Understanding Induction Cooking
When you mention induction cooking to someone, they may not automatically already know what you are speaking about but it may be a term that some people have heard used. Although some people have heard the term induction cooking used, not too many people understand what exactly it means. But to understand it is not that hard at all as we already classify our stovetops or ranges as either gas or electric but what we need to understand is that there are three types of electric stovetops.
There is the ever popular coil elements, the halogen heaters, and then lastly induction. As the coil or the halogen stovetops produce heat to transfer to the cooking pot, pan, or skillet, induction does the opposite. The induction cooking method makes the cooking pan or pot itself is the generator of the heat. This may be confusing to understand at first but when all is said and done, it really is quit simple. After fully understanding induction cooking, you may never want to use another method again.
How It Works
When you turn on a coiled electric stove it begins to heat. If you place your pot or pan there, it will heat up and when you remove the pot or pan away the coils remain hot because the unit is still turned on. But with induction cooking, nothing could be farther from the truth. Basically, with induction cooking, the coil will produce an electromagnetic field of high frequency, which will penetrate a cooking vessel made of magnetic material. Now, there is an electric current that is circulating and this is generating heat. This is where induction cooking varies from other standard methods.
Through the cooking pot or pan the heat is transferred to what is inside and the food or liquid heats up. But as soon as the cooking pot or pan is removed out of the electromagnetic field the element turns off and the generation of heat is automatically stopped instead of being a continuous source of heat until manually turned off. This is what makes induction cooking so different from anything else. Also, to make induction cooking work, cookware such as aluminum, pyrex, and copper cannot be used. Instead, to make induction cooking work for you, you must use steel or iron pots and pans. With all of the new stuff hitting the market on a daily basis, it is a good idea to keep up on what is going on in order to stay ahead of the game.
