The choices are many, the decision is personal

Everybody has an opinion about cooktops, based on some combination of cooking style and past experience. These days, it’s possible to disagree about far more than simply preferring electric coils over gas, or vice versa. From simmer burners to magnetic induction burners, halogen burners to radiant burners, cooktops no longer look like stoves of the 1950s.

First of all, it’s very possible— and many times even preferable— to separate the elements of the range, having the cooktop in one part of the kitchen and the oven somewhere else. This configuration allows the cooktop to be on the island, and the oven to be raised — so you don’t need to bend over to peek in on pies as they cook. Plus, it allows you to mix fuel sources, to have an electric oven (very precise) and gas burners (preferred by professionals) or a gas stove (cheaper to operate) and electric coil burners (cheaper to purchase).

Something to consider is that you need a range hood above your cooktop to absorb both cooking smells and low levels of noxious fumes that result from cooking indoors. The way around this (especially if you’re putting your cooktop on an island) is a cooktop with built-in downdraft ventilation.  Jenn-Air makes the only ones on the market, and they cost about $900 and need specialized installation.