Though induction cooking has been popular in Europe for decades, it's finally gaining traction stateside. Gas stoves, which hurt the environment, are being phased out in countries like Denmark, the Netherlands, and Australia, and some U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C., have adopted rules to ban or restrict the use of natural gas in new homes and support all-electric construction. The move away from gas means that many homeowners are transitioning to more efficient appliances, including induction stoves.
We asked kitchen experts about the pros and cons of induction cooking and how it compares to electric cooktops.
Induction cooking uses electromagnetic energy to create heat right inside your pots and pans. When cookware is placed on the glass cooktop surface, the magnet below the glass is triggered, resulting in friction and heat generation. Pans essentially become burners. Induction cooking is available in a single "burner" or heating zone, a cooktop with multiple heating zones, or via a range.
"Induction cooktops revolutionize your cooking experience compared to traditional electric ones by directly heating cookware through electromagnetic induction, ensuring lightning-fast and super-efficient cooking," says Mike Williams, vice president of sales and marketing at Kenyon, which manufactures a specialty line of induction cooktops.
Because electromagnetic waves are used to cook and produce heat, induction cooking requires magnetic cookware. "If your pan boasts a magnetic stainless steel, cast iron, enameled iron, or nickel base, it's induction cooktop compatible," says Williams. Fully clad cookware brands like All Clad and Le Creuset have suitable pans. Some appliance manufacturers, like Kenyon, also sell cookware that's custom-designed to work seamlessly with induction cooktops.
From easy clean-up to faster cooking, there are ample reasons to consider induction cooking.
Put simply, induction cooking is better for the environment. "Natural gas creates unacceptable amounts of pollution with methane and particulate matter in the air," says Rachelle Boucher, executive chef, cooking appliance trainer, and founder of Kitchens to Life. "With induction, there's less need for air conditioning and ventilation."
Induction cooking is flameless, so it's safer than gas. With no open flame, there is no fire, so you're decreasing the likelihood of burning a potholder—or more dangerous conflagrations.
Induction stoves and cooktops are more powerful, but also more energy efficient than electric or gas, since heat isn't lost in the transferring process. With gas and electric ranges, a lot of energy is expended in the air around the pots and pans. With induction, only the cookware heats.
Boucher prefers cooking with induction because it's faster and more precise. Not only does it heat two to three times more quickly than gas, with induction, you don't have to wait for the heating element to transfer to the pan because the pan heats up directly. "You can [also] choose a specific temperature and it's more consistent," she says. When you turn the burner off, the heat transfer stops immediately, which means there's less of a chance of foods boiling over or overcooking.
Clean-up is a cinch, with no pesky dials, burners, or knobs to scrub around, and the smooth glass top stays cool, so drips and splatters won't stick and burn. Because the unused surface doesn't heat up, the cooktop effectively becomes additional counter space for cooking utensils, cookbooks, and other items you wouldn't place on a hot stove.
There may be a few hurdles, including a learning curve and the price tag.
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You may need to invest in new pots and pans if your nonmagnetic copper, glass, aluminum, and ceramic cookware is not induction-compatible. And if your favorite wok has a round bottom, you can't just add a ring to your cooktop—you'll need either a flat-bottom wok or a special induction wok.
While induction's speed is an advantage, it requires a rhythm and pace of cooking that differs from gas or electric, and may take time to adjust to. A home cook may initially be confused by the appliance's disappearing touchscreens—or the fact that when pans are removed from the cooktop, it turns off. This is a disadvantage initially, but some appliance companies provide loaners and the opportunity to "try before you buy" in a showroom kitchen.
Designed for professional-grade power and performance, Electrolux induction hobs can boil 1 litre of water in just 3 minutes. If you cook food with an induction cooktop, heat is not transferred through the cooking surface or by an open flame but is generated directly in the metal of your pots and pans.
Thus, you can chop off up to 50 percent of your cooking time with ease. And because an induction stove can utilize almost all energy for cooking, it is more powerful than its gas and electric counterparts as well.
Gas or electric hobs need quite some time to reach the expected heating level. In contrast, Electrolux induction stoves provide precise temperature control that allows you to go from high to low heat instantly so you will never undercook or overcook again. Click here to learn more about induction cooktops through a comparison with gas and radiant cooktops.
Because of the unique operating principle of induction hobs, only cookware gets heated up and the cooking surface can cool down in no time. Also, there’s no fire involved. Therefore, an induction hob can reduce the risk of fire hazards or burns to the minimum.
Induction cooktops only work with cookware made of or containing ferrous metals such as cast iron or stainless steel. But you don’t need to guess which pot you can use: if you see a coiled spring symbol or a magnet sticks to the bottom of the pan, it works.
Click here to learn more about cooking with induction cooktops
Electrolux always strives to adopt the latest technology and at the same time keep users at the core of the development process. You can find Electrolux induction products integrated with great features that satisfy all your cooking needs, from simmering to searing heat.
Electrolux also pays close attention to the safety of you and your family by providing features such as a hot warning indicator, a child-lock combination, and a unique auto-off function to prevent potential accidents. All of this combines to bring the best cooking experience to your kitchen.
EXPLORE ELECTROLUX INDUCTION COOKTOPS
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