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The case for induction cooking

nytimes.com

551–560 of 647 posts

Re: The case for induction cooking

#551
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who cooks with gas, I have a hard time believing that any dormant emissions from the stove when not in use are more significant than emissions from searing food itself… especially since natural gas has odors added to it to ensure we smell it.

The problem with this thinking is you're referring to a constant factor; you'd be cooking the same foods either way, searing all the same. These effects are cumulative, it's not some threshold you cross where the other negatives are no longer relevant because you do something far worse. It's like people who rationalize eating a pint of ice cream before bed because they had mcdonalds and a beer for lunch already. The…

I think your analogy is missing the scale. In this case, I think it's likely that the equivalent scale would be worrying about eating a tic tac, when lunchtime is beer and burgers.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#552

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The portable ones are often touch-only.

People are not replacing gas stoves with portable induction, surely.

FWIW the portable ones are great when you live in cheap apartments with shitty stoves. One of the few good investments I made in college...

Re: The case for induction cooking

#553
As others have mentioned, you really can’t shake and shuttle the pan along the surface of the cooktop—it’ll scratch. That ruins the neat & clean look if that’s important to you. You’ll need to adapt to that.

Some use silicon pads (shown in one image in the article) to prevent inadvertent scratching. I don’t trust those—they can melt at 400+F and you’ll never get that off the stove. I use LoMi cloth (Nomex-like?). They’re not going to melt.

To me, the limits of induction (no lifting, shuttling, shifting) are worth it for precise temperature control, less ambient heat (huge exhaust blower not needed), and the neat and clean look. My wife disliked the “patina” on our gas range. Not a problem any more.

https://thecooktopmat.com/

Re: The case for induction cooking

#554
post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

It looks great! Thanks for the tip, I’ll definitely have a closer look when we remodel our kitchen next year.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is definitely a niche market for these kind of cookers, but induction has for as long as I can remember always been a flat surface. That leads to touch controls with all the listed drawbacks, but it's nonetheless what has gained the most support. For most i suspect the aesthetics of one clean flat surface wins out over alternatives, even though these alternatives are more usable for cooking.

For us the “one flat surface” is about cleaning instead of aesthetics. We cook all the time and out range constantly has crap spilled on it. Being able to wipe it down in a quick pass is so nice.

That is another big advantage of induction. It gets much less dirty because it’s so easy to wipe clean each time it is used.

That said, it is not necessarily exclusive, we can have a nice flat surface along with a panel with physical knobs on the side. Even with a minimalist look à la Dieter Rams if needed.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#556
post #528
post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe you can get 4 burner stoves for under €250. IKEA sell a portable single burner for €40. Why are they so expensive in the US?

In the US, most people are buying a range (freestanding stove+oven), while I understand in Europe people are buying cooktops (stove only)

Yes, I have one of these $50 portable cooktops and it works OK but still takes forever to boil water. The expensive ones are actually as good as gas and I was pricing out the freestanding stove+oven, thanks for backing me up xD

Re: The case for induction cooking

#557

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a big fan of electrification but an induction range to replace my glasstop is on the order of $3-4,000 (and not in stock anywhere anyway) so I can't blame anyone for sticking with an old reliable gas range.

https://www.amazon.in/Pigeon-Stovekraft-Cruise-1800-Watt-Ind... dunno about the US but in india we use these. converted to US$, its like $18. they last about 2-5 years with good usage and if you are really unlucky with your spillovers and frayed cables, maybe less but other than that these things are reliable as fuck.. why do you have to buy thousands of dollars worth of equipment?

I have one of these and it's good for a portable unit but it takes about 10 minutes to boil water, whereas a high end unit will do it in a fraction of the time. I was also looking at replacing the entire stove, not just a burner, so something like this:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/bosch-800-series-4-6-cu-ft-self...

Re: The case for induction cooking

#558
post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> replace our 150A panel with a 200A one, A 150A panel should accommodate both your induction stove and EV charger. The stove's 50A rating assumes you are running all burners are running simultaneously, which is rare. You need 200A if you going fully electric (for hot water, HVAC, oven and clothes dryer).

Our hot water is gas, but our HVAC (heat pump), dryer is already electric. The oven would be electric also, but it’s rarely used. Anyways, I would let an electrician make the call, but my feeling is that EV level 2 charging and induction would put us over when a 150A panel could handle.

Yeah, heat pump and dryer can push you over, especially if you are in a colder climate. Miele makes a 115V/20A heat pump dryer that you might consider even if you go to 200A.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#559
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who cooks with gas, I have a hard time believing that any dormant emissions from the stove when not in use are more significant than emissions from searing food itself… especially since natural gas has odors added to it to ensure we smell it.

https://www.logicalfallacies.org/personal-incredulity.html

As with ad-hominem, this isn't actually a fallacy - it's just declared as such by people who don't understand Bayesian reasoning. Using informed judgement helps us separate fact from fiction.

Re: The case for induction cooking

#560
post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citation needed please for the health effects being bogus. NOx emissions from gas stoves seem to be consistently reported as quite high indeed. For example: https://jacksonlab.stanford.edu/publication/methane-and-nox-...

Pretty easily mitigated with a vent hood which all these tests don't have running.

https://youtu.be/rSIqKGsF2ZA

This is the problem with most homes that have vent hoods. I’ve yet to be in a home that has a make up air fan.

I live in a rental right now that doesn’t even have a vent. I just open the door and a window and hope that’s sufficient. (But it really isn’t)

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