INDUCTION COOKING IS MAGIC… I cannot believe I nearly chose a traditional range!
We have a gas range… it cooks stuff!
So I assumed that we would do another for the kitchen remodel… but as with all kitchen decisions, the further you wade in, the further you realize that you have been living in a prehistoric cave: dirt floor, poor lighting, no espresso station.
What was the source of my cave/dirt epiphany?
The sorcery that is INDUCTION COOKING.
Incase you too are a cave-dweller, this is an induction cooktop.
A THIN PIECE OF GLASS WITH ZERO NOOKS TO SCRUB.
And yes, it comes as a freestanding range… BUT YOU CAN DO IT LIKE THIS TOO.
Not only is it an easy-to-clean surface, it’s energy efficient, there is no outgassing, AND all the bulkiness of a range top is totally unnecessary!
The clunky knobs? Unnecessary!
The unsightly grates? Unnecessary!
The nooks for collecting gunk? Unnecessary!
The OUTGASSING OF TOXINS? UNNECESSARY!
If those are unnecessary… WHY DID I NEARLY BUY THEM!
Terrifying.
Before we continue, allow me to SHOW YOU THE MAGIC!
Here is induction cooking in a short video (I took it at the Wolf showroom, which I’ll get to in a second) and YES– the cover photo of this video IS water boiling WHILE sitting on a paper towel AT THE SAME TIME. Madness!
I began my induction introduction at the Wolf and SubZero showroom… Paul and I were sightseeing; attempting stealth and composure, while waiting to be identified as poors and evicted to the parking lot where we belong.
For the record: they were very kind to us.
Even after I started licking all of their shiny things.
But then, the Wolf guy was like— have you considered induction?
And then all our kitchen plans were ruined.
Now that I’ve seen induction, I’m GENUINELY confused why they even SELL anything else… nothing else even makes any SENSE.
So I was all– I do not understand! What am I missing? What is WRONG with it? Why is EVERYONE NOT USING THIS?
The Wolf guy sort of struggled to find words to explain; he said something like– well, you have to get USED to it… and you cannot SEE the heat, which weirds people out.
And I was like— eh? That seems like preferring a corded-home-wall-phone to a smartphone… not to mention how this wall phone has giant grates and burners and squats on your countertop screaming: LOOK AT MY KNOBS.
Whatever.
I’m going to skip that.
Also FYI: your cookware must be compatible… check using a magnet. If it sticks, you’re good… Mine happens to be fine, (I use All Clad copper core) but I would have (HAPPILY) bought all new pans… I cook every. single. day… and I can see how this technology is WAY BETTER than what I was using, FOR ME.
Now, this post should be over.
But it’s not.
Because ease and simplicity are things to be complicated.
I went home and started googling… it took me three seconds to find the roadblock I was looking for!
What is it?
I’m glad you asked!
Before I spell it out, allow me to conduct research:
Visually, do YOU see any way that the kitchen below COULD BE BETTER?
Do you see it?
Let’s try again… do you see something below that is NOT LIKE THE OTHER THINGS? And would be BETTER if it WERE like the other things?
Because this thing is NOT fancy or gilded or a giant antique grand piano that is now our kitchen island… so it does not need to be going around demanding that people take notice of it; because the cooktop is NOT THE ARBITER OF WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD NOTICE IN MY KITCHEN… I AM.
To me, the answer is obvious:
the above photo would be 874,239,054 TIMES BETTER if the induction top was white, instead of THE MOST NOTICEABLE AND CONTRASTING THING THEY COULD HAVE POSSIBLY PUT IN THAT SPACE.
Apparently that’s just me though; because American induction cooktop manufacturers ONLY MAKE THEM IN BLACK… because this is 1908, and Henry Ford is in charge of all cooktop colors!
So, for fun, I have decided I do not wish to have black!
I wish to have white!
Huzzah!
This is unfortunate considering that I HAD been planning slate countertops, (which are currently in our garage) and which might be fine-okay-ish with a black induction… BUT. For some reason? Now that is prohibited.
I do not know why.
IT JUST IS.
White carrara.
With white induction.
This is the way.
Does white EXIST?
Sure! In France, Belgium, Australia… basically any place not located at Home Depot.
Preferring options NOT available to me is incredibly inconvenient; so this is where YOU come in: in an ideal world, one of you has purchased an induction cooktop not marketed in the U.S.
And hopefully, you did it without actually traveling to Paris and bringing it back in your luggage; because while that would be an amazing blog post, it goes against my first rule of existence: do not leave the house unnecessarily.
EVEN FOR PARIS.
Actually, ESPECIALLY for Paris… because last time I was there, my dad got separated from us at the train station, and COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED.
Gone. Vanished. No trace.
My brother and I searched the train station… and then the surrounding blocks, and then back to the train station, and then back out into the neighborhood… we looked for our father in a country where we do not speak the language… eventually finding our way back to the hotel we’d checked out of, who let us use their phone to call my mom to tell her that we had bad news about Dad, and also we had no passports or money or anything because Dad had them; and then we sat in the hotel lobby for some eternity while my mother at whatever three-am time in America is trying to find someone who speaks French… until my father called the hotel, and said– WHERE ARE YOU KIDS?
For your edification: not only was my father completely fine, he claims none of this ever actually happened… which is pretty weird since Chris and I remember it exactly the same way: with vivid, frightening detail.
Anyway.
Cooktops.
PLEASE TELL ME all about how easy it was to swap out out European voltage, hertz, nominal frequency of the oscillations of alternating current. Simple!
I emailed Bosch… in The Netherlands… and also Electrolux in Australia… to ask WHY DO THEY WANT AMERICANS TO ONLY HAVE UGLY?
Being so obvious about it is really rude.
And also to tell them: they are ruining kitchens around the world by leaving us imprisoned at the whim of American induction manufacturers.
No more!
THE TYRANNY MUST END!
Two last bits of information to have my full perspective:
1. IT MUST BE FLUSH.
NO surface mount… I want it IN my counter; as opposed to just sitting on top.
I think the appeal of the inset version is obvious, BUT FYI: it does mean that your counters must be fabricated to the specs, and any cutting of stone is where the expense really piles up… plus, if you had to replace it, potentially a nightmare.
2. Options in the American market that are sort of off-white… if, you define off-white as: tanish beige, 1982.
Here is option #1 tanish-beige-circa-1982 (price is twice what you can pay for black.)
Option #2, Monogram induction cooktop:
Reading other people’s descriptions online, it seems like the color of this one (pictured below) depends on lighting and angle; so maybe I could get on board with the color, if I saw it in person.
I cannot claim to be disinterested in the shiny silver circles, but the price is twice the other tanish beige… and that just is… no. I will not pay that much for 1982.
I’m done now.
Plz hlp me.
‘k thx.
Michele
February 8, 2018 @ 2:47 pm
I have a monstrous range. I love it. I can put gigantic pots on it, drag them around, beat it up and it is so serious. My parents had induction. They loved it, for a while. Then it got scratched and over time was impossible to keep clean and shiny and looked really worn. But they were serious cooks too. In my opinion, if you don’t cook much they’re great, but if you do it might not be the most robust choice.
Dianne
February 8, 2018 @ 2:49 pm
I have a single-burner induction portable range thing. It’s pretty cool. I have a black glass electric stove and would never, ever, want a white one. When I see the filth that I wipe off the black glass after cooking (and I cook every single day) I can’t imagine what a white top would look like.
Sheila
February 8, 2018 @ 2:52 pm
The black looks sleek and elegant. Just go with the black. The other colors (more expensive) are just ugly.
Abby Bean
February 8, 2018 @ 2:57 pm
Ok, I feel really dumb asking this, but… where is the oven?
Thelma
February 8, 2018 @ 11:47 pm
The ovens are separate wall units now. I got a small one burner induction cook top for my art studio a year ago. I love it. I had no idea they were doing whole cook tops. I love it . I love you Victoria! I laugh every time I read your blog. Thank you so much.
Jenny
February 9, 2018 @ 6:26 am
I thinking you’d just have a regular wall oven/double oven.
Allie
February 8, 2018 @ 3:01 pm
I don’t (yet) have an induction cooktop but you convinced me how awesome they are at easy to clean. With that said, I think black with slate would look beautiful with the piano, and be easier to clean. xAllie http://www.theallthatglittersblog
Linda
February 8, 2018 @ 3:09 pm
I have black and love never having to clean those awful coils, pans, rings etc. Black or white? I am not a slave to my kitchen so black is preferable to white–I grew up with everything white so “yawn” dated looking. .
Now, if you are this obsessed with white or black maybe I know a good shrink that could help you with this problem.
Deb
February 8, 2018 @ 3:31 pm
“Even after I started licking all of their shiny things” 😅😂🤣
Priscilla Lynch
February 8, 2018 @ 3:33 pm
I don’t mind the black as much as I mind the shiny. Can’t they make it in a matte finish?
JeanFB
February 8, 2018 @ 3:40 pm
Ooooh what about a gray cooktop? Just found this one by GE. Granted it’s a dark gray, but price point is in between the black and the silver and…. it might be a lot less harsh than black, and lovely with the veins in carrera marble: CAFE 36″ GRAY INDUCTION COOKTOP
the misfit
February 27, 2018 @ 12:10 pm
What a great idea! The 30″ version is $1695 on Amazon, I see (I didn’t check Victoria’s benchmark prices, but this is at least close to affordable by normal humans). Personally I prefer gray cars and certainly gray sneakers because both black and white age faster (white the fastest, of course; and I will not here share my severe irritation about the all-white-sneaker trend and what seems to me the clear implication that people are throwing out and replacing shoes every 2-3 weeks). Gray might not show that “cloudiness” so much (?), and certainly shouldn’t yellow as (you all say) the white ones do. And a bit distinctive! And sounds like it would be perfect with slate countertops! And yours have such a fun story – Carrera, lovely as it is, wouldn’t come with the same Craigslist adventure background, perhaps. I’ve never used induction myself, and I always prefer the old-fashioned options (including with stoves), but if induction works best for you, enjoy.
Ann Marie
February 8, 2018 @ 3:42 pm
Okay, black is good.. It’s good for cars, and for cooktops, because after a while you get a LOT of dirt on them…and on a white surface you are going to be constantly cleaning… And after reading your posts (which I absolutely adore and enjoy) I think you’re better off getting the black…You’ll be going crazy looking at every little piece of whatever happens to fall on there.
Every time I walk into an appliance store I want to throw out all of my appliances and start from scratch.. (not possible) but I know how you feel. Shiny, clean appliances are certainly drool-worthy..!
And look on the bright side…by the time you get tired of the black one, there will probably be other colors by then.. technology changes in the blink of an eye! Good luck!
Nadege
February 8, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
Funny how things magically become desirable when out of reach. I had induction, twice and while it is a dream and a clinch to clean , you do have to turn a blind eye to the scratching , forget about pretending you’re Bocuse and so knowledgeable in the kitchen that you can move you pans around in that swishish chef way that makea you feel like a food network star. Exit the lodge cast iron pans though they are perfectly compatible, their rough surface will destroy the nice shiny glass remorselessly.
What about the actual cooking ? It does do a great job of boiling water, reaching high temperatures in a nanosecond, going back to low temperatures with the touch of a finger but however lovely that may sound it has a few drawbacks . Some induction cooktops have built in security that makes them turn off after a while not ideal for very long slow cooking.
Cooking eggs can be a bit more of a learning curve , the water boils too quickly putting your usual boil time for soft and hard boil completely out of whack…….now really that might be splitting hair but imagine your egg cup ready, your soldiers at attention to be dipped in the perfect soft boiled egg only to have to find out it’s not cooked or too cooked, a real problem!
When we did our kitchen last year I searched high and low for a wolf copycat, because here in France it’s pretty much induction tyranny and I couldn’t let drawbacks go . Do I regret the choice ? Well to be honest and since my husband doesn’t read blogs I can say I absolutely abhor the crazy cleaning that goes with gas and heavy grates but it’s a small price to pay for pancakes on the griddle and perfect eggs.
Lizzy
February 8, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
Here’s something to consider: you will need either an under counter oven or a wall oven alongside your cooktop; either way it will be smaller than a conventional oven, unless you have the space and budget for 2 wall ovens.
Anja Mikkelsen
February 8, 2018 @ 3:47 pm
As a Scandinavian that have been using an induction for over a decade, I have to advice you NOT to choose a flush induction top. The fact is, the top actually can break because of the glass (you can drop a heavy pan on it). Not a huge problem, but it can happen. And effectivly the option where your just pop the top in the countertop isnt really more noticable than the flush one. I promise you, you wont regret it! And by the way, we also have grand white kitchens over her, and the black tops isnt really a design problem 😉 Give your head a break and just let it go 🙂
Linda
February 8, 2018 @ 3:53 pm
If you’re thinking of Carrera marble, you might want to look at Everest quartz. Similar look but much easier to keep up – no sealing, no wine stains, etc. I bought a portable induction cooktop from Aldi for $35. It’s okay, but I still prefer gas, and miss it in our new house. We currently have a glass top electric stove. I’ve never seen a glass top that didn’t get stained or aged looking in some way. I imagine a white induction cook top would look pretty bad after a few years. And btw, for heating water, an electric teakettle is faster than either an induction cook top or the microwave.
NevadaNy
February 8, 2018 @ 3:57 pm
If I were you I would get a HUGE Old Fashioned Giant Black Cast Iron Wolf Professional Range with a warming oven on top.
Would go lovely with all your Victorian Furniture. Some craftsmen take Antique wood-burning Ranges and turn them into Modern Kitchen Stoves. And there is company that sells beautiful NEW old fashioned kitchen stoves.
Sorry, can’t think of the name offhand….
Sugar R
February 9, 2018 @ 7:28 am
Yes!!! You are absolutely right NevadaNy, and I’m so surprised that no one else has mentioned this….Victoria, your home and kitchen are abound with GFT….beautiful, old, warm, special GFT…so why wouldn’t you use a GFT (I’m talking furniture inspired) range? Since when have you given in to practical?
Jeane Gallo
February 8, 2018 @ 3:59 pm
When glass top stoves first came out, I had several friends with the white cooktops. They all hated them. Couldn’t wait to get the black cooktops. I have a black cooktop (not induction) and it is easy to keep clean. I think you would regret getting the white one.
Aidan
February 8, 2018 @ 4:08 pm
We had an induction cooktop for awhile, it scratched easily and my OCD also hated the cloudy rings that formed from repeated heat. I just helped my friend with a kitchen remodel and we did a lot of gas stove research, ended up with choosing blue star (which has lots of colors fyi) over wolf bc all of the top components come off completely which makes it so so nice to clean. It also has a tray under the burner to catch food bits. We are looking at remodeling our kitchen soon and I wish we could afford a blue star.
Best of luck on your hunting and choices!
Dawn
February 8, 2018 @ 4:11 pm
OMG, you are SO me whenever I get on the subject of induction cooking! And….yes, why doesn’t everyone know about it and have an induction cooktop? The mysteries of life. 😉
Christina
February 8, 2018 @ 4:16 pm
When we did our kitchen remodel a couple years ago, I wanted everything to be plain and hidden with one exception, the stove, which had to be a giant shiny French thing. We got the La Cornue Cornuefé over the Lacanche because it has two ovens of equal size which fit sheet pans directly on the rails (stainless steel with brass knobs and trim btw). Anyhoo I cook every day, sometimes multiple times a day and it is a bit of a pain to clean the stovetop, remove the grates, yadda yadda. BUT! BEAUTY! It’s a joy every time I use it and I actually like polishing the brass in a meditative sort of way. All that being said, we’re now living in Zurich for a couple years and our apartment here has an induction range. OMG, so easy to clean! And in a small kitchen, having a little more counter space when it’s not in is helpful too. But it beeps all the time (it does not like when so much as a drop of water goes near the controls area and lets me know), and is just very modern looking. It’s a modern kitchen so that’s fine, but I will choose beauty over function every time. Plus, induction means you need a wall oven and they can be rather visual black holes in the wall, no? that being said, we have plans to re-renovate our kitchen back home due to an addition and I am thinking about lobbying for a small induction zone somewhere in the new design. Which is madness because the kitchen will still be small by today’s standards, I just like the idea of having a spot I could do messy, splattery cooking (polenta, anyone?). In an ideal world I would vote for both, but if I could only pick one, I would choose GFT over the magic-y induction thing. I mean, how does it work! Don’t trust it! 😄
April
February 8, 2018 @ 4:20 pm
..I discovered soapstone and induction several years before your wonderful, budget-saving slate idea. Black induction + soapstone = heaven on earth in my own kitchen!
Black can camouflage lots of little spills pretty well, at least as the light hits mine. Better still, the black tells me when my Floofy princess, or one of the un-floofy godzilla creatures have been up exploring… little dusty footprints show up.
I don’t even want to try to imagine cleaning a white cooktop. I think of my white Corningware casserole dish and shudder to think of it on display in my kitchen. EEUUUWWW! Nasty!
Now a Carrera counter on the antique piano….that’s another story. It would be beautiful. But it would not be beautiful for more than 30 minutes in our house. We are strictly low maintenance, high durability type folks. After 43 years of marriage I have resigned myself to that. The pickled beats would be spilled on it. The plum jam would splash from 10 feet away as I processed it. I would not seal it often enough to do any good.
When I neglect my soapstone oiling it just lightens a bit, no biggee. And did I mention I love soapstone?? Mine has apricot/butterscotch colored veins that tie in with our fir cabinets. So if you do choose some Carrera along with your slate, I will admire it, but not drool with envy.