Gourmets Get Ready for Induction Cooking

Get ready, a cooking revolution is at the kitchen door. What the cell phone did for the telecommunication industry, induction cooking is now doing for the food industry. While the technology has been around for decades, in recent years it has been greatly improved upon, already taking hold in Europe and Japan. There can be no doubt that magnetic induction promises to be the most attractive cooking option on the market. In this article we will discuss how induction cooking works, how it differs from electric and gas stovetops, and explain the advantages and disadvantages of the new technology.

Up until 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 running a current through a coil, or more recently, a halogen-filled bulb. (A third, oven-only option for generating heat needed for cooking is microwaving, which generates the heat within the food itself.) Magnetic induction is a completely different technology.

A 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 electromagnet. In induction cooking, an electromagnet is placed under the cooking surface. When turned on, an alternating current runs through the electromagnet, producing a magnetic field. A large metal object on the surface will pick up the current and generate heat. Voila! Now we're cooking!

The biggest difference between induction cooking and its counterparts is where the heat is generated. Gas and electric stovetops produce heat on a burner. The heat is then transferred, more or less efficiently, to a cooking vessel and its contents. In contrast, induction cook tops generate heat in the vessel itself, while the burner stays cool. Since there is no transfer of heat from burner to pan, there is virtually no wasted heat. Studies have shown that induction cooking may 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 choice when it comes to safety issues. Because the cooking surface stays cool (i.e. room temperature) there are no more burned hands or hot pads and there is no open flame sending potentially dangerous fumes into the air. Best of all, with the heat focused in the right place, the kitchen--and the chef--stays cool and comfortable.

But the real luxury of induction cooking-the things that sets it apart as the Porsche of cook tops-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 water boils in half the amount of time it takes electric and gas stoves. Low temperatures work as well as high ones-meaning you can toss out your double boiler! One experiment showed chocolate chips melting at such a low temperature they held their shape until spread with a spoon. Induction warmers are great for caterers as well, since they hold low temperatures and keep food warm better than any of the alternatives.

Unfortunately there are a couple big disadvantages to induction stoves. 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 passing 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 beautifully on an induction cook top, as long as the surface of the pan is steel.

The second disadvantage is unavailability. For some reason, induction cooking has been slower to take off in America than it has across the Atlantic. Therefore, it's still hard to find, and models are more expensive. (Prices start well above a thousand dollars.) However, as the market increases, look for prices to steadily fall. If you can't wait, there are several websites where you can order an induction cook top and have it delivered to your home. Installation is relatively easy.

After using an induction cook top, it's easy to imagine the day when we will look back on electric or gas ranges with the same astonishment and nostalgia as we do grandma's old wood stove.

Emma Snow is a gourmet and freelance writer. Writing for Gourmet Living http://www.gourmet-living.com and BBQ Shop http://www.bbq-shop.net .

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Induction Cooking Explained Part 4 - Cookware For Induction Cooking

Part 1 of this series explained how Induction cooktops use a magnetic field to directly heat the the pot or pan. Part 2 explained the growing popularity of induction cooking by exploring induction's many advantages over conventional cooking technologies. This installment of the Induction Cooking Explained series expands on an issue introduced in part 3 by looking at the types of cookware that work best on induction cooktops and explaining which types of cookware should be avoided.

Unlike gas and conventional electric cooking elements, induction elements do not heat up and then transfer heat to the pot or pan. Instead, they directly heat the pot or pan via magnetic hysteresis loss. While the home cook or restaurant chef has no need to understand the details of magnetic hysteresis, he or she must be aware that induction cooking only works with pans made of a ferrous (magnetic) material and will not work with aluminum, glass or ceramic cookware. In addition, although steel is normally magnetic, some stainless steels are actually non-magnetic alloys unsuitable for induction cooking.

Because of induction's growing popularity, many manufacturers whose cookware is compatible with induction cooking will state this in their product descriptions. In addition you can perform an easy test: generally speaking, if a magnet sticks to the bottom of a pot or pan then that pot or pan can be used for induction cooking. Conversely, if a magnet does not stick to the bottom of the pan, then the pan cannot be used for induction cooking.

In addition to being magnetic, a pot or pan used for induction cooking must have a flat bottom; therefore traditional round-bottomed woks are not suitable for induction cooking, nor are pots or pans that have extremely warped bottoms. Several manufacturers make Chinese-style induction cooktops specifically designed for round-bottomed woks; however these cooktops are suitable only for woks and can't be used with flat bottomed pans.

Cast Iron

The materials suitable for induction cooking fortunately turn out to be among the most commonly used and effective cookware materials: cast iron, carbon steel and some stainless steel. The first of these types, cast iron, is a very traditional type of cookware and is well suited for a wide range of applications. Cast iron has a high heat capacity compared to many other cookware materials, so cast iron pots and pans tend to be relatively slow to heat up and, once heated, tend to hold heat longer once the heat source is removed. This property is advantageous for many types of cooking (for example, non-enameled cast iron skillets excel at browning and searing meat because of this property), but cast iron cookware is not ideally suited for dishes that require rapid temperature changes. Also, cast iron cookware must be seasoned to protect against rust, to prevent acidic food from reacting with the cookware, and to prevent food from sticking (a well seasoned cast iron pan is almost as stick resistant as a modern "non-stick" pan) and care must be taken when cleaning cast iron cookware not to remove the seasoning.

Enameled Cast Iron

In addition to the plain cast iron cookware discussed above, several manufacturers produce enameled cast iron cookware. The enamel coating means that the cookware:


does not have to be seasoned
is fairly easy to clean
will not react with acidic foods.

Furthermore, enameled cookware is attractive because the enamel coating is typically available in a variety of bright colors. However, enameled cookware does not do a good job of browning food and the enamel is subject to damage if the cookware is dropped or heated to an extreme temperature. Both enameled and plain cast iron work well with induction cooktops.

Carbon Steel

Carbon steel is common in woks used for Asian-style stir-fry cooking but is otherwise not commonly used for cookware in the U.S. Like cast iron, carbon steel must be seasoned to reduce sticking, rusting and to prevent food from reacting with the cookware. Also like cast iron, once properly seasoned, carbon steel is almost as stick-resistant as modern non-stick cookware. Flat bottomed carbon steel cookware works well with induction cooktops; however round-bottomed woks will work only with specially designed Chinese style induction cookers.

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel actually refers to a family of steel alloys. To be called stainless steel, an alloy must contain a minimum of 10.5% chromium, and it is chromium that causes stainless steel to be resistant to rusting. Many stainless steels contain other metals such as nickel as well. Nickel adds additional corrosion resistance, hardness and durability to stainless steel; therefore it is common in cookware. Unfortunately, stainless steel containing nickel is usually non-magnetic; therefore some stainless steel cookware is not suitable for induction cooking. When purchasing stainless steel cookware for induction cooking, you should look for a statement from the manufacturer or retailer indicating that the cookware is induction-ready. Alternatively, you can test the cookware with a magnet.

Clad Stainless Steel

In addition to frequently being non-magnetic, stainless steel's thermal properties are not well suited for cookware (inductive or otherwise); carbon steel and cast iron both conduct heat much better than does stainless steel. Interestingly, the cookware materials with the best thermal conductivity, aluminum and copper, are non-magnetic and are both quite reactive, so there is really no one material that is ideal for induction cookware. However stainless-steel clad cookware, the fourth type of induction-ready cookware, is made from several different types of metals resulting in cookware that has the desirable properties of each.

Typically, clad cookware has outer layers of nickel stainless steel for durability, non-reactivity and for its shiny luster, an inner layer of either iron, carbon steel or magnetic stainless steel and another inner layer of either aluminum or copper for its high conductivity (the goal of this layer is to conduct heat evenly across the surface of the pan bottom for even heating). Some clad cookware will utilize magnetic stainless steel for the outside layer of the pan bottom rather than cladding the bottom in nickel stainless steel; this eliminates 1 layer while retaining all of the important properties of clad cookware. Because clad cookware has the best properties of several different materials, it is an excellent choice for induction cookware. There are several excellent high-end brands of clad cookware and numerous less expensive brands.

Waterless Cookware

One excellent choice for clad induction compatible cookware is multi-ply surgical stainless steel cookware marketed as waterless cookware. Even if you do not intend to use waterless cooking techniques, many of the same properties that make cookware well suited for waterless cooking also make it suitable for induction cooking. Just make sure that one of the layers in the multi-ply cookware is magnetic as this will not always be the case.

Non-Stick Cookware

Lastly, some but not all non-stick cookware is induction-ready. When buying non-stick cookware, use the same rule as when buying stainless cookware. If you are buying the cookware in a store and have physical access to it, then you can use the magnet test; the cookware is induction ready if and only if a magnet sticks to the bottom. If you don't have physical access, then unless the merchant or manufacturer states that the pan is induction ready, you should not purchase the pan for use with an induction cooktop.

You can leverage the advantages of induction cooking provided you have the right kind of cookware, as described in this article. Future installments of the Induction Cooking Explained series will take a closer look at why induction cooking is more environmentally friendly that other cooking techniques and will describe some of the advanced features available on induction cooktops.

About the author: Joyce is an enthusiastic cook. Over decades of cooking, she's experienced diverse cuisines and has utilized many different cooking techniques. She has extensive knowledge of natural food and health and many years of practice of Tai chi and Yoga. She is a recent and enthusiastic adopter of induction cooking technology. To read more articles about healthy cooking tips and recipes, visit our website: MyLuxuryKitchenAndBath.com, where you can find high quality induction cooktops
induction compatible cookware and other high quality products for your kitchen and bathroom.

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