[HN Gopher] The Case for Induction Cooking
___________________________________________________________________
The Case for Induction Cooking
Author : mathieutd
Score : 81 points
Date : 2022-03-12 20:40 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
| neonate wrote:
| https://archive.ph/4hCMv
| [deleted]
| BrandoElFollito wrote:
| I did not know that induction cooking is a novelty (or at least
| worthy of an article) in the US. When you go to an appliance shop
| in France they would be 90% of the offer (and 9% gas, 1% vitro-
| electric).
|
| BTW the big photo on the top of the article is not induction but
| vitro-ceramic (the first version of something that would look at
| glass and not have flames, but this is not induction, just
| heating of a tingie under the glass plate)
|
| Having used gaz since childhood for 30 years, the move to
| induction was fantastic. The only drawback is that you cannot
| cook with the cookware tilted (to pour some liquid into a small
| puddle and heat it directly, for instance)
| mytailorisrich wrote:
| France moved to 100% electric in many places decades ago
| because of their strategic choice of nuclear energy.
| phtrivier wrote:
| As another commenter said, it was electric but "vitro
| ceramic", so terrible performance and pretty dangerous. This
| actually gave gas a "better rap".
|
| Now I honestly only use gas at the moment because I moved in
| recently enough that I haven't bother to change - but it's
| getting higher on n my list every day...
| finiteseries wrote:
| I've always wondered how Italians will handle the transition
| when it inevitably happens, that tilting & just a ton more
| movement in general over the flame seems super common there
| twic wrote:
| FWIW, what you call vitro-ceramic is known in the UK as a
| halogen hob. It comprises a vitro-ceramic surface on top of a
| halogen bulb; we chose to name the whole thing after different
| parts!
| contingencies wrote:
| There _are_ shaped induction systems, most commonly for woks or
| industrial heating applications. However, as it needs to very
| closely match the external shape of the cookware, the technical
| and commercial viability of a generic system would be
| relatively low, which is why you don 't often see them
| marketed.
|
| Copper and aluminium capable induction systems exist by varying
| the frequency. https://na.panasonic.com/us/food-service-
| systems/commercial-...
| angry_octet wrote:
| These systems are used commercially all the time, just not in
| the backwater of the US.
| dimitrios1 wrote:
| "perils" is just a _tad_ dramatic here. And while there are many
| advantages to induction over gas (the faster boiling times have
| me sold alone), there are some disadvantages in my opinion to
| placing even more reliance on a electrical grid that we learn
| each day is more fragile than we once thought.
| dpierce9 wrote:
| Gas is also supplied by a set of pipelines. There isn't a free
| lunch.
| abraae wrote:
| Not just the grid but the fickle nature of power electronics.
|
| Our induction cooktop fried its driver circuitry last year and
| we were stuck cooking off a camp stove for weeks while waiting
| for a part from Germany. Old school cooking methods are less
| high tech and more repairable.
| [deleted]
| buran77 wrote:
| I think today more than ever we can agree that relying on gas
| may put any country in a far more precarious position. Remember
| that _you_ can make enough electricity at home if need be, even
| if at a hefty cost maybe. The same cannot be said for the gas
| to power your stove and heating for any reasonable cost.
| dimitrios1 wrote:
| No, I don't think we can agree on that, especially not in
| America, where a mere 3 short years ago, we had an abundance
| of natural gas, and prices plummeting to near record lows
| (adjusted for inflation). The current situation we are in is
| due to bad policy.
| schroeding wrote:
| But isn't gas not also reliant on power, nowadays? Do modern
| gas stoves still work without power / allow manual opening of
| the gas valves?
| prometheus76 wrote:
| Most modern gas stoves still only use electricity to ignite
| the flame initially. That can easily be replaced with a match
| if the power is out.
| leoedin wrote:
| I fitted an AEG induction hob in our kitchen about 3 years ago.
| It is absolutely amazing. It's so controllable - you can go from
| "barely hot enough to melt chocolate" to "so hot your pans start
| discolouring and everything burns" - and back again - in seconds
| (and everything in-between obviously).
|
| I always thought gas was the best for cooking. But I was wrong -
| induction is. Gas is great for medium-high power cooking, but it
| falls apart for lower temps, and it's very hard to get it
| consistent. The only time I really miss gas is when stir frying -
| you can't really use woks on induction.
|
| It's also wipe clean!
| cespare wrote:
| It's true that most induction cooktops/ranges aren't great for
| woks, but in principle the induction surface doesn't have to be
| flat -- it can be a concave shape to match the wok.
|
| In fact these exist -- if you search for "induction wok
| burners" you can see some pictures. (I only recently became
| aware of this after watching this video of a chef who uses
| induction cooking in a small kitchen:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooNzRrHA9VY)
|
| Perhaps in the future there will be cooktops that include a wok
| depression on the surface, similar to how some gas stoves today
| include a built-in wok ring.
| ghostpepper wrote:
| Isn't the reason why woks need gas also that the gas creates
| a smooth heat gradient up the sides of the wok? How far away
| from the surface of the stove can an induction element heat a
| pan?
| angry_octet wrote:
| About 1mm.
|
| You're correct, but times change, and the carbon steel wok
| over a giant burner isn't very suitable for apartment
| cooking anyway. There are now works designed for use on
| induction (with aluminium conduction to achieve a heat
| gradient), and they work pretty well. Also much healthier
| for the occupants, not as hot in the kitchen and cheaper to
| operate.
|
| In countries with 240v/10A sockets a plug in electric wok
| is fine for home cooking. On 110v/15A it is still better
| than electric radiative cooking, but not as good as gas.
|
| https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005003076266949.html
| rsfern wrote:
| It sounds like the induction element cradles the wok. I
| don't know about the thermal gradient thing (seems
| plausible) but in principle you could make a gradient in
| the field strength right?
|
| I would have thought that a bigger drawback would be that
| you can't get even heat input while tossing the wok, though
| I'm not sure how essential that is
| omginternets wrote:
| So now we need two different kinds of cooking surface? I'm
| reminded of Dijkstra's story about trains.
| noveltyaccount wrote:
| I got a flat bottom wok that I am happy stir frying on my
| induction cooktop. The flat bottom gets rippin hot and the
| sides only warm. Have to work within that smaller hot zone but
| I prefer the wok to skillet for containing the mess.
| eyeball wrote:
| wok cooking is the main place I find induction lacking
|
| sides stay far too cool.
|
| luckily I don't do it that often so just bought one of those
| butane table top burners for those cases.
| radicalbyte wrote:
| In our previous house we cooked with gas, we had a
| fantastic stove with a wok burner. Amazing thing. With our
| new house we - against my best judgement - went for
| induction.
|
| It's amazing, way better than our old gas stove. I'll never
| go back.
| eyeball wrote:
| you find a flat induction stove better than a gas one
| with wok ring for wok cooking?
| radicalbyte wrote:
| Yup - induction heats up quicker, although you have to
| use a heavy iron wok which sits still. It probably says
| more about how bad the consumer wok rings are though. If
| you have a commercial one you'd never switch from gas.
| Kon-Peki wrote:
| Lodge makes a flat-bottom cast iron wok (the interior cooking
| surface is completely rounded, however). It's too heavy for
| my kitchen scale, but according to my bathroom scale it is
| between 11 and 12 pounds. You'll need two hands to move it
| around :)
|
| https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logic-Handles-14-inch-
| Black...
| bch wrote:
| Do you wrangle the wok on the surface (or a frying pan) for a
| saute[0]? What I'm really trying to find out is: how durable
| is the work surface? Does it deal well with pans being slid
| over it, and on/off it?
|
| [0] https://youtu.be/CTyV3JExDT8
| angry_octet wrote:
| Yes, never had a scratch.
| clumsysmurf wrote:
| Can you share which flat bottom wok you got? I'm mostly going
| to use one to prepare frozen broccoli in olive oil when I
| can't get fresh broccoli.
| vetinari wrote:
| > but it falls apart for lower temps, and it's very hard to get
| it consistent.
|
| There are gas hobs that make it easy; I like my cooktop with
| FlameSelect exactly for this, it has 9 discrete positions and
| exact flame size for each position.
| [deleted]
| twobitshifter wrote:
| I'm working on a renovation but will be sticking with gas. EMFs
| from induction cooking exceed the legal limit and we like to cook
| on high heat. If you are not fully covering the induction burner,
| using a silicone handle, and standing at least a foot away you
| can be getting an unhealthy dose of emf. It's non ionizing but
| it's so intense that I am personally concerned.
|
| https://kitcheninduction.net/induction-cooking-safe/
| euthymiclabs wrote:
| I can't say enough good things about my induction cooktop. It's
| as responsive as gas, but puts out more power than a home gas
| stove. Plus, it's incredibly easy to clean. Love it.
| noveltyaccount wrote:
| I switched from gas to induction during a kitchen remodel about
| 18 months ago. Took a couple of days to get used to, but it is
| considerably better than gas. Zero regrets. Faster, more precise,
| holds temperature better. E.g., I fry an egg on 6. Every time, I
| can reproduce my ideal fried egg (unless I break the yolk).
|
| When I was shopping for appliances about half of the salespeople
| tried to talk me into gas, but a few loved induction and boosted
| my confidence to take the plunge.
|
| Look at consumer reports ratings for induction cooktops, they
| universally score 98+ points. The best gas cooktops top out below
| the worst induction cooktops.
|
| No regrets.
| Wowfunhappy wrote:
| When I was in college, I wanted to be able to make pasta in my
| dorm room. The dining hall was fine, but it was my first time
| away from home, and I missed cooking pasta.
|
| The rules said that hotplates weren't allowed in dorms, so I
| bought a portable induction cooker for $60 off Amazon. It can't
| be a hotplate if it doesn't get hot! (And I didn't exactly ask
| permission.)
|
| Honestly, it was great! It was small and light, plugged into a
| normal outlet, and could boil water quickly. If my apartment
| didn't come with a gas stove, I could easily see myself using a
| couple of the things for all of my cooking even today.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| We've been using one for years.
|
| It rocks.
|
| I just removed the stupid efficiency comment. Not worth the
| agita, and I'm probably mistaken.
| noveltyaccount wrote:
| I thought induction was the most efficient cooking method,
| since no wasted energy goes into heating the air around the
| pan.
| pauldavis wrote:
| No, it actually does very well by that measure. Nothing
| needless to cooking is heated.
| jwr wrote:
| Incorrect, it actually is much more efficient.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| I just removed the stupid efficiency comment. Not worth the
| agita, and I'm probably mistaken.
| tedunangst wrote:
| Where does the wasted energy from your induction stove go?
| buran77 wrote:
| With induction charging you're trying to charge a battery and
| unfortunately producing heat in the process which is unwanted
| and entirely a waste.
|
| With induction stoves pretty much all the electricity is
| converted to heat in the bottom of the pan which is _exactly_
| what you want. A minor portion is lost elsewhere in the
| circuitry but not much in the grand scheme of things.
|
| Efficiency refers to the ration between what you put in
| towards a goal and how much of it actually turned into that
| goal. Things that produce rhat with electricity tend to be
| 100% efficient because any waste usually happens to be heat.
|
| An induction stove certain shouldn't have lower efficiency
| compared to a regular electric stove so maybe check if it's
| not a local issue.
| ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
| OK. I'll accept that.
|
| My electrical bill is (a fair bit) higher than with the old
| electric stove, though. That's interesting.
|
| I still love it, and have no intentions of giving it up.
| miduil wrote:
| I love induction stoves, I'm always a bit sad when people tell me
| they dislike induction cooking.
|
| I wish there was more granular heat control aka faster on/off
| switching/temperature modulation, some stoves are really bad
| which makes frying especially complicated as the heat comes in
| pulses of seconds.
|
| Btw. for my new apartment I was wondering if there are ways to
| avoid scratches on the induction glass plate and turns out there
| are protective silicone mats, which also help against slipping.
| Anyone tried those yet?
|
| Random Amazon link of what I mean:
| https://www.amazon.com/Induction-Cooktop-Mat-Fiberglass-Prot...
| whycome wrote:
| I'd be too scared to use it if its only good up to 480f -- I
| don't want to have to think.
| rasengan0 wrote:
| Duxtop induction cooker + Fagor Pressure cooker = life changing
| smiley1437 wrote:
| I stumbled across that magic combo too!
|
| Electronic temperature control using induction plus the quick-
| cool benefit of a stovetop pressure cooker. I love that a hot
| cooker at full pressure can be moved to the sink and cooled
| with tap water so it can be safely opened in less than a
| minute. Can't really do that with an instapot, gotta wait.
| zdragnar wrote:
| I recently got one, and there is a major drawback: there is a
| coil whine that drives my tinnitis absolutely bonkers.
|
| I like how it cooks, but hate using it.
| jahewson wrote:
| This could be your pans, the multiple layers of cladding on the
| bottom can produce a very high-pitch noise.
| convolvatron wrote:
| i have a stainless on aluminum pot that does this alot, and a
| stainless with a sleel slug at the base that does this a
| little. cast iron is quiet
| smiley1437 wrote:
| I like induction but it's hard to find portable induction with a
| true hob size larger than 6". Any cookware outside the induction
| disk zone only gets warm, not really hot.
|
| The largest one I could find is the Max Burton 6600 which claims
| a 9" induction disk but the middle 3 inches of the disk is not
| energized.
|
| I suppose for a 15 amp plug there's only so much area it can
| safely heat.
|
| Maybe built-in ones can be bigger?
| londons_explore wrote:
| If you disassemble one, you can quite easily change the shape
| and size of the heating area. It's all flexible wire that you
| can re-route as you please.
| em-bee wrote:
| related discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30275953
| throw0101a wrote:
| Cooking with natural gas is thought by some people to be very
| good, but food YouTuber Adam Ragusea is not a fan of it in the
| home he recently moved into:
|
| * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcAJ3_-Hou8
| prometheus76 wrote:
| Amateur home cook offering my experience using a portable
| induction cooktop next to my electric stove top. I'm in the US,
| so my induction cooktop is an anemic 1800 watt one because it's
| 120V, instead of the beefier European/Asian models that are 3500W
| 220V versions.
|
| That out of the way, here are the positives from my perspective:
| * induction boils a pot of water dramatically faster
|
| * the pots, in general, heat up much faster and reach cooking
| temperatures VERY fast (as in, under two minutes)
|
| * the surface itself only heats up as a result of the pan itself
| back-heating the surface of the cooktop.
|
| * fixed, known heat settings for specific temperatures.
|
| * almost instant pan response to temperature setting changes.
|
| Here are the downsides from my perspective: * No fine control of
| the "heat". I have eight temperature settings ranging from 140F
| to 460F. That's a wide range with only ten steps, so I frequently
| wish I had more fine control of the settings, especially at the
| lower end. The steps are 140F, 212F, 260F, 300F, 350F, 400F,
| 425F, and 460F.
|
| * Fan noise. The unit has a built-in fan that is very noticeable.
|
| * It's much easier to burn sauces, because the heat right at the
| cooking surface seems to be much hotter because it hasn't
| radiated throughout the whole pan yet. (Please feel free to just
| say "git gud" at my poor skills.) I don't really know how to
| articulate this well, but I find myself adjusting for a certain
| level of boiling, but being surprised at how hot the bottom of
| the pan actually is, which leads to a burned sauce.
|
| * Only works with certain pans. Most of my cookware is newer and
| designed to work with induction stoves, but I have a complete set
| of expensive stainless cookware that I inherited from my mother,
| and it doesn't work with the induction burner. Works great with
| cast iron and enameled cast iron, and I have a nonstick aluminum
| pan that has an iron plate on the bottom, so it works fine. I
| also have an all-clad stainless frying pan that is triple-layer,
| and one of those layers is iron, so it works well also. Any non-
| magnetic pans will not work (copper, aluminum, and older
| stainless pans).
|
| I use my induction burner when I am cooking something for a long
| time outside, when I am boiling pasta or making lighter soups,
| and for deep frying.
|
| I use my conventional electric stove when I am cooking meat,
| sauces, or thicker stews.
| anoojb wrote:
| Do you only have a single "burner" running off 120V outlet, or
| multiple?
|
| Considering a custom dual fuel setup. Since I'm limited by a
| 125AMP panel and we are almost maxed out between an electric
| heat pump, washer/dryer and maybe an EV.
| prometheus76 wrote:
| I have a single "burner" that I got from Amazon for $50. It
| is a 120V, 1800W version. If I were buying a stove/oven for
| my house, I'd still buy a gas stovetop with an electric
| convection oven in a heartbeat. I had one in a previous house
| and I miss it constantly. It had two very large burners and
| two smaller burners. I loved the exact control with almost
| instant response of cooking on a gas stove. I work in the
| energy industry, so I don't lose much sleep over it.
| throw0101a wrote:
| > _I 'm in the US, so my induction cooktop is an anemic 1800
| watt one because it's 120V, instead of the beefier
| European/Asian models that are 3500W 220V versions._
|
| If you ever wish to 'upgrade', what you can do is change a plug
| in your kitchen from the typical NEMA 5-{15,20} to a NEMA
| 6-{15,20} and then wire it in the panel to 240V, as there are
| 'commercial' induction cookers available:
|
| * https://eurodib.com/products/commercial-induction-
| cooker/?cu...
|
| * https://www.amazon.com/Eurodib-IHE3097-P2-Commercial-
| Inducti...
|
| * https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y7WXQMQ/
| prometheus76 wrote:
| Those all have two issues: MUCH higher cost (I got mine for
| $50) and they still don't offer refined power/temp controls.
| It's just in large steps. I did find one that uses a
| reflective thermostat to set the EXACT temperature you want
| and they said it's accurate to within 1.8 degrees F, but it
| costs over $1,000 for one burner. My current setup is fine,
| but if I was going to spend that kind of money on a new
| stove, it would be for a gas convection oven, not just one
| stovetop burner.
| convolvatron wrote:
| no kidding. I assumed that 'simmer' was something these would
| be really good at. but either way under, or rolling boil
| moistly wrote:
| Have a Samsung induction. Induction kicks ass: incredibly fast to
| heat up, incredibly fast to reduce heat, good temperature
| control, dead easy to clean, surfaces stay relatively cool, etc.
| Flat(ish)-bottom wok works well. I highly recommend upgrading to
| induction stovetops.
|
| Had a cast-iron pan on "hi" or "powerboost". It heated up so fast
| it cracked. It was like a gunshot, scared the bejeezsus outta me.
| Surprisingly, it did not shatter the oven top.
|
| Advice: don't buy Samsung. Their products are always garbage. The
| stove's convection no longer works. The dishwasher doesn't clean
| well and plastic bits have disintegrated. The fridge has an
| icing-up problem. Every Samsung product is shit. Spend the extra
| dosh, get something from a better manufacturer.
| ggm wrote:
| You both love your Samsung induction and hate Samsung. So..
| which wins?
| moistly wrote:
| Induction wins. Just choose better than I did.
| farmerstan wrote:
| I used an induction stove for 6 weeks and despised it. Maybe the
| one I used isn't the same as what others are using but it would
| turn on and off over and over again and I found the temperature
| to be completely unpredictable. I hated it
| jamesliudotcc wrote:
| I have experienced cheap induction tops that do that. The
| better ones don't. Mine you can tell it a temperature and it
| sticks it there, so I can basically tell it to slowly simmer a
| curry or stew and it does the simmering for me. I walk away for
| hours at a time. It's been more than a decade, so when I have
| to cook on anything else but that induction top, I find that I
| burn everything from neglect.
| smiley1437 wrote:
| Using induction and setting the temp to 190F, I've reduced
| entire bottles of wine to a thick syrup with almost zero
| attention, never had a scorch.
|
| I would never risk that on any other stove type.
| yakak wrote:
| That's been my experience with vitroceramic, I've never had a
| chance to try a true induction.
| amznbyebyebye wrote:
| Can't fry a fulka without the flame.
| itcrowd wrote:
| Induction cooking is good. UI is terrible: touch screen that only
| allows control over one heat source at a time. Please, please
| please give me knobs like the ones in gas tops
| gwinsyth wrote:
| Depends on brand. I have one with 4 distinct controls for each
| heat source. But when I was changing my stove, this was
| something I looked for - I've used those that can set only one
| heat source at the time, and they are infuriating for me too.
|
| As for knobs, I'm willing to bet that there are some induction
| stoves with knobs.
| smilespray wrote:
| Not only is the UI terrible (wet hands and touch based
| interfaces are terrible), but pets may accidentally turn on the
| induction if they are prone to walking across your kitchen
| counter.
| gruturo wrote:
| This should not be a concern (the danger due to pets, not the
| terrible UI, which is, indeed, terrible): All modern
| induction cooktops will not actually engage unless they
| "feel" a metallic mass which reacts to the magnetic field. If
| there's nothing, or anything else than an induction-
| compatible pan/pot on top of the hob, it won't do anything
| and will turn itself off after 30ish seconds.
|
| So unless you leave pans and pots on the hobs when you're not
| cooking, you're good.
| random_upvoter wrote:
| Same complaint here. Touch screen that stops working when it
| gets only slightly wet. I'm forever wiping down that stupid
| touch screen.
| bertjk wrote:
| Wow. If this doesn't read like a submarine article[1], I don't
| know what does.
|
| [1] http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
| naiwenwt wrote:
| The problem with induction stovetops in my experience is that
| they really don't play nicely with Asian (particularly Chinese)
| cooking. Trying to stir-fry on one is maddening.
|
| Usually any discussion about induction stoves seems to wholly
| revolve around European-centric cuisines, which is why I'm
| surprised to see this article quote a positive experience from a
| self-described "Kind of Chinese" restaurant. I genuinely wonder
| how they manage it and what I'm missing.
| code_biologist wrote:
| Does anyone know of an induction hob with adjustability that
| doesn't suck? My current one has 200-300 watt jumps between power
| output settings and it seems stupid that I can't adjust in 5 or
| 10 watt increments instead!
| amluto wrote:
| Breville Control Freak. Also, although it's current vaporware,
| the Njori.
| Gibbon1 wrote:
| There is some dividing line between crappy ones that pulse on
| and off. And the better ones with fine PWM control. I don't
| know where that is and the product literature is unhelpful. I
| suspect it's in the $250 range.
|
| All I can say is I tried a $60 unit, a $75 unit and a $120 unit
| and they suck. All of them pulse on and off at lower power
| settings.
| germinalphrase wrote:
| Give me more options with actual knobs for control and I'm in.
| shamskazi wrote:
| Breville's the Control Freak does it well, but $1500!
| mssdvd wrote:
| For me the main advantage of induction cooking is that it does
| not heat the surrounding environment.
| jnmandal wrote:
| The importance of this transition can not be understated.
| oblio wrote:
| I don't know why you're downvoted.
|
| Induction hobs cut out a loss leader for gas: gas stoves. Once
| you have gas in your home it makes sense to install the main
| moneymaker: a gas furnace for heating. It's how they upsell.
|
| Induction hobs are great in the fight against global warming.
| mikelemmon wrote:
| Oddly, the headline image of this article does not appear to be
| from an induction stove. Induction stoves do not glow red at all.
| phphphphp wrote:
| they don't glow from heat but they can glow by design: for
| safety reasons, some have lights that simulate glowing from
| heat. I guess the choice of image is a little curious, given
| the primary distinction between induction vs. traditional is,
| typically, the absence of external heat.
| ryanianian wrote:
| My (Samsung) induction-capable cooktop has resistive heating as
| a "backup" for cookware that is not induction-compatible.
| Theoretically this can be disabled using an app, although the
| app has never worked.
| magicalhippo wrote:
| > Induction stoves do not glow red at all.
|
| Which is great for safety. Yes it gets hot if a pot has been
| boiling for a while, but it's a far cry from regular resistive
| ceramic tops.
|
| Just bringing some water to the boil is not enough to make it
| more than uncomfortably hot. Try touching a resistive heater
| top after doing that...
| lom wrote:
| The article mentioned that some induction ovens come with
| lights attached to emulate the feeling of fire...
| ptomato wrote:
| Let me know when you can buy one of decent quality in the US with
| actual physical controls instead of some insane touch system
| designed by somebody who has apparently never actually been in a
| kitchen and marketed to people who won't use it but just want a
| thing that looks cool.
| ceejayoz wrote:
| Ugh, my parents have an oven like that. Press the "bake" button
| and it'll happily tell you you have to press the "on" button
| first. Infuriating design, and you have to mash your thumb for
| a good 1-2 seconds before it reads the press, too.
|
| Or our old Samsung washing machine, that wouldn't let you turn
| it off and on again without listening to the startup and
| shutdown songs first. (Our newer LG is much better in this
| regard.)
| [deleted]
| gcheong wrote:
| Are there any like that anywhere? I would think part of the
| problem is that induction settings are usually in discrete
| steps so a knob, which is what I assume you mean by physical
| control, may not be any better than a simple +\\- control and
| would stick up from a seamless cooktop. Also, the highest end
| ones like Thermadors seem to focus on making the entire cooktop
| usable which kind of breaks the discrete burner area paradigm
| that knobs would suggest. Closest I've seems is a little puck
| on Samsung cooktops that you can use to adjust the controls but
| I would hate worrying about losing it.
| whycome wrote:
| I suspect we will finally see a return to buttons in a couple
| years. I'm picturing an iPhone with a side ridge of multiple
| buttons. Like, little mini haptic-feedback touchpads (like the
| main pads on macbooks....but smaller)
| universa1 wrote:
| Even in Germany there are very few left with knobs... I think a
| price comparison listed like 10 models... Miele had/has some...
| Then there is neff with a "puck" thingy, somewhere in the
| middle and then some high priced stuff...
|
| [1] actually lists a few more, was looking for something bigger
| than 60cm (23inch??) wide.
|
| [1]
| https://geizhals.de/?cat=hkochf&xf=4220_11~4220_4~4220_5~422...
| hprotagonist wrote:
| my local library will let you check out a portable induction hob.
|
| The last time i checked, the waiting list was about a month long,
| which certainly speaks to the interest in the idea.
|
| As long as my rangeware doesn't warp, I'm all for more even
| heating! It didn't occur to me until very recently that a reason
| why pans might warp on an induction hob is that they can now heat
| up _fast enough_ to thermal shock on the way up, not just on the
| way down (by, e.g., taking the pan you just seared meat off in
| and dunking it in cold dishwater)
| rexreed wrote:
| Ikea sells a portable one for $55 (in the US). I know not free
| like the library, but if you want quick and portable access,
| I've used it and it's very good:
| https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-coo...
| amelius wrote:
| You also need a special pan, which is probably at least as
| expensive.
| Ekaros wrote:
| Most of the pans you have already bought are likely to
| work. I think thin copper ones are only ones not likely to
| work. Most other general cookware at least here support
| induction as well. Including the cheapish stuff.
| matthewowen wrote:
| Unless there's something weird about that cooktop, you
| almost certainly don't need new pans.
|
| Copper doesn't work, but cast iron, carbon steel, stainless
| steel all do.
| earleybird wrote:
| I really like cast iron cooking on an induction range.
| prometheus76 wrote:
| Older stainless steel pans do not work. Stainless is not
| magnetic. Most newer stainless pans have a layer of iron
| sandwiched between stainless layers on the bottom of the
| pan. I have a set of older stainless pans I inherited
| from my mother and they do not work with my induction
| burner.
| magicalhippo wrote:
| You can easily test your pans with a fridge magnet. If it
| sticks it'll almost certainly work.
|
| We switched to induction about a decade ago, had to replace
| one cheap skillet.
| throw0101a wrote:
| You need pans which you can stick a magnet to. Here's a set
| of three non-stick frying pans for US$ 30:
|
| * https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Kitchen-Nonstick-Frying-
| Pan/dp...
|
| A twelve-piece set of non-stick pots and pans for $130:
|
| * https://www.amazon.com/Induction-Kitchen-Cookware-Sets-
| Nonst...
|
| Or a ten-piece stainless steal set for $200:
|
| * https://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Classic-10-Piece-
| Cookware-S...
|
| Would you consider any of these "expensive"?
| moistly wrote:
| Plus, y'know, there's always ReStore, Goodwill, Pawn
| shops, Value Village, and Senior Center thrift shops.
| Good pots and pans are inexpensive. Matched sets less so,
| but still excellent value for cost.
| musikele wrote:
| "Although induction technology has been around for decades and is
| established in Europe, it has yet to catch on extensively here.
| According to Consumer Reports, induction cooktops and ranges are
| installed in only under 5 percent of homes in the United States."
|
| That's why, for a european like me, an article like this one
| seems totally extraneous to hacker news front page
| benoliver999 wrote:
| I do think I could use an upgrade though, my induction hub just
| clicks on and off PWM style. Not great for a steady heat.
|
| Having read this article I noticed that they aren't all like
| this.
| schroeding wrote:
| Can absolutely recommend the upgrade, these stoves are far
| superior to PWM style "2000W or off" ones. I can even melt
| chocolate without a water bath on mine, they can keep
| temperatures as low as 55degC / 131degF steadily no problem.
| :D
| contingencies wrote:
| It may be that your cookware is no good. For safety reasons
| _all_ control systems for induction appliances have a feature
| to automatically turn off when they detect that the generated
| field is not being received by a large enough target surface,
| since otherwise it would be a fire risk. Try changing
| cookware, you may find the issue goes away.
| hades32 wrote:
| German here. So few people here have induction because people
| still think that most pans couldn't be used. But I love it!
|
| But also few here use gas. It's mostly ceramic hobs
| Ekaros wrote:
| Don't have one, but used to have cheap counter top thing. I
| think only pan or similar I can't use is my ceramic dutch
| oven. Never browned anything in that one either, so it is
| pretty academical... Just need to check the pans you pick up
| and you will be fine in general.
| universa1 wrote:
| I would expect most of remodels/upgrades to be induction
| though... At least that is the case in my social circle
| (another German)
| [deleted]
| ascar wrote:
| As a fellow German I didn't go induction on purpose, because
| I prefer the ceramic hob cooking experience. "Pans cannot be
| used" wasn't part of the decision. Having "control nobs" on
| the front rather than a touch area on the cooking surface was
| a hard requirement for me though and seems to be getting
| rarer every year.
|
| I'm actually amazed how much people love induction here, but
| I guess that's also because it's mostly compared to gas?
| londons_explore wrote:
| The heating technology and the type of control need not be
| linked...
| jandrese wrote:
| They aren't as popular in the US because they're considered
| commercial appliances and it's assumed you are on a business
| budget if you want to buy one. This means the store carries
| like 3 models and they cost literally ten times as much as a
| traditional glass cooktop. $250 vs. $2500.
| trulyme wrote:
| Whoa. Is that an import/export opportunity here? In EU the
| prices of both are comparable.
| naravara wrote:
| There are more commercial versions available but they do
| tend to compete at the higher end of the market. Induction
| is a specific choice you have to make here and people who
| make uncommon choices tend to be in higher budgets.
|
| It will probably change soon though. A lot of laws are
| being proposed to not add new gas hookups for new
| construction. Induction will have to become the higher end
| default for electric ranges.
| londons_explore wrote:
| Appliances tend to have a _lot_ of regulations around them.
| The chance you could commercially import a bunch of
| appliances from the EU into the USA legally and without
| substantial modifications is very low.
| ginnungagap wrote:
| It also depends where you are in Europe, in Italy gas is still
| by far the most common way to cook
| nemo1618 wrote:
| Warning to anyone thinking about buying one of those portable
| induction cooktop ("just to see what all the fuss is about"): if
| it plugs into a standard 120V socket, it's probably not going to
| boil water any faster than your existing stove! In fact, mine
| boils even _slower_ than my electric stove. Apparently, the
| portable ones only go up to around 1800W. If you want to
| experience the true boil-the-oceans power of induction, you have
| to get a full range that runs on 240V; those can draw closer to
| 7000W.
|
| Granted, you can still benefit from the precise temperature
| setting and the ease of cleaning, but don't expect it to be an
| apples-to-apples comparison.
| azalemeth wrote:
| 120V is only standard in a part of the world. It's much more
| helpful to talk about power -- where I am 3 kW is limiting on a
| standard socket, at 230V. What is it for the US (I don't know!)
|
| Note -- electric hobs and ovens are often wired into far far
| chunkier circuits and the high efficiency of induction is a big
| boon. It's wonderful to cook on -- all the responsiveness of
| gas, none of the pm2.5. It's just a shame that per kWh,
| electricity is a lot more expensive.
| tedunangst wrote:
| Somewhere around 15 amps is almost always the limit for basic
| circuits, making voltage an easy proxy for available power.
| Kon-Peki wrote:
| This house I just bought (in the US) has a really odd
| kitchen that includes a gas cooktop combined with an
| electric double oven. It's wired directly to the breaker
| box in the basement with a 35-amp fuse.
| cafemachiavelli wrote:
| I'm German and switched to induction from (old) electric after
| moving to a nicer apartment.
|
| Despite ostensibly knowing about its responsiveness before I
| still ended up with slightly underdone food for the first week -
| if you turn off the stove, it will get cold almost immediately,
| no/little residual heat to make use of.
|
| It also comes with the vaguely flashy feature of letting you run
| one stove plate with twice the energy by temporarily disabling
| its neighbor. Since the dial goes up to 9.5 regularly, I call the
| power boost setting "19" and relish in the knowledge that I'm 8
| steps ahead of Spinal Tap.
| Gibbon1 wrote:
| Now I want a cook top with a burner that goes to 11. My last
| gas stove had a 'hot' burner. Problem was the scaling doesn't
| match the other burners.
|
| I have a glass top range now and it sucks. Problem is most of
| the good induction units in the US are built in cooktops. Good
| ranges (combined cooktop+oven) are $$$$.
| legohead wrote:
| Natural gas is far cheaper, so I'll stick with that. Even though
| I love the idea of an easy to clean stovetop. My electric bill is
| already out of control (California).
| upofadown wrote:
| You might want to do the math. Induction is quite a lot more
| efficient at actually heating the food. Even regular electric
| is more efficient at heating the food than gas.
| londons_explore wrote:
| When gas is 4x cheaper per kWh, electric isn't going to win
| cost-wise, even if 100% efficient.
| aaron695 wrote:
| jamesliudotcc wrote:
| I have an induction cooktop form Cooktek, which I originally
| bought in 2007, which I carry around with me everywhere.
|
| One more thing about how it is great. Since it heats the pan
| directly instead of the air underneath the pan, you can boil
| water for pasta without heating up the kitchen. Now, many of you
| have A/C to keep your kitchen comfortable, but then you are
| heating up the kitchen with the stove and then cooling it down
| with the A/C ...
|
| My friends are not convinced. I get responses anywhere from no
| way to it's ok for me maybe but they really just love the feel of
| cooking on gas. These are supposedly environmentalists, too.
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