Posted by Kitchen Design

Magnetic Induction Cooktops

Magnetic induction is the latest and greatest development in the field of cooking today. Chefs who traditionally cooked with gas are now changing their old habits and are switching over to magnetic induction cooktops. Magnetic induction cooking has all the benefits of gas cooking but is much more efficient. But how is this possible? Read on and I'll tell you more.

How does it work
Instead of using a resistance element (electric coil, halogen tube etc) such as is found on a normal electric cooktop to heat the saucepan, a high frequency magnetic field is used instead. When magnetic molecules move back and forth rapidly, they create friction and become very hot indeed. An 'induction' coil is used to create the high frequency magnetic field and the saucepan (which contains steel) in essence becomes the 'element' and cooks the food inside it.

Advantages
The advantages of magnetic induction cooking are many.

• Faster - because the energy is transferred directly to the saucepan (with minimal heat loss), heating is very fast. It is much faster than gas (and microwave ovens as well!). My induction cooktop (which is an Electrolux Gallery EHD8680) can heat 1 litre of water to a rolling boil in just 1 & 1/2 minutes.
• Cheaper - 90% of induction energy goes straight into the saucepan. That means that for every dollar you spend on cooking, 90 cents of your hard earned money is returned to you in fast, efficient cooking power. Compared to gas which is about 40% efficient, 60 cents of your gas dollar goes up the rangehood. Electric halogen cooking is 58% efficient and radiant coil is around 47% efficient. When you lift a pan from the cooktop the magnetic field is broken and the power is cutoff. Putting the pan back down restores the power again, making it more economical and safer than other cooking methods.
• Safer - because the glass cooktop surface does not get heated (only the saucepan), the pan gets hot and the cooktop remains cool. The only time the cooktop gets hot is from heat transfer from the bottom of the pan. It would be pretty hard to start a fire as there is no naked flame or infra red, radiant heat. Boilover can be eliminated because the touch controls are instantaneous (and most cooktops have boilover sensors which will cut the power if you have left the cooktop unattended).
• Cleaner - As the cooktop is cool, any boilover or spillage of food does not get baked on. Sensor touch controls means there are no fiddly knobs to clean (and get in the way of your pans).

Disadvantages
There are only a couple.

• Cookware must be magnetic (containing iron or steel). Copper based, aluminium, glass and most stainless steel will not work with magnetic induction. A simple test is to get a magnet and see if it will stick to the bottom of your saucepan.
• The high initial cost of the cooktop itself (around the Au$3,000 mark)
• The kitchen cabinetry may have to be modified (to allow for cooktop ventilation) if you are going to install the cooktop in an existing kitchen.

Tags: Cooktops, electrolux, induction cooktop, magnetic induction