Can I learn to love induction cooking? 

I've already ordered my eclipse shirt - have you? Get yours at dftba.com/minuteearth (order by Monday, March 18 to be sure to get it in time)!

The on-off cycle of induction drives my wife nuts. On the cheap cooktop I bought to experiment with you can see water boil then stop then boil then stop. It seems that more expensive ones have better regulation, so they'll turn on fractional amounts when you hit the right temperature. No one advertises this feature so you just have to get lucky in the reviews hoping someone mentions it.

I spent 8 years working in a kitchen with gas stoves and at some point had to work at a korean ramen shop that used induction exclusively. I found that the induction was generally more responsive and aggressive than gas and I liked it. I also greatly enjoyed the lack of fumes and lack of waste heat. Induction was obviously safer which was nice to have as a worker. Pro tip: When using gas I would often lift the pan away from the burner a little if needed more immediate control of the heat. This is very common in line cooking because every second counts and you can't waste time fiddling with knobs. I wasn't sure if it would work with induction and most induction stoves turn off if your pan is too far away but there was a little wiggle room there and it was something I could rely on to more directly control how heat was being created from the magnetic field. In the case of induction I wouldn't often fully remove the pan up form the surface but I would more often angle the pan one direction or another so that part of the pan would still be in contact with the range. This is good for things like pancakes that require a little extra control of the heat.

I own one of the aforementioned crazy-expensive $1500 induction cooktop, and it's an incredible piece of technology. It can sense the pan temperature within 2 degrees, and you can set the temperature accordingly. It also comes with a probe that lets you automatically adjust the temperature based on what you want the pan/pot contents' temperature to be.

You missed out on the best part! A built-in induction is more than twice as powerful at 3700W as the plug in countertop model you used. Also the noise depends on the pan, my cast iron griddle makes no noise. Induction coils also don't ahve to be a circle, my cooktop has 4 oval ones in row that you can control individually and works great for weird size or long rectangular griddles. Thermador makes one with lots of little coils over the whole surface that can work with any size pan.

Another advantage is cleaning. No creases and small pieces and grills makes cleaning really fast!

Helen Rennie mentioned your videos yesterday in her video and now youre mentioning her. Slay

That is one hell of a fancy gas stove. I have always cooked with induction. Never found the obsession of gas understandable. I invested in a 3500W stove that doesn’t turn off/on if it reaches temperature, it just gives a certain amount of energy the whole time. It even has a step where i can set it to a temperature. Great video, hope you can transfer and join the rest of us in the future

Another thing to be aware of with induction: when seasoning cast iron or carbon steel, it’s basically impossible to get the sides of the pan hot enough. So at least the first time(and any future times after fully stripping the pan), you’ll need to use the oven method, instead. The bit about warping pans on high heat deserves a re-mention here particularly with seasoning. Medium heat only unless you’re boiling water.

I have cooked on induction cooktops for about 30 years and love it. It's so very fast. If you use it for a while you get used to the amount of heat produced. I used the little single element cookers when I was between stoves one time and we hung on to it for outdoor use or emergencies. In my experience, those little ones aren't very good and do not reflect induction cooking. Spend the big money and get a good GE one. They are worth it. My burners have never made any noise, so I don't know what people are talking about. I will never leave induction cooking for anything else. Plus my pots and pans stay nice and clean.

"no response from the company" in other words they know their product is shit and they're hoping you just won't bother to return it

Pro Tip: Those portable induction cooktops are great replacements for the traditional "hot plate" and very convenient for "mobile cooking" the power output on them tends to be dwarfed by built in cooktops which could easily be twice the power. Basically, don't let a portable stove be what determines if you like induction or not.

I'm a big fan of induction cooking (the lack of mess from oil polymerizing to the cooktop is worth it in itself), but what was difficult for me in induction was that the heat ONLY works if the pan's completely horizontal. For recipes that require shaking or wiggling the pan (crepes, for example), you will have to remember that as soon as you take it a little bit off the burner, it's gonna start cooling down. As for the "no visual indicator" thing, i think this is really something that happens with every transfer to a new cooktop! When I switch to a new gas or electric burner, I need to reacquaint myself with how the heat's gonna behave on that one - because "full tilt blue flame" or "red hot hob" on one stove does not equate to the same heat output as on another.

Why anybody who cleans their kitchen would prefer anything besides a glass top stove is beyond me.

Nice to see that Technology Connections and Minute Food share opinion about induction cooking.

I bought a used induction range last year and it's one of the best purchases I've ever made. Once you get used to gaging the knobs it's super quick, powerfull, responsive and easy to clean. On max level the water boils so hard it makes waves and splashes out of the pot

I really enjoy my induction cooktop because I'm disabled, and stoves are *absolutely not* designed for use from a sitting position. The burners are basically at eye level. Apparently they do have side-open ovens, at least (a fact I only learned a couple weeks ago) but they cost 5-10 times as much as the regular kind, and an oven is already a pretty expensive appliance. I can just put an induction cooker on a table I can get my wheelchair under, and now I have a stove I can actually use comfortably.

we should start a crowdfunding to renovate Kate’s kitchen

I think it's a little misleading to call induction expensive. There are models at most price ranges these days. Maybe not the cheapest of the cheap electric coil range, but certainly on par with almost any gas stove.

Fun that you and Helen Rennie shouted out each other in your latest videos, you both make some of my favorite cooking content on youtube!

My favorite thing about cooking with induction, is that you can put a piece of paper over the surface before cooking. Especially when making jam it’s so satisfying to remove the paper after you’re done, and everything is clean. My second favorite thing is that I don’t have to worry about the cats burning themselves on a hot plate, hot part of the cooking stove My third favorite thing is that I don’t have to worry about leaving the gas on. Because when the plate gets to hot it automatically shuts down. I had a very expensive one.

Induction is the future. Cheaper, more efficient, safer than conventional stove. Straight-up better in every way.

I am from the Philippines. I used to cook in an induction stove. When you don't have a gas burner set up, it's more convenient, and since I don't live in the US, it is affordable. You don't need an entire range, and just having a stove is more efficient than having an stove top oven, as prices can escalate quick. However, I switched to gas as LPG was low enough until the war in Ukraine in 2022, so I had to switch back to electric as prices for an LPG tank was extremely high. We've sold our double burner as scrap metal as it was unused, but late last year, prices of electricity was rising and needed to keep electricity cost down and we had to retire our induction and went back to gas (LPG) in which the prices may still be high, but it has stabilized a bit. I observed our electric bill and the usage of our electricity bill had went down and a single 11kg tank would last 2 months.

How fucking expensive in the US? We paid for the stovetop induction 600€ (653$) and the oven another 500€, both are quite good You get ripped off, damn

Another great one! I got a Duxtop several years ago and was also curious about the same stuff! It only cycles power on/off up to level 2 (out of 10), starting from 3 it does continuous power (I haven't tested the temp setting). I assume it varies with different models, so that could be why the second one worked better. Also tested how much less efficient it was than an electric kettle. Assuming the kettle is near 100% efficient, with this I suppose you can ballpark the number for the induction one. Took 98Wh for the Duxtop, and 86Wh for the kettle to boil the same amount of water, so about 88%. The Duxtop was still quite faster, as it was running at about 1760W. Some energy in the induction is lost in the power conversion, same why charging with a cablei s more efficient than wireless charging.

It is interesting to me just how common induction is in Japan. I also love gas in general but induction is just where the future is. Reading about gas pipelines in the US and how much green house gases they leak is eye opening.

I bought an induction hotplate the other day, and for some of my pans, it's amazing. For other pans I prefer you're they operate on my standard electric hotplate. But I do find it remarkable and fascinating and fun to use

I bought an induction cook top 3 years ago to let me make noodles in my small basement room. Now it sits on top of my ceramic cook top, because it heats up faster, cooks faster and actually sears food I put in it. If I ever get rich and own a home, I'll definitely be including an induction cook top for my home, and maybe one with an indent for a wok.

I've been using induction for the past 12 years. When I started, getting the cookware was not easy. Some shops did not even stock suitable pans. It is different now. I would not go back to any other form of cooking. I also like that when I don't need to use the hob, I can use it as extra preparation space.

I had mixed feelings at first, but i used induction plates that had 2 flaws: Too little power settings and small diameter coils. You have that on most cheaper cookers. If you have only 6 steps of power settings that's too crude. Can't set a proper simmer or just that level of boiling you want to achieve. And with those small diameter coils you can only use pans up to 22cm. Those heat only the inner ring. You can see it in your pan, only the part in the middle is active^^ I found a european brand Hendi that's way above the entry level plates. 11 power settings and pans up to 26cm for a budget home induction plate. And very sleek and stylish design.

Another thing to consider when getting induction heater is the material of your pan. Not all metals are ferromagnetic

I bought my first home two years ago and wanted gas in the kitchen (had to do a reno), but because reasons had to settle for induction. I still have difficulties when cooking to adjust the temperature. Where I notice it the most is when doing coffee with the moka pot, either take ages to start boiling and producing coffee or it is instantaneous, doesn’t capture properly the flavour and mostly tastes like it was too hot for the coffee. With the same moka pot and water/coffee variables on a gas stove produces more quantity and better taste.

I have a temperature gun that I use all the time in the kitchen and wonder why more people don't have one. It only measures surface temperature, but that's still very useful information for many common cooking tasks.

I grew up in a place where no one had gas stoves, so I never hard the visual cues that you get with gas. The first time I cooked using a gas range found it really freaky to have an actual fire going on the stove top. I kept checking on it to make sure that nothing else had caught on fire.

The cooking with gas tik toks were actually propaganda, there’s a Climate Town video about it

The very downside of induction stove is that it only works with steel cookware!!! It won't works on glass (including Pyrex), ceramics, aluminum and copper.

I have an electric vehicle with a travel trailer that runs everything but the cooktop off electricity. So I got an induction cooktop for it, much like the one you have. It's great - now my cooking while camping is also 100% electric. (Note: This trailer has a battery and solar panels of its own, and my EV has an electrical socket, so I can even "boondock" camp with it. The trailer also notably _doesn't_ have an oven, not even a gas one. Nor a microwave. So I have a compact air fryer to act as oven.) My house has two kitchens (the basement is basically its own apartment, which we've had renters in until very recently.) The main kitchen has a glass-top electric range with convection oven. The basement has gas range. So I've been able to test all three. (Humorously, both main floor and basement also have convection microwaves, AND we have a countertop air-fryer; so we can convection-bake five things at once if we really felt like it. Six if we get the compact air fryer out of the trailer.) Once you get the right cookware, induction is *GREAT*. I prefer it to both of the other stovetops. But… There are times a conventional "conduction exposed heating element electric" would be nice. The glass top - while much easier to clean than the conventional exposed heating element kind I had in my previous house - just doesn't heat up as fast, since the heat has to pass through air then glass to the pot/pan.

An additional significant benefit of induction is cleaning. Cleaning a flat glass surface is way easier than the intricate parts of a gas stove.

I would really love for us to get some more reasonably priced induction ranges here in the US. I've really wanted induction for a long time, but most places that sell ranges around me have 1-3 options and the salespeople straight up say that nobody buys them. A couple just thought it was the same as electric.

takes some getting used to but it has a lot better temperature control. also it's important to get a decent pan, as some of the cheap ones don't have a conducting insert that goes right to the edge, so only the middle gets hot. interesting your take on the heater not holding a temperature, i've noticed mine would be sizzling away then suddenly it wouldn't be, but not every time. come to think of it i don't remember that happening since my old pan wore out and i replaced it. hmm...

I have two portable induction stoves and I love it. First, I bought only one to understand if I can work with it. It took me some time to understand the different options I have on mine and when I should use the power or the temperature option. Once that settled in, I realized that I need to have two of them to properly cook some dishes without switching between pans and pots. My best moment was making several liters of yogurt overnight, as I can maintain a consistently low temperature.

Watching this while using that same portable unit. :) the second one. Interested to hear if you find particular food easier. We found the temp setting reliable for hard boiled eggs. 2 inch of water, wait to boil, set to 240 degrees for 12 min. Consistent results. Pans will vary, but the range and pan combo seems reliable.

I bought a duxtop induction cooktop (twice) from Amazon for about $60, and i was suprised when she mentioned the "on/off" problem. This model does not have that issue, the only problem is its too powerful, so i have to use a lower temp than i would expect to need.

I'm missing one feature being mentioned, the timers on induction stoves. Lots of meals have a time things have to simmer or boil after the initial work you do in the pan or pot, having the stove turn off automatically after a time is a small but amazing quality of life feature. Instead of when lets say cooking soup the timer goes off and you have to get up to turn off the gas, you can just stay seated and finish reading the chapter of your book as the soup will stay warm for a while anyway. Of course I'm not saying with induction you should leave the kitchen unattended and possibly burn down, but it's a lot easier to sit in view of it and do something else.

I love the animations and audio!

I wish someone would make a drop in burner replacement for old style electric coil stoves. I don't need a full range replacement, but if I could replace one or two burners that would be amazing. The burner controls on those old stoves are pretty ubiquitous, as are the burners, so it should be fairly easy to engineer.

Our household (Germany) had all 3 technologies - Natural Gas - Grandma - Eletric Burner - Mom - Induction - Mom, after a new kitchen If u are used to cook with this new technology, you dont want to go back into the stoneage 😉

Personally I really like induction, it's very responsive and clean up is easy. It is also promising for kitchen design in future, Gaggenau and Dekton recently came out with a system where the cooktop is integrated in the kitchen counter.

I found to fry eggs I needed to use a lid to cook more evenly and to lower the heat you just turn it down rather than lift the pan which felt weird

As someone who learned to cook both on gas and induction and currently uses a kitchen with an electric stove, I have to ask: Is it really common to look for the flame to judge heat? I have never done this before and always judged from the inside of my pots and pans, from what happens there, viscosity of oil, behaviour of a tiny drop of water, such things. The biggest advantage of induction is its temperature range, though, not only can it heat hotter than the others, it can also heat far cooler than the others. I would still be cautious and not melt chocolate directly in a pot on induction, but it should work fine with an induction stove.

And when switching to a induction burner: Do not forget that normal steel or aluminium pans/pots will not work (they conduct electricity too well, leading to not sufficient heat production).

I really need to buy one of these single burner units. I grew up on electric, and the *constant* heat flux it provides. I currently rent, and the last 2 stoves my landlord has provided were those newer IR stoves, and they are TERRIBLE. They constantly turn off and on, and cannot provide consistent heating. Sure, you can boil water on them, but you can't cook pudding (because when they're on, they BLAST heat, and then turn off, and things like pudding can't be made like that).

Another benefit is that because it only heats the pan, no excess heat is being radiated to the room. A semi enclosed kitchen can stay way cooler with an induction stove. Gone are the days where cooking would would make me sweat like crazy.

Cooking soup - induction stove Stew - slow cooker Roasted potatoes - par cooking in a microwave followed up by crisping in an airfryer Stir frying - gas Cup of tea/coffee - electric kettle Rice - rice cooker Toast/sandwich - panini grill BBQ - charcoal

hey! i was looking for how these things worked! neat :3 also holy shit 7 minutes

Actually after 10 years on induction and moving to a place with gas stove now, I hate the fume and the burning and the heat it produce lol 😂

I can't love induction any more than I do. Switching from old school electric to induction was the best kitchen decision I ever made.

we switched almost a year ago, in our kitchen. the LED thing is neat. but I've moved around a lot and all different stoves, so learning how hot is what, is more a matter of hovering your hand over the pan to feel the radiant heat off it, or a flick of water, that kind of thing, so I adapted easily. now i have one of those portable ones in my home office for quick nibbles, popcorn, or the like. they're awesome as heck!

Something that doesn't come up very often as a downside to induction is that the very way it generates heat can play hell on implanted medical devices. I have a nice Cafe Induction range and my best friend can't be in my kitchen while a burner is on a high setting because the implanted nerve stimulator she has for severe headache management isn't shielded. Newer models are shielded and I suspect this will become the norm as induction becomes more common, but for now it's a genuine hazard.

Given the topic of this video, I find it a little awkward that the term "burner" seems to be the default in the US/NA for what we call a Hob. I think I've heard the term stovetop, which would also remove the implication of heat

I've been cooking with induction for over 20 years and love it. I would never go back! It does take some getting used to -- including issues not addressed in this video. But making the transition has been well worth it for our family. The improved air quality is great. And the fact that it doesn't warm up the kitchen so much in the summer is also a huge benefit.

I bought the exact same model and it works great as it doesn't heat up the kitchen. BUT the dynamic power supply and coil creates ultrasonic harmonics which send my cat running for cover. I've used a spectrum analyzer and there's a 20-22KHz spike which seems loud enough to cause discomfort for your pets.

I absolutely hate the pulsing of induction... Thanks for finding out that different induction cookers behave differently. Also, maybe I will need a thicker pan.

NEVER put eyes on your characters again

For me it's the other way around. In my apartment I only have induction. I am totally used to it, but when I go back home, we use gas. It can't tell you how many times I almost burned myselft, because I forgot that gas also heats of the handels of the pot, which induction does not.

It doesn't make sense that a single large induction plate costs less than $100 but a whole induction cooktop with 2 big plates and 2 small ones is like $1000

I do believe gas is already rarer than induction for new housing developments because it's much cheaper to pull JUST an electric line than having to pull an electric AND a gas line. So a lot of new developments just come with induction pre-built. Also, induction is great in small cramped apartments or student dorms.

This reminded me of how crazy cultural differences are. Almost no one I know has a gas stove, gas grills for barbecue sure, but for actual day to day use not really. So I have no clue what you are talking about regarding the colour of the flames having anything to do with the heat :D

The lack of terminology is very frustrating. There are different ways to do power levels in induction. One where the burner runs full blast then power cycles then there are ones that do not do that. Generally speaking, ones that do not power cycle will not have that annoying ringing sound because that pan won't resonate with the fields. You also are less likely to get warping. But good luck finding the term for that or any way to find out if the burner uses one method of power management or the other.

From experience, induction does not tend to play well with cast iron and carbon steel, as it causes nasty hotspots. In every other case, it is superior and safer to gas

I live in a rental with an electric range… cooking sucks that way. I dreaded it. Then I bit the bullet and got that Breville control freak. It has made me a way better cook and I enjoy cooking again. The price point is harsh but as they say, buy once cry once. And I justified it as it being about the same price as a phone that I buy every few years vs a cooktop that should last quite sometime.

I am a bit surprised at the prices for induction cooktops in the US. Around here in europe you can get them at IKEA for cheap and you can find even expensive brands for less than 1000€.

An apartment I stayed in had two of those little induction stoves (there’s a chance they were electric, I’m really not sure). The thing I couldn’t stand about those stoves in particular is how they’re not compatible with all pans. Previous inhabitants left some pans but only about half of them worked. Annoying.

I impulse bought an induction top years ago. I don't use it often, but having the extra burner when things are really going is super useful. It isn't the best one (but it is a duxtop), but it really gets the job done and is super responsive. It is great to be able to take it to pot lucks and outside events that have electricity. The only thing I don't like about mine in particular it is it is prone to overheating itself.

When we moved we went from electric to induction and it's been great so far, only how quick induction can heat up cought me off guard once.

I have a gas stove running on bottled gas (propane). Im on a rural property that is, technically, 'on grid', but being the last pole on a line (not on a loop), our electricity supply is unreliable. We have solar and battery backup because we run a lot of freezer space, but im very happy not to be 100% dependent on electricity.

Wow /I have one of these in case of emergency, thanks for the tips/ . Like you guys are some of the best to give simple scientificaly backed life tips. *sorry I was confused i think the one I have is an electrick burner... embarssing.

This video was funny to me, as I grew up with an induction stove, so I have only used gas once or twice in my life..

To the people saying to replace your gas stovetop with electric: getting rid of a perfectly working gas stove is way worse for the environment than continuing to use it until it needs to be replaced on its own.

In spain you can get induction ranges starting from 200€, and around 400€ they start being good. My parents have a 6ish years old Balay that works really well and can maintain heat and it was shy of 450€ at mediamarkt. I bougth a new Balay one for 350€ this year and works as well. Just one thing, don't go cheaper. A friend of mine bought a bargain one from an unknown brand and it powers off and on in lower settings, which is really annoying, specially if your pans are thin and can't sustain heat themselves. The thing is, induction has been the norm in spanish kitchens for at least 10 years and most people before that had vitroceramic (radiation heat), which is slow. Gas burners were seen as "what my grandmother had" mostly. On the other hand, from what I gather on the internet, induction seems like quite a new technology for americans and seems to just start being discovered in the last couple of years. PS. It's interesting how in America you buy "rangehoods" which is cooktop and oven as one thing while in europe you normally buy both separately. You can combine them however you want and you are not forced to stack them up (though most people do).

I was skeptical until we had the opportunity, after dinner, to tour the kitchen at the French Laundry. It was all induction! If it’s good enough for Thomas Keller and The French Laundry, it has to be good enough for me! Q.E.D.

I've always wondered, doesn't our body induct electricity just like the pun, when cooking with induction? Is it possible you actually damage your own tissue by your own induction heat? Is there any research about possible hazards in that regard?

I recently measured the efficiency of my 1200W induction stove. It pull 1210W from the wall (I guess the extra 10W are for the fan and electronics), with a 95% power factor. And it boils 1.5l of water in about 7.5 minutes. Which is pretty much bang on with the theoretical prediction of 1200W of heat pumped directly into the water. That makes it nearly 100% efficient.

Why don't we use induction in more applications like HVAC or water heaters?

If you think induction is fast on that 15 amp portable cooktop just wait until you get a proper one! I love my induction stove

It's basically a wireless charger for your pan - if you think of your pan as an electric heater.

Better in every way. I switched almost 20 years ago.

Uncle Roger would hate induction : No Wok Hey !!! 😂😂😂

My family has had induction for years now, so long we don't remember when we switched. So everything you just layed out we totally take forgranted. Like how quick water boils, the energy savings and lack of visual queues. We just, do it. And we get ours at a decent price too. So I hope it's not a too difficult of a switch for you

I was hoping for some concrete examples of how induction is better than gas from a purely cooking point of view... Any specific foods where induction works better than gas?

I bought a commercial induction top and it is the best. It was very cheap (200$) but only has physical knobs. It also pumps 3700 watts of power into my pans. It is incredibly hot at max. Even my biggest gas stove couldn't heat up my big pans that fast. I love that thing. I hate the touch buttons these induction stoves usually come with. Horrible. Don't get those.

My favorite thing about induction is it almost produce no extra heat that makes the room hotter. But from what i have seen induction is bad when you need to simmer in a low low heat. Setting the heat even to the lowest boil the water like crazy after 10 minutes of simmering. It's awesome stir frying, deep fry, pan grill and if you need to boil water very quick.

I lost my first induction stove because I didn't realise induction stoves needs active cooling fan to keep the electronics safe. So, don't leave hot pots on the stove while it is turned off!

When we switched from gas to induction at home, the only thing I noticed was that on big pans it only heats a single area, making wok pans a tiny bit more difficult to use. In general, barely different at all.

I think there's one more benefit you didn't quite bring up head-on: compared to electric (and especially gas), the improved efficiency of induction means your kitchen doesn't get as hot, and you don't sweat as much when you're working at the stove! :-)

Recently m, I’ve had a couple of power outages, and I’ve realized how crucial it is to not rely too much on electricity. Without a gas stove, there was no way that I could cook have my dinner.

People going to extremes against gas ranges never cooked with all 3 different types of stoves. Gas doesn't go quite as hot as electric nor is as fast as induction but is more even especially when browning lots of food in a large pan. I love induction for many reasons but is a pita for searing and the pwm cycling plain sucks for temperature stability.

The best thing IMO is that because the glass doesnt reach insanely high temperatures it is WAY less scratch prone. After about 7 years with my induction burner there are litterally zero scratches on the surface.

Bravo, mashAllah

If you were wearing a steel ring or bracelet would it get hot if you working in the pan, say stirring the food?