I've used electric. I'd love gas, but my area is not piped for natural gas and I don't want to bother with propane deliveries. Will be replacing stove soon. Wondering about induction. Does it work fine? Limitations in terms of cookware that can be used?
Yeah it needs to be magnetic. So things like aluminium and a lot of non stick stuff won't work on it. Stainless steel, cast iron, enamelled iron, those are all fine.
So, basically, the one thing you're going to miss is anything that requires direct contact with an actual open flame. Gas is otherwise not particularly different from the different forms of electric cooking. On the plus side, the evidence is strongly building that natural gas cooking generates hazardous levels of indoor particulate matter which can damage health, so think of both forms of electric as both cleaner and safer as well as capable of doing the same things.
I've been in flats with modern electric ceramic stovetops for the last decade and they can do pretty much anything gas and induction can do. The biggest drawback I find is they usually aren't
precise enough to maintain a mild simmer, making soups and stocks more difficult and less set-and-forget.
In terms of getting satisfactory heat, you've just gotta be a bit mindful that it can take longer for a ceramic stovetop to do things like fully heat a thick cast iron pan or enamel dutch oven to the same extent that gas and induction can do more quickly. Ultimately though, I promise you I have managed, with a couple of tries to learn to wait for the heat to build up, to use a cast iron pan and electric ceramic top to get a full and tasty seared crust onto a sous vide steak, and also to fully season said cast iron pan over that same level of electric heat.
Induction can be very useful too, and to address the above mentioned simmering drawback, I have acquired a portable induction plate. I use it specifically for maintaining a long simmer for hours as well as for quickly getting cast iron ripping hot for searing, or boiling a large quantity of water much more quickly.
The big notable difference with induction is the heat cuts
instantly when you turn it off, and the cooking vessel also loses that heat very quickly (something to do with how electromagnetic energy works vs the direct thermal output of other methods of heating). So you won't get as much carryover heat left in the cooking vessel and stovetop to finish things which may potentially take some adjustment.
Overall, both forms of electric are fine, but my suggestion if you're installing a new stovetop would be to look at a dual induction/ceramic hob setup, rather than committing to full induction. If you've got the chance, there's no reason to limit yourself!
