Is Induction Cooking Ready to Go Mainstream?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/dining/07induction.html?hp

by bigwill • 16 years ago

13 23 16 years ago

It's all fun and games until somebody sticks their hand in the field while wearing a steel watch.

hackermom3• 16 years ago

It's just as if you'd have your hand hover over a normal hot plate when messing around at the stove. Things get warmer gradually, you notice it at once, and you pull your hand away.

roel_v3• 16 years ago

Actually, I have an RFID tag implanted in my hand, and I was rather worried that it would blow up or something when I would put my hand on our stove. Turns out it's no problem at all, I have tried everything possible to get a tag to explode, break, get warm or even just stop working, but I haven't been able to find a way.

drtse4• 16 years ago

Stupid question, why do you have an RFID tag in your hand?

dedward3• 16 years ago

Very difficult to do - the induction element won't start until a significant (pan-sized) amount of ferrous material is very close to the cooktop, and shuts off the moment it's lifted away - there isn't enough room to get your wrist in there - and it's doubtful that your watch by itself, even if it was made of iron, would be enough to trigger the sensors on the element and let the element turn on..

Safety features and all that - they thought of that already.

Rings, watches - all safe.

ErrantX3• 16 years ago

Ugh, I hate induction for cooking. We have one at home (UK) and it is a pain - you have to be on the ball all the time when making a meal.

I prefer gas or standard electric hobs personally; more fine grained control and actually a little more predictable in my experience.

AndrewDucker• 16 years ago

Can you explain why you have to be on the ball all the time?

ErrantX3• 16 years ago

It heats faster for one thing - I used to be able flick on the gas at my Uni flat and dump something into it then get distracted for a few minutes chopping/cutting etc.

hackermom3• 16 years ago

Interesting fact: induction heater plates are pretty much standard here today in Sweden when buying a new kitchen - you just won't find any kitchen appliance reseller in the country featuring the normal conductive hot plate stove as the major presence in their full kitchen kits. Conductive hot plate stoves are still the standard presence in normal rental apartments, though.

stck• 16 years ago

I didn't realise they still make non-induction stoves. I haven't heard that anyone that I know of has bought an old-tech electric cooktop in the past five years. But this is scandinavia, so I guess it's like living in the future.

mixmax• 16 years ago

That was my reaction too, I'm from Scandinavia as well.

roel_v3• 16 years ago

Here in Belgium & the Netherlands all new kitchens in the medium to upper price class (read: non-rentals) are sold with induction plates, too. I love ours, perfect control over pot/pan temperature, warms up really quick, cools down very fast too, easy to clean.

warfangle• 16 years ago

Most stovetops I've seen in apartments here in NYC are gas, with the occasional electric heating element.

Most down in North Carolina are all-electric - or were, when I lived down there several years ago.

Between induction stovetops and insanely wide bandwidth pipes there in Scandinavia, it pretty much is the future compared to much of the US :)

fhars• 16 years ago

I'd like to nomminate the article for the "stupid metaphor of the year" award, though. I mean, why would I want to by a stove that only allows me to cook meels tested and approved by as well as procured through the stove manufactuer? Or what is the character sequence "iPad of the kitchen" meant to signify?

VolatileVoid• 16 years ago

Do not confuse "induction cooking" with "cooking by induction." The latter often goes something like, "well, you cooked dinner last night..."

dedward3• 16 years ago

Finally something I can comment on, as I like to cook, and I upgraded to induction about a year ago.

Upside: It's like cooking with gas, without the risk of fire. It looks slick. If you get a good and powerful model, the install footprint is small and cooking on it is very reproducable... (setting 7 on burner 3 with this pan is always the same). You can also get maintain lower temperatures than you can with other stovetops, negating the need in some cases for a double-boiler and making it easy to keep food warm - there are a plethora of other technical coolies too - like how as soon as I lift up the pan to dump the pasta, the power to the element shuts of. It's more efficient. The cat can walk on it and even though he hits the buttons, he can't turn it on - elements are reactive, they won't activate if they don't sense enough ferrous material above them.

Downside: It's ceramic. Don't drop stuff on it. Downside: It's ceramic, if you like to sautee stuff by lifting up the pan and/or sliding the pan around, it will just scratch up your cooktop.

A professional restaurant, for this reason, would probably benefit from both gas and induction at the same time.

rimantas• 16 years ago

Have been using for 1.5 years and never thought about it as some future technology…

RyanMcGreal• 16 years ago

Can you use cast iron on an induction stovetop?

sstrudeau• 16 years ago

tl;dr? Yes. The article indicates even enameled cast iron works well.

hackermom3• 16 years ago

You can use pretty much any ferromagnetic metal. Iron and iron-based alloys work the best, and enamel, non-stick etc. makes no difference. The thickness of cast iron isn't a problem either; you'd have to use a lot thicker cookware than cast iron goods before the magnetic field of the induction coils would have problems reaching the entire metal body.

Is Induction Cooking Ready to Go Mainstream?

Related Stories