UK, wasn't really great for low temperatures either, as the flame tended to not self-sustain properly on low settings.

The killer feature for me personally was actually the steambake thing, as I bake bread weekly. It's not quite as good as directly spraying water into the oven, but still works really well. Obviously independent of the induction top though.

Olive oil has indeed been one of the problematic ones for me - to be fair, it might simply come down to my inexperience cooking with induction

I think I will get some additional cast iron cookware when I make the switch. Hopefully it'll be able to retain the heat better between bursts and make the average temperature more stable :-)

I appreciate that you took the time to answer my question. Hope you have a pleasant day

Also, and this might just be me, but they are fun to use because they require a bit of skill to use. This is like how it can be more fun to drive a standard car than an automatic-shift one.

My unit is just single-hob portable induction cooker from Duxtop: 15 heat settings -- think of it like continuous power settings -- and I think? about 10 (cycling) temperature settings.

I'm quite optimistic that a high-end unit such as the one used in the Asian restaurant mentioned in the article would hold constant temps without the annoying recycling -- and believe me, I find the on/off business just as annoying as you find it.

I look forward to a time when I have the room for a full-sized induction cooktop. I think that with a decent induction disk (I think I'll just buy a 3/32" disc of mild steel and avoid the laminated units sold commercially, or even just repurpose a crepe pan) I'll be able to do things like Spanish eggs, where just a portion of the pan must be kept heated.

One thing I've found is that egg pans (small saute pans) with just the right slope for flipping eggs are not easy to find in induction-compatible pans. But I did find one pretty close to perfect, and an induction disc will take allow reuse of my favorite non-induction egg pan.

I'm really sold on induction. It's not best for everything, but I can live with its shortcomings while enjoying its advantages.

It doesn't really matter much as I mainly linked it as an example, but I experimented a bit with the countries and the specific model isn't on the UK site either (they have other ones with knobs there though). If you want to see the one I linked you can choose "Germany" in the "Choose your Country" page and click "Hausgeräte" (top left) followed by "Standherde" and "Standherde" again (what a weird navigation). In the filters select "Kochfeldart > Induktion". It was the first result left.

I haven't actually seen a stove in the stores that are touch only.

Though, as a student, if I lived in an apartment with a gas hob I don't know if I would have bought a portable induction unit to replace it.

To me, induction with physical knobs and buttons would be the best. Other than the stupid touch things, induction is just so much better than gas for almost anything.

Fortunately we found one with knobs. https://www.aeg.co.uk/kitchen/cooking/cookers/electric-cooke...

It does have auto off on spills, but it's not overly sensitive and only triggers if you really let things boil over. Had it 9 months, can highly recommend this cooker.

That leads to touch controls with all the listed drawbacks, but it's nonetheless what has gained the most support.

For most i suspect the aesthetics of one clean flat surface wins out over alternatives, even though these alternatives are more usable for cooking.

That said, it is not necessarily exclusive, we can have a nice flat surface along with a panel with physical knobs on the side. Even with a minimalist look à la Dieter Rams if needed.

https://www.mieleusa.com/e/30-inch-range-hr-1622-3-i-clean-t...

https://www.gaggenau.com/global/appliances/cooktops/400-seri...

For those who haven't experienced that particular abomination, they had sliding quadrant doors and separate buttons for locking and unlocking the doors as opening and closing the door. Originally the colour of the lights around the buttons was the only clue to the state of the lock (I think these have been redesigned). This resulted in the unintended comedy of someone sat down to do the toilet as the next person came along, pressed the door open button and slowly unveiled the person doing their business to the whole carriage of people. Inevitably resulting in a mashing of buttons from both sides trying to get the door to close again.

UI is typical: buttons to set "heat" and "temp", plus on/off and timer. Good part is than buttons activate mechanical momentary contact switches that have a really solid "clicky" feel.

Overall it's a real pleasure to use, but it has its quirks. The biggest "issue" (not really a gigantic flaw) is the ambiguous controls re: heat and temp. Nominally the heat setting controls wattage, temp supposedly sets limits on temp erature of food. It's just very inconsistent, like setting temp to 160 degrees F doesn't have much to do with actual temperature as measured with a thermometer. But I've gotten used to how it works and very rarely overcook or burn stuff.

In the past I preferred gas, but that's not my first choice now.

It's the same as the gas stoves of my childhood; I'm not sure how it could be simpler. It even has the icons indicating which knob is for which burner. Is your stove postmodern?

We should not accept any health claims without quantification. "Objectively bad for your health" is not particularly relevant, even if I accept that at face value. For example, in right-hand-drive countries, making left turns is "objectively worse" for your health than making right turns.

^ This is based on a vague memory of a lecture on Risk Communication from Prof David Spiegelhalter around 10 years ago.

The way to stay alive is to reduce a little here and a little there (unless you work as an amatuer bomb technician). Heart disease is a leading cause of death; a 25% improvement would be great. There's not any real relationship between "a bacon sandwich everyday" and "the odd bacon sandwich"; where does anyone talk about the latter?

And sorry, I watched the first 30 seconds of that YouTube video and don't see any reason why I'd trust it any more than the times article.

Joking aside, I'm glad he is making these videos in that case. However, I'd say the target audience is teenagers so maybe it's not the best suited for this forum?

There's this weird generational gap on HN where HNers seem to think the generation born in 2000 are teenagers. They're not. They're 22 year olds.

there is no such thing as "objectively bad". Risk is always measured in relative amounts vs something else.

The way you would know this to be true is when professional kitchens are defaulting to induction instead of gas. (I think this has started to happen in a few high end places, which is exciting)

I am putting in a new kitchen soon and it will have a gas hob + electric oven because I love cooking and gas is my default. Every electric hob I have ever used has been garbage, and I am not dropping 2 grand to try induction and maybe discover what sound like familiar issues (ha, I am turning myself off now).

Gas always just works. Apply steady heat - perfect cooking experience. Maybe next time.

I am comfortable with the latter at least, as my default would be a 5 ring gas hob! I cannot imagine cooking with fewer than 3 rings. (Say, duck breast, mash, veg is a pretty basic meal)

> Get a standalone induction plate. They're cheap and portable and they let you try it out without a huge expense.

That is actually a good shout, and not something I had considered. Am currently "camping" kitchen'd in the utility room with a microwave and a 2 ring camping gas stove. Will have a gander, Thanks :)

You're allowed to own more than one standalone induction plate. And you're also allowed to position them freely over your work area :)

That's the first time I've heard of that. Is that for kitchens only, or for all rooms?

That is not how you would know that. There are plenty of industries where people stick to the "tried and true" (for various reasons, some of which might even be reasonable) and chose to neglect efficiency gains or long term health of either their employees or customers.

    If A then B true 

    If and only If A then B true

Side note. The high end ones move first as they discover something better. See the proliferation of technological machines in modern professional kitchens. But the trend gets set and the upper mid range starts to follow and then it will be what chefs want to use because it is best.

But people with electric cooking devices can still have high pollutant levels without proper ventilation.

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/residential-cooki...

It's slower, less flexible, makes some styles of sauce making impossible, and probably worst of all - invisible.

Has there been some quantum leap in induction cooking I haven't experienced?

They actually said,

“For children who live in a home with a gas stove, the increased risk of asthma is on par with living in a home with a smoker,” she said.

Every kitchen I’ve ever been in with a gas stove has some sort of ventilation. Open window, fan, hood, etc.

Same for the environment. Let’s look at older style electric coil resistant heat elements. Largely inefficient and the power generated how?

This is mostly propaganda. The

Oh. And more than half of published studies that are used to approve drugs cant be replicated. Oops ?

> doctors are educated by sales reps ...

That statement goes to the heart of it: "doctors" aren't educated by sales reps, different doctors are and to different degrees. You can trust different doctors to different degrees, and there is a very wide range - some are highly trustworthy, some the opposite. And you never know for sure and all you can do is observe and apply your best judgment. That's true for everyone, including Moms.

One thing I can observe is that doctors obtain MDs, and I've rarely encountered doctors who didn't have deep expertise in medicine, and I know some about how much study is done at medical schools. I can't be absolutely sure, but that's a strong signal that they know far more than I do.

Saying 'you can't trust anyone' is as serious and reasonable as saying 'you can trust everyone'. The world just isn't that simple, but finding who to trust is almost the most important skill.

Politicians and their media lackeys in the media need to stop trying to micro-manage peoples' lives.

(A) "Healthy, home-cooked Food" >> "whatever stove type"

(B) "induction stoves" > "gas stoves"

The entire world, in general, aspires to rapidly move away from hydrocarbons. To me, that consideration alone would justify the inequality in (B) when you can afford the choice. Other considerations are a nice bonus.

We're already seeing this play out with municipal regulations deemphasizing gas stoves in new construction.

- people with gas stoves need to know the risks to mitigate them. Like paying attention to ventilation, or really ventilate as soon as they put on the stove. All the more so if they don’t have the means or the right to replace their stoves: they’re probably also more vulnerable to health related fees.

- there has been so much advertisement of gas as “fine” that it needs a lot if counterbalance. People are still buying gas stove for new homes for bullshit reasons.

My induction hob can be connected to 1 phase or 3 phase power, there's a dip switch on the back to switch it over. I'd imagine inside it changes the voltage and frequency to something completely different depending on what power level you set the burner to, so the actual supply voltage isn't that important.

A separate oven and hob usually means the oven isn't at knee height, which is much nicer. Decent apartments and houses in Europe have this, but so does my relative's million dollar house in the US.

dunno about the US but in india we use these. converted to US$, its like $18. they last about 2-5 years with good usage and if you are really unlucky with your spillovers and frayed cables, maybe less but other than that these things are reliable as fuck..

why do you have to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bosch-800-series-4-6-cu-ft-self...