If you’re like me, you spend approximately 75% of your time in the kitchen: cooking, doing dishes, putting away groceries, emptying garbage cans, cleaning appliances and countertops, blah, blah, blah… 

Let me start by saying I love my kitchen. I really do. I love the layout, the organization, the openness and the bright natural light. One thing that’s been an annoyance from the beginning though, my electric range. For this all to make sense I need to back up just a bit.

Enter February 2015

Our family had recently grown by 2: one baby and one labradoodle, bringing our total household occupancy to 7 (5 people, two dogs). Our existing home was not conducive to a family of that size, so we began looking elsewhere.

Little did we know we would end up finding the most perfect home we could have asked for. It wasn’t fancy or huge, but it was cozy and fit us all perfectly. We were overjoyed to find such a perfect place for our children to grow and have the space we all needed to create amazing memories.

Over the years we have updated rooms one at a time to fit our style, the first being the kitchen. And I, being my relatively young and naive self, assumed that if our fireplace was gas then surely we could get a gas range put in the newly remodeled kitchen. Without checking of course, I ordered my gas range. Unfortunately I had cooked on gas ranges before but never had one in my own kitchen. It just never worked out.

Well, once again, it didn’t work out. Unbenownst to me, our gas line was on the opposite side of the house (in the basement) which would require tearing out the ceilings in 4 rooms to get the line installed in the kitchen. NOPE. Not happening.

That said, once we boxed up that beautiful gas range and replaced it with an electric range, I’ve managed to find any and every reason to get something new but there was no other option… until now!! 

I was first made aware of induction ranges from some friends of ours who recently remodeled their kitchen. Upon verbalizing my broken dream of having a gas range, they filled me in on the wonderful world of Induction!!

What exactly is an induction cooktop?

1. With induction cooking, the pan is heated by a magnetic field unlike that of an element with an electric stove, or a flame with a gas range.

2. Induction cooking is nearly 60% more efficient than gas, where the flame heats around the pan more than evenly underneath it.

3. The benefit over an electric range is it heats up instantly and cools down just as fast, so there’s no waiting around!

4. The best thing in my opinion: if you have children who cook, the range can be turned on (or left on) and won’t get hot unless there’s a pan on the cooking surface! Genius!!

5. Oh yeah, you can even choose from three different colors of interchangeable knobs and oven bars!! What???

What are the cons?

1. The only potential con I can think of is the initial sticker shock. They are a bit more expensive than gas and electric, but they’re so much more energy efficient, they’ll save money in the long run, so that actually could be on the list of pro’s!

2. You do need certain magnetic pans which on a tight budget could be a slight down side. Fortunately most people have pans that they don’t even know are already compatible with induction cooking! All you have to do is get a strong magnet and stick it to the bottom of your pan. If it sticks, you’re good to go! If not, you’ll have to replace it.

3. Thankfully as induction ranges gain popularity, there are a number of great pot/pan sets ranging in price from frugal to fancy!!

Now I can honestly say I LOVE cooking on my stove! I’m so thankful our friends brought induction to my attention. And if you eventually end up getting one, hopefully you’ll be thankful too!