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The case for induction cooking

nytimes.com

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Re: The case for induction cooking

#421

Post by trmsw »

eyeball wrote: post #22
noveltyaccount wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

wok cooking is the main place I find induction lacking sides stay far too cool. luckily I don't do it that often so just bought one of those butane table top burners for those cases.

I found those burners too weak for stir-frying. I suspect that unless you have special ventilation, a burner that's hot enough for wok cooking will not be safe for indoor use. Ours is used outside because that's where the gas bottle has to be kept and because apparently it generates too much carbon monoxide to be safely used inside. And because we have three small children and this thing burns with a foot-high flame like a jet afterburner. It's great fun

Re: The case for induction cooking

#422

Post by Dyac »

kergonath wrote: post #383
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> environment and is overall worse than induction would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. everything I have used is designed by a person that never had to cook for more than 1. the automatic off during the slightest spill, and the impossibility to operate buttons with wet/greasy hands, has to be one of the biggest design mistakes in the history of engineering. my idea of a great time is to invite this…

> would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. To me, induction with physical knobs and buttons would be the best. Other than the stupid touch things, induction is just so much better than gas for almost anything.

We felt exactly the same way bugging a new kitchen last year. Salespeople thought we were being obstinate.

Fortunately we found one with knobs. https://www.aeg.co.uk/kitchen/cooking/cookers/electric-cooke...

It does have auto off on spills, but it's not overly sensitive and only triggers if you really let things boil over. Had it 9 months, can highly recommend this cooker.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#423

Post by oblio »

Sqwandery wrote: post #177
oblio wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why you're downvoted. Induction hobs cut out a loss leader for gas: gas stoves. Once you have gas in your home it makes sense to install the main moneymaker: a gas furnace for heating. It's how they upsell. Induction hobs are great in the fight against global warming.

If the energy you use for heat is generated by gas, it's more efficient to burn it directly, and the emissions produced from manufacturing all the new stoves likely out way the emissions produced over the stoves lifetime. So, I'd say it's only helpful if you are getting a new stove anyway.

Stoves have to be replaced at some point, especially when doing renovations or rebuilding.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#424

Post by sirwhinesalot »

caslon wrote: post #370
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> environment and is overall worse than induction would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. everything I have used is designed by a person that never had to cook for more than 1. the automatic off during the slightest spill, and the impossibility to operate buttons with wet/greasy hands, has to be one of the biggest design mistakes in the history of engineering. my idea of a great time is to invite this…

What kind of induction stove do you have? Mine just has knobs. I push down and turn them clockwise, physically, and it heats up. I push down and turn them counter-clockwise, it lessens the heat, or turns it off. It's the same as the gas stoves of my childhood; I'm not sure how it could be simpler. It even has the icons indicating which knob is for which burner. Is your stove postmodern?

Most induction stoves have touch based inputs. They're awful. I used to have one of those, now I have one with knobs. Couldn't be happier about the change.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#425

Post by dillondoyle »

stellar678 wrote: post #396
dillondoyle wrote: post #392

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes! I've read that the gas industry uses the cooking specifically in advertising and lobying to keep this toehold for the even bigger emissions. [1] And 2-3% isn't nothing either. Such an easy win. we desperately need to rack up easy points yesterday... Relatively as in compared to say utility scale production/storage or hell even replacing home heating like you mention. I wish we could replace our 110 year old gian…

I feel like we live in the same building with an ancient boiler and HOA neighbors who are extremely cost sensitive! I do wonder if there's a reasonable heat pump retrofit for old buildings with boiler-based heating. Ultimately you're just heating up a liquid and pumping it through everyone's radiator, right? Seems like a sensible product given the number of old buildings with this kind of heating. Edit: And here it i…

Ha are you in denver? A ton of people in cities are in the same boat.

I wanted to get an electric car. But not only do my neighbors not want to split cost of a charger station but also I'd have to pay over 10k to upgrade/fix the electricity - or so I was told.

It seems like it could be even simpler than a heat exchange that I think puts pipes into the ground?

Like it's just creating steam. Can't we just scale up an electric tea kettle? Seems like it would be pretty efficient.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#426

Post by logifail »

ars wrote: post #348
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…

I think that's because most homes do not have sufficient electrical power to run everything at once. For example: 50A for the heat pump, 50A to charge your car, 50A for the range, 30A for the dryer, 30A for the water heater = 210A (all my examples are for 240V) + various lights and other things. Homes in the US are most commonly wired for 100, 150, or 200A. So they'll run the range at 30A instead, but that means you…

> I think that's because most homes do not have sufficient electrical power to run everything at once

Our (five-zone) induction hob uses all three phases, it's connected using a 5-core cable.

See previous discussion here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20798298

Re: The case for induction cooking

#427

Post by dcow »

kergonath wrote: post #383
DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> environment and is overall worse than induction would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. everything I have used is designed by a person that never had to cook for more than 1. the automatic off during the slightest spill, and the impossibility to operate buttons with wet/greasy hands, has to be one of the biggest design mistakes in the history of engineering. my idea of a great time is to invite this…

> would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. To me, induction with physical knobs and buttons would be the best. Other than the stupid touch things, induction is just so much better than gas for almost anything.

Fisher and Paykel has knobs as does Verona.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#428

Post by angry_octet »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #402
angry_octet wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> There are now works designed for use on induction (with aluminium conduction to achieve a heat gradient), and they work pretty well. This perspective drives me crazy. OK, so induction cooktops are good for the environment. But flat bottom woks are not woks, and you can’t do wok cooking on an induction cooktop. The only people who think that you can, are people who completely lack an understanding of wok cooking tec…

Why do you think Alibaba (click the link!) has a thousand induction cookers, including ones with a spherical wok shape? You're saying the Chinese don't know how to stir fry?!

Re: The case for induction cooking

#429

Post by jrapdx3 »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #359
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before anyone reads this and decides, "oh ya the NYT is lying to me and gas is fine", it's not. Gas in your home is objectively bad for your health, the environment and is overall worse than induction when it comes to the cooking experience in just about all ways. That being said, It might not be as bad as living with a smoker (as the NYT asserted) but it is bad for you. The YouTuber Climate Town did an excellent vid…

> environment and is overall worse than induction would love to see an induction stove with a usable UI. everything I have used is designed by a person that never had to cook for more than 1. the automatic off during the slightest spill, and the impossibility to operate buttons with wet/greasy hands, has to be one of the biggest design mistakes in the history of engineering. my idea of a great time is to invite this…

I've been cooking with induction for a few years. My hardware isn't fancy. I have owned a few countertop units, a format that meets my needs. The model I own now is a robust commercial version, 1800W. Works great with pans up to ~11in diameter (bottom).

UI is typical: buttons to set "heat" and "temp", plus on/off and timer. Good part is than buttons activate mechanical momentary contact switches that have a really solid "clicky" feel.

Overall it's a real pleasure to use, but it has its quirks. The biggest "issue" (not really a gigantic flaw) is the ambiguous controls re: heat and temp. Nominally the heat setting controls wattage, temp supposedly sets limits on temp erature of food. It's just very inconsistent, like setting temp to 160 degrees F doesn't have much to do with actual temperature as measured with a thermometer. But I've gotten used to how it works and very rarely overcook or burn stuff.

In the past I preferred gas, but that's not my first choice now.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#430

Post by perlgeek »

The case against induction cooking:

Somebody in my family has a cardic pacemaker.

Edit to add: I'm not pro gas cooking, just cannot use induction cooking. It's just not an option accessible to everyone.

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