If you are looking for a burner that runs on electricity and offers a bunch of more advanced features than regular electric cookers, opt for an induction cooktop. Here we have discussed some common queries about portable induction cookers and induction ranges.
Why Should You Opt for Induction Cooking?
Imagine a common family situation, you left a pan on the stove to be heated. At this time your kid runs into the kitchen and accidentally touches the “burner” with its hand. Normally, it could have ended very badly. However, by opting for induction cooktops that remain cool during and after cooking, you can consciously avoid such mishaps.
Induction cooking is a boon of modern science. It offers instant heating as well as faster cooking. The induction cooktops offer a high-level energy-efficiency (90%). On the other hand, a gas stove & an electric burner can use only 40% & 60% of the heat respectively.
Less energy wastage makes less electric bill at the end of the month. Another top feature of a magnetic stove is it needs no open flame to cook. During cooking, the induction heating process only heats the pan instead of the burner itself. It is a safe way to cook food with no risk of burning, exhaustion, fire hazards, etc. So, induction cooking not only saves your time, energy & money; but also assures the safety of you and the home as well.
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What is an Induction Burner?
An induction burner is a special kind of burner that works through the mechanism of induction heating technology. The Induction cooking process applies electromagnetic technology to cooking foods. An induction burner includes an induction coil that is placed beneath the surface of that burner. This process requires induction-ready cookware utensils that are usually constructed of cast iron, magnetized stainless steel, etc.
The significant features of an induction burner include dimensions, heat settings, lock feature, Timer, pan-detection, auto-shutoff, ventilation, LED display, cooking modes, heating elements, etc. An induction cooker makes our busy life much easier.
How Does an Induction Cooker Work?
Any usual burner uses an open flame or an electrical coil to create heat for cooking. And, the pans catch heat by thermal heat conduction. But the Induction cooking method doesn’t work in this way. An induction burner bears a copper coil under its surface.
During the induction cooking, the coil produces a magnetic current and the cookware placed above the burner surface gets properly heated through the magnetic friction. The heat is transmitted to the cooking items inside the cookware through the heat-conduction process.
Read more: Electric Cooktops FAQ: Everything You Need To Know About
What Happens Inside an Induction Burner?
When you plug in an induction cooker to a power outlet, the electricity passes through the coil and creates an electromagnetic wave. This leads to a magnetic flux towards the pan sitting over the cooktop. This process magnetizes the pan-base repeatedly and creates the bulk of eddy currents. In reaction to this, the magnetic base of the induction pan shows a resistance. This creates enough heat on the pan-base to cook the food.
The induction method heats only the pan, not the burner. And, the induction heating can create much more heat than any burner, like the gas range, etc. During this cooking process, the cooktop remains cool. If you move away from the induction-compatible cookware from the cooktop, the heat generation stops, as the magnetic field is left unaffected.
What is Induction-ready Cookware?
An induction burner can’t work with a usual aluminum, ceramic, glass, or steel pan. It needs magnetic cookware. Induction cookware refers to a pot or pan that comes up with a magnetic base. It can work well with an induction cooktop. The specialty of a magnetic pan is it bears a ferromagnetic base. This base is built with one/two layers of heat exchangers, like stainless steel, copper, aluminum, etc. You can also use the cast iron wok with an induction magnetic stove.
Read more: Ceramic Cookware Buyer Guide: How to choose safe ceramic-coated pans
Useful Tips to Buy Portable Induction Cooktop?
Generally, induction burners offer a safety mechanism with energy efficiency. However, few brands offer a bunch of innovative and handy features to make your cooking experience more flexible, easy, and precise. In this section, we are gonna focus on some essential tips that would help you in choosing a standard induction cooker under budget.
Type, Size & Dimensions of Induction Cooktop
The required size of your desired induction cooktop is related to several factors.
- If you are looking for a cooktop for dorm use, then single portable induction cooktops would be a perfect pick. For a home kitchen, you can choose a countertop induction cooktop with single or double burners.
- Consider your level of cooking expertise. If you are a novice cook, then you can start with a small induction cooktop (30 by 30cm or similar). And if you are an expert cook, then you can go for a medium to large-size induction cooktop.
- Next, count your family Size. If you own a small to medium size family then you can pick a medium-sized induction cooktop. On average, a regular-size portable induction cooktop features about a 60cm wide cooking surface. On the other hand, if you have to cook for a large family, then go for a large induction cooktop featuring about 100cm or wider surface.
- Space in your kitchen is another deciding factor. If you have considerable space on your kitchen countertop, then you can easily place a spacious induction cooktop over there. However, if your kitchen is small leaving a limited space on the counter, then choose a small to medium size induction cooker.
Construction & Design Efficiency
Before you buy an induction cooktop, don’t forget to check the quality of the material with which it is made. The standard induction cooktop brands build their induction cooktops with smooth-touch glass surfaces offering better shatter-resistance and durable performance than the cheaper plastic tops. Moreover, smooth glass-top induction cookers are easier to clean.
Read more: Is nonstick cookware safe for health?
User-friendly Controls
Not all induction stovetops are easy to deal with. Check out whether the induction cooktop comes with a well-organized control panel. Moreover, the standard induction burners feature easy-to-read on-touch controls. Anyone can use these controls without any confusion.
Essential Safety Features
The smart induction cooktops come with a bunch of modern features that make your cooking experience much more comfortable.
- The Pan detection sensor shows a beep that helps you to understand whether the pan – lying over the cooking surface – is induction-safe or not.
- If you leave the cooktop unattended for a long time, it will waste electricity and raise your bills. The auto-shutdown feature can turn off the cooktop within 60 seconds after you remove the pan from the cooktop.
- The lock feature is truly helpful when you have a naughty kid in the home who loves to touch the cooktop buttons when you are away from the kitchen.
- The power on/off button is great for the forgetful people who often forget to turn the burner off after cooking. Furthermore, when your cooktop owns more than one burner, the power ‘on’ buttons can indicate to you which burner is currently active.
The modern induction cooktops come with a bunch of smart attributes, besides the basic safety features.
- The timer option shows the time duration left for a pre-programmed task. Generally, the standard induction stoves come with a 3-hour built-in timer for every cooking zone.
- The LED display/readout clearly shows the current temperature and time left for cooking. It helps you program the cooktop.
Temperature Control
No cooktop can offer efficient cooking performance if it fails to offer a precise heat-controlling mechanism. Before choosing an induction stovetop, check out the range of heating temperatures it offers. For instance, a very low heating temperature allows you to melt chocolates.
The highest level of heating temperature gives you the freedom to try diverse recipes. Adding to this, if your cooktop has more than one cooking zone, make sure your cooktop heating mechanism can distribute the power efficiently among the active burners.
Read more: Induction Cooktop Cookware FAQ: Everything you need to know about
