Sunday, September 12, 2010

Induction Cooking.

      







Innovation occurs when people find new and unexpected ways of using existing elements. Electromagnetic energy was the irst known form of energy in the universe; 14 billion years later Induction cooking is big right now in Europe and Japan, where ising energy costs have resulted in people looking for efficient yet effective ways to cook. The technology is just now eginning to take hold in the United States  and India and several manufacturers produce single-unit cooking appliances as ell as full cooktops. Many consumers may not have an induction cooking setup yet, but think back to the Microwave Oven - Once considered a luxury, then it became something to just reheat leftovers, now you'll find one in just about every kitchen -being used not just to reheat but to prepare courses and even entire meals.





Induction Cooktop uses electromagnetic energy to heat cookware made of magnetic material (steel, iron, nickel or various alloys).w hen the unit is turned on, the coils produce a high frequency alternating magnetic field, which ultimately flows through the ookware. Molecules in the cookware move back and forth rapidly, causing the cookware to become hot and cook the food.The cooktop's glass-ceramic surface is unaffected by the magnetic field since it contains no magnetic material.  Induction by definition is transferring something into something else. Induction cooking uses magnetism to transfer energy into the bottom of your cookware. When you transfer the magnetic energy into the bottom of your cookware, the electrons in the cookware get xcited and start wiggling around. Now when all these bazillions of electrons are all wiggling around, it generates heat and the cookware itself gets warm - then hot. The cooking surface doesn't get hot - it just sends the energy along to the cookware. As long at the energy is transferring into the cookware, it will continue to stay hot. Once the energy is removed or reduced, the electrons settle down and the cookware begins to cool instantly.


Induction offers the following benefits and performance advantages:

  • Control : When you're preparing a meal and you want to raise or lower the temperature of something on the stove, you want that change to be fastfastfast! With a conventional electric cooktop, you lower the temperature and read a book while you wait for the elements (and your pan) to cool. With induction cooking, when you reduce the temperature, the magnetic energy immediately reduces and so does the temperature of the cookware. If you've ever cooked with gas, the effect is very similar.
  • Speed : Since the energy is transferred directly from the cook surface in to the cookware, the utensil heats fast - faster than electric and even faster than gas,because energy is directly transferred within the pan metal, induction heating is extremely fast - even faster than gas. In the foodservice industry time is money and a faster cooking surface results in shorter preparation time. 
  • Safety : Induction is obviously much safer than gas or other electric surfaces since there is no open flame, red-hot coil or other radiant heat source to ignite fumes or flammable materials.When you remove a pan from an electric element, the element remains hot for a pretty darn long time. When cooking with gas, the open flame can ignite fires should something splatter or dangle into the flame. Induction cooktops only get hot from the pan on top of them, and do not generate their own heat. This means that when the pan is removed, the surface cools many times faster than the electric range element or the gas range grates.
  • Cleaning :With no grates or grease catch to worry about, clean up is a breeze. Just use a damp cloth and wipe over the flat, easy-to-clean surface. Because it does not generate its own heat, the induction cooktop has no grates or carbon buildup to clean. Cleaning spills is a damp wipe away. Also, since you don't have scorching heat going up the sides of your cookware, the utensils themselves stay cleaner longer and are easier to keep looking new.
  • Cheaper and energy efficient : Induction cooking is far more energy efficient than gas or traditional electric ranges. Traditional electric cooktop sends 65% of its energy into your cookware and the other 35% off into space. Since the induction cookware directs energy right into the cookware, 90% of your energy dollar goes into heating your food! Also, sensors in the induction cooktop can tell when you remove the pan and switch the unit into a standby mode, which uses virtually NO energy at all.
  • Even Heating : Hot spots and rings are avoided because the bottom of your cookware heats uniformly.
  • cooler work environment .. Almost no ambient heat is produced since all the heat is being generated in the pan itself. This means a  dramatically increase cooling costs!

       












1 comment: