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I did not know that induction cooking is a novelty (or at least worthy of an article) in the US. When you go to an appliance shop in France they would be 90% of
by BrandoElFollito 5y ago
I did not know that induction cooking is a novelty (or at least worthy of an article) in the US. When you go to an appliance shop in France they would be 90% of the offer (and 9% gas, 1% vitro-electric).
BTW the big photo on the top of the article is not induction but vitro-ceramic (the first version of something that would look at glass and not have flames, but this is not induction, just heating of a tingie under the glass plate)
Having used gaz since childhood for 30 years, the move to induction was fantastic. The only drawback is that you cannot cook with the cookware tilted (to pour some liquid into a small puddle and heat it directly, for instance)
- mytailorisrich 5y agoFrance moved to 100% electric in many places decades ago because of their strategic choice of nuclear energy.
- phtrivier 5y agoAs another commenter said, it was electric but "vitro ceramic", so terrible performance and pretty dangerous. This actually gave gas a "better rap". Now I honestly only use gas at the moment because I moved in recently enough that I haven't bother to change - but it's getting higher on n my list every day...
- formerly_proven 5y ago> it was electric but "vitro ceramic", so terrible performance and pretty dangerous How exactly is that dangerous?
- mikeyouse 5y agoAs one anecdote, since there’s no flame (vs gas stove) and the surface is happy to heat whatever is on it (vs induction which needs a magnetic metal) — my cousin burned down their family home by setting her book bag on the stove after school one day. It’s unclear how it got turned on but the end result was pretty terrible for them and likely wouldn’t have happened with a different stove.
- UncleMeat 5y agoA gas burner will happily light a book bag on fire.
- mikeyouse 5y agoRight, but you'd notice if there was a flame burning when you set your bag on it, unlike the electric element. This was 20+ years ago though, and I believe they all have the illuminated cooking positions when the burners are active now.
- worik 5y agoWe have one of these. It is a nice flat surface in the kitchen, and too many things in my household have been burnt by being placed on it. They are easier to clean....
- finiteseries 5y agoI’ve always wondered how Italians will handle the transition when it inevitably happens, that tilting & just a ton more movement in general over the flame seems super common there
- jimbokun 5y agoItalians are very good at not changing things if they don’t want to. If they believe something to be the best way, they will continue doing it regardless what the rest of the world thinks.
- muxator 5y agoI love my induction cooktop, but you are right: that gesture becomes impossible. Somewhat I manage :)
- crooked-v 5y agoMy guess: cast-iron cookware and induction stovetops designed for them. That gives you pretty much the best of both worlds, with the ability to retain heat while manipulating the pan while still having extremely precise temperature control.
- rtpg 5y agoI get what you're talking about but you can actually pick up an induction pan for a bit and shuffle things around and then put it back on the pan. It's not 100% exactly the same heat distribution but when you pick your pan off of the fire it's also not getting mots of that heat either. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong about this (apparently wok cooking "needs the fire"), but like... I dunno, I've done a lot of stir fries and messing around with pots on an induction thing. The "auto-turn-off" thing only happens for me if I really leave it picked up for a couple minutes, otherwise it just re-engages pretty quickly.
- BrandoElFollito 5y agoThe only drawback I see with the shuffling is that I do not want to drag my pan on the induction table itself, something I would do on a gas appliance (because the thing you put the pan on (surrounding the flame) is not fragile). I do not know actually if this is a real concern but would prefer others to chek instead of me :) As for the "flame" - I feel that the heating with induction is much faster and consistent than gas.
- twic 5y agoFWIW, what you call vitro-ceramic is known in the UK as a halogen hob. It comprises a vitro-ceramic surface on top of a halogen bulb; we chose to name the whole thing after different parts!
- contingencies 5y agoThere are shaped induction systems, most commonly for woks or industrial heating applications. However, as it needs to very closely match the external shape of the cookware, the technical and commercial viability of a generic system would be relatively low, which is why you don't often see them marketed. Copper and aluminium capable induction systems exist by varying the frequency. https://na.panasonic.com/us/food-service-systems/commercial-equipment/induction-cooktops/panasonic-commercial-induction-cooktop https://na.panasonic.com/us/food-service-systems/commercial-...
- angry_octet 5y agoThese systems are used commercially all the time, just not in the backwater of the US.
- worik 5y agoIt is odd how so many of these consumer advances take a generation longer to penetrate the USA. Bit harsh to call it a "back water".. Corporate advances in malfeasance often originate there! Gotta love the pop art too, real inovators
- angry_octet 5y agoCulinary back water would be unfair, but definitely laggards when it comes to innovation, especially if there is some regulation involved, doubly slow if there are entrenched interests. America is quicker to innovate if someone can make a buck.
- worik 5y agoCannot use copper bottomed pots. I got a nice collection of copper bottomed pots when my mother bought her induction cooker....
- neurostimulant 5y agoYou can still use electric stoves, just don't use the induction one. Ceramics cooktops uses old-school heating elements, which is less efficient than induction but works on any pots. Some brands even offer hybrid stoves which have both heating elements and induction zones.
- BrandoElFollito 5y agoYou could try to use an intermediate steel plate, I saw them on sale one day - they are intended to help use non-induction-friendly ustensiles.