Has there been a huge price drop? We bought a range about a year ago and the cheapest induction ranges were still around $1,800 on sale. Gas could be had for like $350, entry-level. And has a robust used market, which is lacking for induction (which isn't necessarily the tech's fault—it is fairly new)
Huh. Ikea's got one—and only one—induction option, for $1,400, in the US. A couple cheap "portable cooktops" ($70!) but only one range, and it's not cheap, though that is cheaper than what I was seeing last I checked.
[EDIT] Nebraska Furniture Mart, which has a much bigger selection than Ikea:
Cheapest induction range: $1,493 (sale price, claims full retail is more than $800 higher)
Cheapest gas range: $529 (also a sale price, claims full retail is $139 higher)
It's probably just an American thing: many things in America are atrociously expensive for some reason. Here, it's probably the American expectation of a "range", which is a huge 4-5 burner stovetop combined with a humongous oven large enough for a whole turkey or even a small child.
Here in Japan, IH stoves aren't that expensive, but they're just stovetops with 2 or 3 burners. There's no such thing as a "range" here, and while ovens are becoming much more common, they're the size of a microwave oven, and usually combined with one. You can also get portable single-burner IH stovetops for less than USD$100.
you're taking shots at American prices compared to Japan, but then say Japan doesn't have those and only tiny versions of them. I use my range all the time at close to full capacity. it's not a useless or wasteful appliance.
You're cooking turkeys and huge multi-person dinners every day? When I lived in America, I never used my range to full capacity, in fact I never used more than one burner at a time, and never baked anything that wouldn't fit in the little microwave-sized oven I have now (i.e. cupcakes). Yet I was *forced* to own a full-size range, because there's literally no option to have anything else in American homes: every home is built this way.
I see this in other things in America: you're forced to spend tons of money on stuff you don't need because that's all that's available, frequently because there's an assumption that you have a big family. So everyone whines about housing being expensive, but there's no option for a tiny 1-person apartment because building codes don't allow it.
obviously not every day, but I do it at least 3 times per year. the vertical space isn't necessarily needed because spatchcocking the turkey is a better method, but oven here are built up standard widths and heights. I have used all the space/racks in the oven before on many occasions.
I'm probably not the norm, but I'm actually seeking out a double oven for this very reason. I have to borrow the neighbor's oven during big feasts because we can't fit in.
I use the full width on mine all the time. The height's not really necessary, most of the time, but I don't think the extra material to bring it to counter height is adding much to the cost.
> I'm probably not the norm, but I'm actually seeking out a double oven for this very reason. I have to borrow the neighbor's oven during big feasts because we can't fit in.
Double ovens are really, really nice, especially if you favor certain kinds of cooking or cook for large numbers more than a couple times a year.
[EDIT]
It is true that I almost never use more than two burners at once, but OTOH once you've committed to a certain size (and that size is nice, for being able to fit e.g. much larger sheet pans in the oven—IDK how you'd roast veggies for five in those tiny apartment-size ovens, without multiple batches) I, again, doubt it's adding much to the cost to go with 4 or 5 burners instead of 2 or 3, if the thing's already big enough to fit that many.
Yup! Since we don't have the space for a wall oven, I seeked a double oven. It turns out there's only one manufacturer (GE Cafe) that makes a double oven with an induction range.
Yes, it really does. Some things in the US are absurdly expensive (like eating at a restaurant or getting a medical procedure), other things frequently significantly cheaper than elsewhere (like buying a car, assuming the same model, or a gallon of milk). Sometimes it's due to expectations: Americans have expectations that others don't, and meeting those expectations costs a lot of money.
240 is available everywhere in the US, just the regular wall plugs are only using one phase of the two phase input. Often half the house is run on 1 phase and the other half on the opposite phase.
Many homes already have 240 plugs behind stove and dryer installations. And even if you don't already have one you just need to stick a new breaker in the panel and run a wire using both phases together instead of a neutral or ground.
