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The case for induction cooking

nytimes.com

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Re: The case for induction cooking

#121

Post by clumsysmurf »

noveltyaccount wrote: post #16
leoedin wrote: post #10

I fitted an AEG induction hob in our kitchen about 3 years ago. It is absolutely amazing. It's so controllable - you can go from "barely hot enough to melt chocolate" to "so hot your pans start discolouring and everything burns" - and back again - in seconds (and everything in-between obviously). I always thought gas was the best for cooking. But I was wrong - induction is. Gas is great for medium-high power cooking,…

I got a flat bottom wok that I am happy stir frying on my induction cooktop. The flat bottom gets rippin hot and the sides only warm. Have to work within that smaller hot zone but I prefer the wok to skillet for containing the mess.

Can you share which flat bottom wok you got? I'm mostly going to use one to prepare frozen broccoli in olive oil when I can't get fresh broccoli.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#122

Post by Gibbon1 »

cafemachiavelli wrote: post #49

I'm German and switched to induction from (old) electric after moving to a nicer apartment. Despite ostensibly knowing about its responsiveness before I still ended up with slightly underdone food for the first week - if you turn off the stove, it will get cold almost immediately, no/little residual heat to make use of. It also comes with the vaguely flashy feature of letting you run one stove plate with twice the en…

Now I want a cook top with a burner that goes to 11. My last gas stove had a 'hot' burner. Problem was the scaling doesn't match the other burners.

I have a glass top range now and it sucks. Problem is most of the good induction units in the US are built in cooktops. Good ranges (combined cooktop+oven) are $$$$.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#123

Post by omginternets »

cespare wrote: post #59
leoedin wrote: post #10

I fitted an AEG induction hob in our kitchen about 3 years ago. It is absolutely amazing. It's so controllable - you can go from "barely hot enough to melt chocolate" to "so hot your pans start discolouring and everything burns" - and back again - in seconds (and everything in-between obviously). I always thought gas was the best for cooking. But I was wrong - induction is. Gas is great for medium-high power cooking,…

It's true that most induction cooktops/ranges aren't great for woks, but in principle the induction surface doesn't have to be flat -- it can be a concave shape to match the wok. In fact these exist -- if you search for "induction wok burners" you can see some pictures. (I only recently became aware of this after watching this video of a chef who uses induction cooking in a small kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/watc…

So now we need two different kinds of cooking surface? I'm reminded of Dijkstra's story about trains.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#124

Post by amluto »

code_biologist wrote: post #117

Does anyone know of an induction hob with adjustability that doesn’t suck? My current one has 200-300 watt jumps between power output settings and it seems stupid that I can’t adjust in 5 or 10 watt increments instead!

Breville Control Freak. Also, although it’s current vaporware, the Njori.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#127

Post by angry_octet »

ghostpepper wrote: post #106
cespare wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true that most induction cooktops/ranges aren't great for woks, but in principle the induction surface doesn't have to be flat -- it can be a concave shape to match the wok. In fact these exist -- if you search for "induction wok burners" you can see some pictures. (I only recently became aware of this after watching this video of a chef who uses induction cooking in a small kitchen: https://www.youtube.com/watc…

Isn't the reason why woks need gas also that the gas creates a smooth heat gradient up the sides of the wok? How far away from the surface of the stove can an induction element heat a pan?

About 1mm.

You're correct, but times change, and the carbon steel wok over a giant burner isn't very suitable for apartment cooking anyway. There are now works designed for use on induction (with aluminium conduction to achieve a heat gradient), and they work pretty well. Also much healthier for the occupants, not as hot in the kitchen and cheaper to operate.

In countries with 240v/10A sockets a plug in electric wok is fine for home cooking. On 110v/15A it is still better than electric radiative cooking, but not as good as gas.

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005003076266949.html

Re: The case for induction cooking

#128

Post by Gibbon1 »

code_biologist wrote: post #117

Does anyone know of an induction hob with adjustability that doesn’t suck? My current one has 200-300 watt jumps between power output settings and it seems stupid that I can’t adjust in 5 or 10 watt increments instead!

There is some dividing line between crappy ones that pulse on and off. And the better ones with fine PWM control. I don't know where that is and the product literature is unhelpful. I suspect it's in the $250 range.

All I can say is I tried a $60 unit, a $75 unit and a $120 unit and they suck. All of them pulse on and off at lower power settings.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#129

Post by twobitshifter »

I’m working on a renovation but will be sticking with gas. EMFs from induction cooking exceed the legal limit and we like to cook on high heat. If you are not fully covering the induction burner, using a silicone handle, and standing at least a foot away you can be getting an unhealthy dose of emf. It’s non ionizing but it’s so intense that I am personally concerned.

https://kitcheninduction.net/induction-cooking-safe/

Re: The case for induction cooking

#130

Post by Wowfunhappy »

> But induction stoves are expensive. Starting around $1,000, they’re twice the price of a basic gas range.

When I was in college, I wanted to be able to make pasta in my dorm room. The dining hall was fine, but it was my first time away from home, and I missed cooking pasta.

The rules said that hotplates weren't allowed in dorms, so I bought a portable induction cooker for $60 off Amazon. It can't be a hotplate if it doesn't get hot! (And I didn't exactly ask permission.)

For $60, it was great. It was small and light and plugged into a normal outlet, but could boil water in about the same time as a normal stove.

If my apartment didn't already come with a gas stove, I could easily forego a standard range in favor of a couple of these portable cookers. I've never used a "real" induction range, but $1,000 seems awfully expensive compared to $60 per burner...

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