Thread: Induction cookers & induction cooking

I don't own, but have used a pretty high spec miele unit, and that thing was astonishing how quickly it would pump the heat into a pot- the boil mode had the unit humming like an old arc welder, and it would get a 5L pot of water boiling in a real short amount time.

I think induction cooktops don't like aluminium pans, and possibly some other metals. So the old Moka pot would need a metal adapter plate if that's your style.

Yes they are great, fast, we've had an ebay cheapie ($300) 4 burner in our new kitchen for a few years now, the cook would never go back to anything else and we are putting a two "burner" on in our camper instead of the existing gas stove.

I have used all forms of cookers except diesel cookers. (so that means petrol, ceramic, induction, gas, etc.)

My experience thus far is that I like gas/petrol best for most things and it can do pretty much anything/everything.

In regards to induction, yes it is one of the most efficient ways of cooking since there is not a lot of heat loss (the heat is created inside the pan itself). I like the speed of boiling things for example and the efficiency is a nice bonus. The safety aspect is also great. When cooking in a draft the flame can not be blown out etc etc.

However... There are plenty of things I dislike about induction cooking:

• you need special pans or at least not everything is compatible.
• Yes, a gas cooker will leave the grid very hot after use but make no mistake, a pan that has been on an induction stove will transfer it's heat downwards to the induction top as well so they too can get hot enough to burn yourself. Don't fool yourself into thinking it is 100% safe.
• useless for stir fry in my experience. It simply doesn't have the power for it and a wok with a flat bottom just doesn't work, you need a large gas hob for that imho
• they are glass plates effectively and a peanut butter pot from the cabinet above will smash it (ask me how I know...)

So all in all, it's a mixed bag for me. To put things into context: I have used electric heating and water in my house for 20 odd years and I live in a country with it's own gas (very cheap until recently) but I got rid of everything gas very early on. For cooking however, I am keeping it

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
-P

When I redid my kitchen in 2019,I had the old 1973 electric hobs that were slow as.
I put an induction in as I wanted to cook almost as soon as I put pot on the cooktop.
All I can say is DO IT, your wife will not be disappointed.
Cooks fast or slow as,easy to clean and I wouldnt go for anything else now.

cheers
littlecub

Installed a Bosch induction cooktop on the weekend, soooo much better than gas. We can also tell the difference of not having gas in the house polluting the air (crap useless range hood).
If magnet sticks to your existing pots/pans, then they will work fine.

Wow thanks for the replies appreciate the feedback sounds like a good thing.
Yes some of our pans the magnet sticks but the ol baccarat pots will need replacing.
Ah the range hood that is another rabbit warren, we have decided on a schweigen under mount with a 900 motor which they call silent but motor goes outside on roof, see how that goes.
Thanks again

Induction is great and does definitely stir fry, esp with 3.6 Kw instant power into a good frypan.

You can buy dedicated Uber power induction wok cookers for normal curved woks but they’re not cheap!

Originally Posted by RobMichelle

Hi
We are updating our kitchen soon, and thinking of going from gas to induction cooker.
Wife likes the flat look easy clean aspect, plus she has worked in aged care for many years and has seen a lot of people leave gas on and doesn’t want to be one to forget the gas as we get older, plus there not much more than a new gas cook top. Also thinking of in 20 years will it be better value in selling the house if we last that long.
So if you have an induction cooker are they any good ?
Do they cook well?
Do you like them?

Love it. It is so much easier to clean. It can boil water in less than 1/2 time time of the gas we had. With the correct plate you can sizzle a steak much better than any BBQ honest.

Takes a bit of time to learn but even the wok rocks on it. Ok its a flat bottom wok so it is steady I did get on with a gas wok burner. Honestly wish I did not as that is the only bit that's harder to clean and is not needed really Ours is one of these

Edit- I use the BOOST heat function on my flat bottom wok. I need to stir it like a nut to stop food burning. It took a while to get it right with the wok.