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I nearly poisoned my family two weeks before I switched from gas to induction. I was writing late and wanted a midnight quesadilla, so I put the pan on the stove to heat it up and went back to the couch to punch out a few more lines. The lines turned into paragraphs and I forgot about my saucepan…until the smell of gas wafted from the kitchen, through the dining room, and into the living room where I worked.
Yes, I broke the basic rule of kitchen safety – never leave a running stove unattended – but instead of starting a fire, I didn’t notice that the burner wasn’t burning, so dangerous fumes were leaking into my Family. Luckily, I’m quite sensitive to smells and I caught the smell early and opened the windows before the gas started rising upstairs where my husband and kids were sleeping. But it still worries.
While I’m ashamed to admit that this isn’t the first time this has happened, I’m happy to report that this is the last. Because somewhere in the supply chain, a great Italian induction collection comes to me.
At first my husband gave up on the idea of converting our gas stove to induction as he is very new to the technology. He works at the grill for four seasons and is a former chef, so he understands fire. His induction experience was limited to a live cooking demonstration ten years ago. No one told him that he was working on an induction cooker and he spent hours waiting for the glass surface to heat up. My introduction to induction is similar, unfortunately, to television.
What we didn’t know at the time was that induction uses electromagnetic force to transfer energy directly from the induction element to the cookware – in a sense, all the way through or around the surface of the cooktop. With induction, the pan becomes the first and only source of heat, and without it, there is nowhere for energy to go on the stove and nothing happens. Even without compatible cookware (more on that later), the hob itself does not heat up, although it draws a minimal amount of heat from the pan. This makes induction a very energy efficient cooking method.
In contrast, both gas and electric stoves are based on thermal energy transfer, a process by which heat is transferred from one object to another, with an open flame or electric coil as the initial heat source. (On some electric hobs, the heating element is built under the smooth surface, so we immediately got confused with induction.) On gas and electric hobs, food takes longer to cook due to the large amount of heat released into the air and onto the hob during cooking. food. transfer of thermal energy. Heating the pan uses more energy.
The energy efficiency debate was enough to pique my husband’s interest in induction, and as our new series was long overdue, I started sending him articles about the dangers of gas cooking. I also often remind him that anytime he wants to cook food on fire, he can go outside and use his charcoal grill, gas grill, or kamado grill. Finally, here’s a photo of Bertazzoni’s sexy stainless steel Induction collection that makes the scale work in my favor.
If you’re only cooking with gas, induction takes a bit of learning. At first, it was frustrating to turn the knob without a visual indication of what was happening (even cheap electric burners turn bright red when hot). But when we first saw a pot of water boil in less than five minutes, we were all thrilled, and it only got better from there. Everything we cooked was fried evenly and nothing burned. When my husband made breakfast for our kids he was a real convert and every pancake was perfect. Yes, at least the first one.
Through trial and error, we found the best scheme for our favorite dishes, and soon we developed our own language around Bertazzoni’s scheme:
As a bonus, the glass surface is very easy to clean. Each of my old gas burners had four removable parts, including the grate, and cleaning this stove was one thing. With my induction hob, cleaning is very easy because the entire hob is a single piece of glass, so I just wipe it down with my favorite cleaning spray and a microfiber cloth.
I’ve become such a nerd at induction that I now use boiling water as a party trick, and if we sell our house, our Bertazzoni (whom I affectionately call Bertie) will definitely come with us.
Since my house was built in 1916 and at some point was half renovated to accommodate construction grade kitchen appliances, I don’t have a proper range connection. I hired a contractor to install a 240 volt, 50 amp outlet and cover my gas lines. If your kitchen is already hooked up to a traditional electric stove, you may not need the extra power to run it. However, if you are switching from gas to induction, the gas lines must be properly closed or removed.
When I tell someone that I have switched to an induction cooktop, I usually hear the version: “But you have to buy all new cookware, right?” Not properly! I don’t need to buy new cookware because I already use cast iron and stainless steel on my gas stove. While not all pots and pans are compatible with induction hobs (glass, ceramic, copper, and aluminum won’t work), it’s also true that you don’t have to buy anything fancy or overpriced to cook on induction. If your cookware has a flat bottom and a magnet attached to it, it will work on an induction hob.
Now that I have lived in induction for three months, I consider myself an induction evangelist. However, I am willing to admit that there are downsides to an induction cooker, starting with the fact that induction cookers are typically around 20% more expensive than comparable gas cookers, depending on the brand and retailer. However, induction hobs use less energy than any other type of stove, so they can run out of steam.
Some induction cookers (including my favorite Bertazzoni) also make a slight hum on some cookware. This is due to the activity of the magnetic field, which is a little annoying, but barely noticeable when the oven lid is open.
Even though I occasionally go off quesadillas for a while, I’m a regular safety nerd at Epi so I appreciate that I don’t have to worry about open flames or dangerous induction coils. Induction hobs also have a built-in safety feature: If you accidentally press the knob without a pot on the stove, nothing will happen (other than maybe some kind of warning indicator). Removing the pan from the magnetic field also stops the transfer of energy.
Induction is also safer in terms of air quality, as gas cooking pollutes indoor air with nitrogen dioxide, which can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems. Some experts have raised concerns about possible radiation from induced electromagnetic fields (EMFs), but all electrical equipment emits some form of radiation, and there is no scientific evidence [PDF] linking induction hobs to negative health effects (and induction already exists) almost a century, so there is plenty of time to study it). However, there are legit studies linking induction cooking to delicious pork belly.
In my circle, the “induction vs gas” question is a matter of preference when people renovate their kitchens. But for all the reasons above, electromagnetic induction will eventually become the standard home cooker, whether people like it or not. Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is currently illegal in all New York City developments, and many states are working to pass similar legislation.
I’m excited to be part of the induction trend these days, especially as professional chefs are also ditching gas in favor of fancy induction cookers at home.
If you’re not ready to switch from a gas or electric stove to an induction cooktop, you can still start cooking on an induction cooktop using a portable induction hob on the countertop. They are easy to use, easy to clean and easy to store, and it’s always nice to have an extra burner. These models are our top picks in our portable induction hobs reviews.
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Post time: Oct-10-2022