Induction cook top

[LouisXIV]

About a year ago I purchased an induction cook top and after a year of use I am totally sold on the concept. Here in the USA we have infomercials, usually 30 minute commercials for some new gadget. I had watched the one for the NuWave cook top a couple times over a few months and finally decided to purchase one. I finally decided to buy one and for the past year it is almost the only thing I use in the kitchen anymore. These TV promotions usually advertise buy one and get a second one free, just pay the additional shipping. Well mine came and to total cost came to about $180. I got two of the cook tops and a set of what I consider VERY HIGH QUALITY pans.

It does not take a lot of space, low energy consumption, the cook top does not get hot, with induction heating it heats the steel pan. It can heat water very fast. You can set the temperature from 100 degrees F to 575 degrees F. It is great for frying, general cooking and great for low temperature cooking like butter and melting chocolate. I also use it as a crock pot for slow cooking, I have put in a beef roast for about 6 hours at 160 degrees F and it comes out tender. It is also good for warming up and with the low settings not having a problem with burning.

I am retired and find it perfect for me at this time in life. The cook top will only work on an iron or steel pan (if a magnet sticks to the pan, it will work), I had some good stainless steel pans and pots that work fine. One of pans that comes with the cook top comes in two parts, the top used to steam foods and the lower level that can be used for other cooking like frying. I use it with the cover like a "dutch oven" and in this way use it like a "crock pot" slow cooker. It does a great job of grilling steaks, chops, chicken and fish.

This can easily work for table top cooking like a fondue. It is portable and can be used anywhere you have an electric source for power. It would be great for camping compared to those gas camping stoves, of course if there is a power source.

Like I mentioned above it has to be steel to work on the cook top and cast iron will work also. Take a magnet with you when shopping for pans. Many of the new stainless steel pots and pans and have a series of icons on the bottom of the pans to let you know the type of cook top they will work on. The induction icon is a several wavy lines. I purchased a cast iron enameled fry pan with ridges on the bottom for steaks, burgers, chicken, etc and it works fantastic. If you feel you would not need the second cook top you could always give it as a gift to someone.

Here is a link to where I purchased mine and with a lot more information. I am sure there are many other manufactures and other places in the world to buy them. I also see they are now offering induction oven ranges for homes instead of the traditional gas/elec. stoves.

www.nuwavecooktop.com/

[bjd]

I have an induction cooking range (a rectangle with three areas for cooking) as well; I too think it's great, although it's much more expensive than your $180! Just as flexible as gas and much easier to clean the top of the thing. And it's better on energy consumption than any other method.

[fumobici]

I never tried one until a couple of days ago. The apartment I am renting here has one and I am actually finding it rather annoying to use compared to a gas top. It's mostly unfamiliarity I'm sure but to me it seems like a solution in search of a problem. How could it better than gas? The landlady showed me the ropes of using it and proudly said it is very fast, but cooking is not a race! Plus, like an electric top, you have to familiarize yourself with the calibration of temperature of the specific unit you are using. I can use any gas top in existence and know precisely what heat I'm getting just by looking.

</rant>

[Deleted]

I still use my vitroceramic stove top but will buy an induction one whenever I have to change. The price difference was just too high about 15 years ago when I bought the vitroceramic.

I think that anybody who is used to gas has trouble adjusting to electric systems (and vice versa).

[LouisXIV]

I have always had gas and prefer gas because of the instant control compared to Electric. BUT with the induction you have instant on and off, much easier to clean, but I do feel for some it will take some getting use to. With gas I just looked at the flame, with induction it may take a little while to know what temperatures to use. Water boils at 210 degrees, frying is 325 degrees, I have found that frying a steak works well at 375 and by using Google found that slow cookers or "crock pots" work in the range of 160 to 170 degrees. Yes it will take a little time to adjust. I also feel it is perfect for a small kitchen.

[bjd]

Apr 30, 2014 19:21:29 GMT kerouac2 said:

I think that anybody who is used to gas has trouble adjusting to electric systems (and vice versa).

It seems I'm always disagreeing with you! I have gas at home and an induction cooker at our holiday apartment. It's easy to go between one and the other. I don't know about American ones, but here they don't show temperature -- simply numbers from 1-9, so it's really not complicated to know whether you are cooking with high, medium or low heat. And it's very quick to move up or down according to what you want, just like with gas.

I mean, how often do you look at the flame under the pot?

One of our sons and his girlfriend are at the holiday place right now and the other day she told me how much she enjoys cooking with it, especially after using old-fashioned electric burners in Montreal for a year.

We were thinking of getting rid of the gas cooktop at home but it implies doing plumbing for the gas pipes so have to get someone in to deal with it.

[Deleted]

An induction cooker works more like gas than any of the other electric systems, since it is immediately hot and cools down immediately, unlike any of the classic electric systems. When you cook with a normal electric stove (or even vitroceramic), you have to learn how long it takes to heat up and how much you can use "retained heat" by turning off the stove before the cooking is finished. I have never met anybody who is used to gas who ever figured out how to properly use retained heat.

[bjd]

I agree that the older electric cooking systems are more difficult. The worst are those whole circular electric burners which take forever to heat and then stay hot when you want it to be cooler.

[kerouac2]

I am still adjusting to my induction stove. I am rather annoyed that "nothing happens" unless you put it on maximum to start, and then it will pretend that water is boiling within one minute just because the bottom of the pan is searing hot and creates bubbles. As for the "boost" function, my god, do they want the kitchen to explode?

[bixaorellana]

May 1, 2014 10:56:03 GMT undefined said:

I have never met anybody who is used to gas who ever figured out how to properly use retained heat.

I have to say that I am quite good at that, which I attribute to using cast iron skillets from the time I learned to cook. Even when you learn to cook on gas, knowing about retained heat & how to exploit it or avoid it comes in handy if you're forced to cook on electricity, as I have been in the past.

I am intensely curious about induction cooking. Someone I know got a tabletop model and went on and on about how wonderful it is. My stove is fairly new and I don't really have any extra kitchen space, so don't see induction in my near future, but would still like to know about it.

Kerouac, what do you mean by "pretend that the water is boiling"? Does that mean that the whole volume of water in the pan is not actually at the boil?

[kerouac2]

Yes, it's just the bottom level that is hot at first. This is particularly annoying when reheating soup.

[lagatta]

Does stirring it help?

[kerouac2]

Stirring always helps, but I like it when the stove does the work for me.

[bjd]

It's true that if you want something to get hot quickly, you have to put it on high heat then go down as soon as it gets close to boiling, and just reheating at around 5 (out of 9) seems to take forever.

[kerouac2]

From my experience so far, it is definitely obligatory to start at 9. ("Boost" terrifies me since 9 is already scary.) Unless something is already totally hot and bubbling, it seems to me that going down to anything under 6 is as good as nothing. I absolutely cannot imagine using 1-2-3; it's like not having the stove on at all.

[mich64]

I understand what Kerouac means about the boiling. It was taking a long time for water to boil when making pasta or vegetables, for myself, I started putting a lid on but not completely covering the pot. This practice has made a big difference although I had a hard time remembering to pay attention to take the lid off once the rolling boil begins, but I am not used to it. I do leave my soup on between 2 and 3 with a lid on and it keeps it nicely warm for if anyone wants a bit more added to their bowl.

[kerouac2]

I'll get used to it. It's only been a couple of months.