ShareThisBy ROSEMARY SADEZ FRIEDMANN
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Remember the saying "Now you're cooking with gas?" Perhaps the contemporary version of that is "Now you're cooking with induction."
So what is induction? In mathematics it is the demonstration of the validity of a law concerning positive integers. In an engine, it is the inspiration of the fuel-air charge from the carburetor into the combustion chamber. In cooking, it is a method that directly uses the pan as part of a cooking system in which energy is instantly transferred into the pan.
How so? By means of a magnetic field being generated between the cooking surface and the pan itself.
Let's try explaining that in another way. An induction range will generate a high frequency, alternating current magnetic field to heat an iron-based cooking pan through a ceramic-glass cooking surface. The changing magnetic field induces eddy currents within the base of the ferrous cookware. As with a magnet, the energy transfer to the pan is instantaneous and can be controlled easily.
So what's the big deal? For one thing the pan is instantly heated, so your cooking starts right away. Butter will melt about as fast as in a microwave; water will boil very quickly ... and so on. To adjust the heat you simply press the control pad commanding higher or lower heat with precision that can be compared to dialing a thermometer.
Safety from accidental burns is another great advantage of induction ranges. The range surface is not heated directly. Instead it only absorbs heat from the pan. Because of this, the cook top dissipates heat very rapidly once the unit is turned off and the pan is removed. Actually, you don't even need to turn it off; it does so automatically. Once the pan is removed from the burner, the element ceases to receive energy so it desists in being hot.
Cleaning is a breeze. Here is something my husband would like because every Sunday we cook a big breakfast and it is his job to clean the cook top. His cleaning often involves a good amount of elbow grease and is often accompanied by a few choice words that I won't mention here. With the induction range, the heat is in the pan and not so much on the surface of the range so food doesn't cook onto the surface. Usually a damp sponge is all you need. But even for tougher spills, baking soda or some such non-abrasive cleaner usually does the trick.
This system is even energy efficient. Compared to gas it is 60 percent more efficient, 50 percent more energy-minded than a conventional exposed coil system, 63 percent better than glass top electric ranges and even 27 percent more proficient than the halogen burners.
Icing on the cake? Your kitchen will stay cooler since less heat is being expelled.
The more astute among you m might be huffing by now that the induction cooking system isn't new. You are right. It was first introduced to the public in California in 1974. But it didn't expand from that area until 1977 and then with only a limited, and usually commercial, distribution. Now it is available to everyone.
(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of "Mystery of Color," available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Amazon.com.)
