What is Induction Cooking

The Short Version:

An induction cooktop looks like a cermaic cooktop, but has the power and quick response of a gas cooktop. 

Induction technology uses magnetic currents to create heat in the pot - not on the cooktop itself. This means that when the temperatre is adjusted, you don't have to wait for a coil or element to heat up or cool down - the magnetic field instantly adjusts itself to the desired heat setting. It also means it's safer for families as when the pot is removed, the element itself isn't hot!

Another bonus of induction cooking is that the precision of the temperature allows you to set and maintain extremely low, or extremely high temperatures. Gone are the days of double boilers, to gently melt chocolate for example. With an induction cooktop you can set it to it's lowest setting and leave chocolate perfectly melted all day. 

The Long Version:

(source: Wikipedia.com)

Induction cooking uses induction heating to directly heat a cooking vessel, as opposed to using heat transfer from electrical coils or burning gas as with a traditional cooking stove. For nearly all models of induction cooktop, a cooking vessel must be made of aferromagnetic metal, or placed on an interface disk which enables non-induction cookware to be used on induction cooking surfaces.

In an induction cooker, a coil of copper wire is placed underneath the cooking pot. An alternating electric current flows through the coil, which produces an oscillating magnetic field. This field induces an electric current in the pot. Current flowing in the metal pot produces resistive heating which heats the food. While the current is large, it is produced by a low voltage.

An induction cooker is faster and more energy-efficient than a traditional electric cooking surface. It allows instant control of cooking energy similar to gas burners. Other cooking methods use flames or red-hot heating elements; induction heating heats only the pot. Because the surface of the cook top is heated only by contact with the vessel, the possibility of burn injury is significantly less than with other methods. The induction effect does not directly heat the air around the vessel, resulting in further energy efficiencies. Cooling air is blown through the electronics but emerges only a little warmer than ambient temperature.

The magnetic properties of a steel vessel concentrate the induced current in a thin layer near its surface, which makes the heating effect stronger. In non-magnetic materials like aluminum, the magnetic field penetrates too far, and the induced current encounters little resistance in the metal. At least one high-frequency "all metal" cooker is available, that works with lower efficiency on non-magnetic metal cookware.

Induction equipment may be a built-in surface, part of a range, or a standalone surface unit. Built-in and rangetop units typically have multiple elements, the equivalent of separate burners on a gas-fueled range. Stand-alone induction modules are usually single-element, or sometimes have dual elements. All such elements share a basic design: an electromagnet sealed beneath a heat-resisting glass-ceramic sheet that is easily cleaned. The pot is placed on the ceramic glass surface and begins to heat up, along with its contents.

In Japan, some models of rice cookers are powered by induction. In Hong Kong, power companies list a number of models.^[14] Asian manufacturers have taken the lead in producing inexpensive single-induction-zone surfaces; efficient, low-waste-heat units are advantageous in densely populated cities with little living space per family, as many Asian cities are. Induction cookers are less frequently used in other parts of the world.

Induction ranges may be applicable in commercial restaurant kitchens. Electric cooking avoids the cost of natural gas piping and in some jurisdictions may allow simpler ventilation and fire suppression equipment to be installed.^[15] Drawbacks for commercial use include possible breakages of the glass cook-top, higher initial cost and the requirement for magnetic cookware.

This form of flameless cooking has certain advantages over conventional gas flame and electric cookers, as it provides rapid heating, improved thermal efficiency, and greater heat consistency, yet with precise control similar to gas.^[16] In situations in which a hotplate would typically be dangerous or illegal, an induction plate is ideal, as it creates no heat itself.

The high efficiency of power transfer into the cooking vessel makes heating food faster on an induction cooking surface than on other electric cooking surfaces. Because of the high efficiency, an induction element has heating performance comparable to a typical consumer-type gas element, even though the gas burner would have a much higher power input.^[17]

Induction cookers are safer to use than conventional cookers because there are no open flames. The surface below the cooking vessel is no hotter than the vessel; only the pan generates heat. The control system shuts down the element if a pot is not present or not large enough. Induction cookers are easy to clean because the cooking surface is flat and smooth, even though it may have several heating zones. Since the cooking surface is not directly heated, spilled food does not burn on the surface.

Since heat is being generated by an induced electric current, the unit can detect whether cookware is present (or whether its contents have boiled dry) by monitoring how much power is being absorbed. That allows functions such as keeping a pot at minimal boil or automatically turning an element off when cookware is removed.

Because the cook top is shallow compared to a gas-fired or electrical coil cooking surface, wheelchair access can be improved; the user's legs can be below the counter height and the user's arms can reach over the top.