A gourmet is a person
who is knowledgeable in fine food and drink.
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.
About the Author:
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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