Website design By BotEap.comGet ready, a culinary revolution is at the kitchen door. What the cell phone did for the telecommunications industry, the induction cooker is now doing for the food industry. While the technology has been around for decades, it has been greatly improved in recent years and is already taking hold in Europe and Japan. There is no doubt that magnetic induction promises to be the most attractive cooking option on the market. In this article, we’ll discuss how induction cooking works, how it differs from electric and gas stovetops, and explain the pros and cons of the new technology.

Website design By BotEap.comUntil now, there have been two basic methods of cooking food. Both methods follow the same basic principles. In the chemical method, a combustible material, such as wood, coal, or gas, is burned to generate heat; while the electrical method accomplishes the same thing by passing a current through a coil, or more recently, a halogen-filled bulb. (A third oven-only option for generating the heat needed for cooking is the microwave, which generates the heat within the food.) Magnetic induction is a completely different technology.

Website design By BotEap.comA crash course in basic physics explains how it works. When a conductor is placed in the presence of a changing magnetic field, electricity is produced in the conductor. The result is an electromagnetic. In induction cooking, an electromagnet is placed under the cooking surface. When turned on, an alternating current is passed through the electromagnet, producing a magnetic field. A large metal object on the surface will collect the current and generate heat. Ready! Now we are cooking!

Website design By BotEap.comThe biggest difference between induction cooking and its counterparts is where the heat is generated. Gas and electric stoves produce heat on one burner. The heat is then transferred, more or less efficiently, to a cooking vessel and its contents. On the contrary, induction cookers generate heat in the container itself, while the burner remains cold. Since there is no heat transfer from the burner to the pan, there is virtually no wasted heat. Studies have shown that induction cooking can be up to 90% energy efficient, compared to electric and gas cooking, which are 47% and 40% energy efficient, respectively. In addition to efficiency, induction cooking is the superior option when it comes to safety issues. Because the cooktop stays cool (meaning room temperature), there are no more burned hands, no hot pads, and no open flame sending potentially dangerous vapors into the air. Best of all, with the heat concentrated in the right place, the kitchen and chef stay cool and comfortable.

Website design By BotEap.comBut the real luxury of the induction cooktop, the things that set it apart as the Porsche of cooktops, is the precision and control it gives the chef. By varying the strength of the magnetic field, the heat generated in the pot responds instantly. This means that water boils in half the time it takes on electric and gas stoves. Low temperatures work just as well as high ones, which means you can throw out your double boiler. One experiment showed that chocolate chips melted at such a low temperature that they held their shape until they were spread with a spoon. Induction warmers are also great for catering as they maintain low temperatures and keep food hot better than any of the alternatives.

Website design By BotEap.comUnfortunately, there are a couple of big downsides to induction cooktops. For the pan to conduct energy, it must be magnetic, that is, it must contain iron. Therefore, cast iron and steel pots and pans are necessary. Test your cookware by running a magnet across the pan. If the magnet sticks, the pan will work. Some cookware, made with layers of aluminum and copper for distribution, will still work wonderfully on an induction cooktop as long as the pan’s surface is steel.

Website design By BotEap.comThe second disadvantage is the lack of availability. For whatever reason, the induction cooker has taken longer to take off in the United States than it has on the other side of the Atlantic. Therefore, it is still difficult to find, and the models are more expensive. (Prices start well above a thousand dollars.) However, as the market increases, expect prices to steadily drop. If you can’t wait, there are several websites where you can order an induction cooktop and have it delivered to your home. Installation is relatively easy.

Website design By BotEap.comAfter using an induction cooktop, it’s easy to imagine the day we’ll look back on electric or gas stoves with the same wonder and nostalgia we looked back at grandma’s old wood stove.