Plus, if your kitchen is set up for gas appliances, you’ll need to pay an electrician to set it up for electric appliances before you can switch to induction. But it’s not what most people are used to, so “even though they may pay slightly more for the feature, they end up using the regular bake mode more frequently.” The same could hold true for induction: “People don’t fully understand induction, or are not sure how the new tech could impact their cooking, so they stick with what they know,” the LG rep said. The LG rep compared it to the situation with convection ovens, which help cook food faster and more evenly. Induction is different enough to feel unfamiliar, and it makes some potential owners hesitant to switch. H-Millard explained how this can lead to some confusion among potential buyers: Shoppers associate the design with slow heat-up times and uneven temperatures, and they automatically assume that, because it has a glass surface, it must not be as good as gas.Īmericans tend to be hesitant to adopt new cooking tech. And those basic electric models aren’t especially well liked. Induction cooktops look like conventional electric cooktops. Most big-box retailers don’t even display induction appliances in their showrooms. “We do many trainings and it is surprising to see so many designers asking questions about induction,” she said. Elle H-Millard, industry relations manager at the National Kitchen and Bath Association, said there is a serious knowledge gap. A lot of designers and remodelers still don’t even know what induction is. This is perhaps the biggest barrier to induction’s adoption so far. And great single-element induction cookers cost only around $70 (though they aren’t as capable as a full-on cooktop).
When it comes to cooktops, it’s easy to find a great induction model for hundreds less than a gas-powered model. Higher-end models, such as the Bosch induction slide-in range, cost around $3,500-which is a lot, but still nothing next to the price tags of some high-end gas-powered ranges. The cheapest induction ranges start at $1,000, which is only a couple hundred dollars more than a midtier gas or electric freestanding range. Although induction appliances are, on average, a bit pricier than gas or electric stoves, they’re not some Veblen good meant for image-conscious elites. (For what it’s worth, Wirecutter’s picks for saucepans, skillets, cast-iron pans, cookware sets, and Dutch ovens all work with induction, as does one of our picks for nonstick pans.) If a magnet sticks to the bottom of a pot, it’s induction-ready. Most stainless steel and all cast-iron pots and pans will work, and those are among the most-common materials used for cooking. Tim Calvert, a marketing director at GE Appliances, told me that, because replacing an appliance is usually an unplanned expense, potential buyers are often turned off by the need for all-new cookware: “It creates an added expense to an already unplanned purchase.”īut there’s a misconception that you’ll have to throw out all your cookware, and that’s almost certainly not true. Every manufacturer I contacted (GE, LG, Samsung) confirmed that the concern over compatibility is a major reason for the slow growth. Copper, aluminum, and ceramic wares don’t work. Your pots and pans need to contain enough iron to generate a magnetic field. It works only with certain (though very common) cookware. If this is such a great technology, why is it still so uncommon? Portable, single-element induction cookers aren’t that popular, either, despite their small footprints and low prices. That number climbs to 15 percent among built-in cooktops, but that’s still a tiny share of all major cooking appliances in the country. But as of 2019, only 1 percent of stoves in the US have induction cooktops, according to a report by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Most people who own an induction cooktop love it, and many chefs approve (video) of the tech, too. Induction cooktops have been widely available since the mid-2000s, and many appliance dealers sell several models from multiple brands. They’re also safer than other types of cooktops, with no open flame and little residual heat after you’ve turned them off.Īnd it’s not some far-off appliance of the future. Using the power of electromagnetism, these cooktops can boil water in nearly half the time (video) of a gas or conventional-electric burner yet also hold such low temperatures that it’s almost impossible to scorch a sauce or burn melted chocolate. Induction has been hailed as the next big thing in cooking tech for decades.
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