As part of our elimination of gas burning appliances we installed an induction stove. While induction stoves have been around for a while, they’re new to us. And it’s disrupted my morning routine.
As an engineering student of the late 60s, time-motion studies were ingrained in us. (We were all budding Taylorites.) Every motion of my morning routine has been given some thought and the setup is determined by how fast the water boils in the kettle to make Nancy’s tea. While the water’s heating, I perform several other tasks, most importantly getting my coffee ready.
The first morning post new stove I was discombobulated. I’d barely set the kettle down and it was whistling away. And our kettle’s shrill whistle is enough to wake the dead.
So, it’s true. Induction stoves boil water faster—much faster—than either a gas or electric stove. I barely get my cup ready when my Italian stovetop coffee maker is spurting steamed coffee.
This will take some getting used to.
Out with the Old
We’d upgraded our fossil gas stove in 2011 for $600. The Whirlpool brand used sealed surface burners unlike previous stoves. This eliminated the drip pans beneath the burners that could be removed and cleaned separately. The absence of drip pans was annoying, making the stove top hard to clean. It took us some time to find cheap Chinese disposable drip pans. On top of that the cast iron grates were enameled that chipped right away. Eventually we found bare metal cast iron grates that we preferred. The oven temperature was off too so we bought an analog thermometer to keep track of temperature. In other words, we weren’t entirely happy with the old stove, but it worked. You can get a new gas range for about what we paid in 2011.
I’ve used electric stoves in the past and never liked them. My mom had one in her electric home. This was one of those old styles with the exposed elements. Invariably, the elements would get bent—how this happened remains a mystery—and then the pans wouldn’t sit level on the element. If you spilled any grease on the element it would immediately flash into smoke. The stove was barely adequate, but it was relatively cheap. You can buy an electric range for about $600, though most now come with a glass cook top for a little more.
Our Frigidaire Gallery cost $1,600 installed, more than two times the cost of a gas or classic electric stove. However, prices go up from there. Friends have paid more than $3,000 for their induction stoves. Some stoves are $5,000 or more.
Magnetic Magic
An induction stove is a whole other kettle of fish than a gas or an electric stove. For one, the owner’s manual is 47 pages in contrast to the mere 11 pages that came with the gas stove. For another, the cooking surface is a flat ceramic plate with faint markings where the “burners” are located. But most strikingly, the induction stove works seemingly by magic. You place your pot or kettle on the markers, turn it on to “high” and within seconds the water boils, yet there are no flames or glowing elements to indicate anything is happening. The stovetop does make a humming noise and that’s your indication that it’s working.
What happens takes place invisibly inside the walls of the metal pot. Something in the stovetop—the induction coil–excites the molecules in the metal of the pot and it’s the pot that gets hot. For that to happen, the metal in the pot or pan must be magnetic.
Both my coffee maker and the tea kettle are made from induction-rated stainless steel. And therein lays one of the not-so-hidden costs of moving to an induction stove top. They require magnetic or “induction rated” cookware.[1] This can be cast iron or “induction rated” stainless steel.
Stainless Steel Cookware
We spent about $650 on new cookware. You can do it for much less. We bought cookware made in the USA. European cookware was slightly more expensive and Chinese cookware costs less than half what we paid. So we didn’t get top-of-the-line, but we paid more to “buy American.”
If you’re like us and want to support European or American workers you have to pay attention. Some brands that sound American or European, Cuisanart for example, make their cookware somewhere in Asia. They don’t often say where exactly. Another example is Swiss Diamond. Most of their cookware is made in Switzerland as the name implies, but not all of it. Some is made in China. So it pays to check.
All-Clad and USA pan are made in Pennsylvania. Heritage Steel is made in Tennessee. 360 Cookware is made in Wisconsin. Scanpan is made in Denmark. Demeyere is made in Belgium. There are several manufacturers of enamel clad cast iron and stainless steel cookware made in France and Germany. Again, it pays to check as some well known names sell versions of their brands in the USA that are made in Asia. Meyer manufactures some of its cookware in Canada, but only offers their Asian products in the USA.
Heritage Steel has taken a stab at listing some brands and where they are made on its web site. The list is useful, but isn’t complete and leaves out some German and French brands.
Stainless steel cookware requires a more refined method of cooking than coated cookware. The cookware must be heated first, and then coated with oil when frying foods. The manufacturers provide tips on how best to do this.
Cleaning stainless steel soiled pots and pans is also more difficult than coated cookware. It takes a lot more elbow grease to clean baked on debris than otherwise. Manufacturers discourage abrasive cleaners and steel wool, instead recommending Bar Keepers Friend and its oxalic acid for keeping stainless steel bright and shiny. We’ve found that using a plastic scraper followed by Bar Keepers Friend works wonders.
Initial Stovetop Use
Our initial use hasn’t been trouble-free. Of course regulating the temperature on an induction cooktop is different than on a gas stove. There’s no visual reference to go by. I’ve boiled over my morning oatmeal more than once trying to find the right setting for “simmer.”
Nancy generated some excitement when she was using the frying pan one night. She sat the lid on top of the stove and inadvertently turned on the wrong element. The part of the lid over the active element soon turned red hot while she was waiting for the skillet to heat up. The stove then sounded a warning buzzer which alerted her that something was amiss. She then turned off the element, but it took some time for the lid to cool enough to move it off the stove. The high temperature discolored the lid but didn’t warp it so it’s still usable.
The electronic buttons on the stovetop don’t react all the time when you touch them. They seem laggy. I have to touch the sensors several times before they respond.
The oven works better than our gas stoves. The temperature sensor is more accurate relative to the analog thermometer. It was only off 25 °F at 350 °F, a significant improvement over the old gas stove.
So far we haven’t left one of the elements on unattended as we had with the gas stove. The stove detects when an element is on and hasn’t been in use for a period of time and turns itself off.
I have noted that in dim light it’s hard to tell where the elements are located on the black ceramic cooktop. There’s probably a work around for this besides simply turning on the overhead light.
One tip I picked up from a friend was to place a paper towel under the cook pot to catch any spills. Since the element doesn’t have an open flame, there’s no danger that the paper will catch fire.
For now we’re learning to live with the induction stovetop and have eliminated fossil gas—and all its hazards—from the kitchen. No more worries about accidently leaving the gas on and killing ourselves in our sleep.
Tips on How to Clean Stainless Steel Cookware
- Cookware Made in the USA
- How to use, clean, and care for your All-Clad
- Heritage Steel Care & Use
- How to Clean Stainless Steel Pans
More in the Electrification series.
- Steps to Electrification: Dumping Fossil Fuels
- Electrification: Tracking Down a Mystery Outlet
- Natural Gas Is Linked With Cancer — Not Wind Power
- Gas is Gone: PG&E Pulled the Meter
[1] The oven works conventionally. It’s the stovetop where the magic takes place.
