DEBUNKING THE MYTH THAT INDUCTION IS MORE EFFICIENT THAN ELECTRIC COIL
Even Heating Cookware: Why Even Cooking Matters And What We Can Do About It
WHY DO WE WANT EVEN HEATING AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
The main job of the stovetop cookware is to smooth out the uneven heat coming from the burner underneath so that the cooking surface of the cookware is the same temperature. If you have too much of an imbalance in temperatures, you wind up with hot or cold spots that can undermine your dish and your health by leaving some food overcooked and some food undercooked. You may even scorch oil and produce carcinogenic smoke, if some hotspots grow hotter than the oil’s smoke point. If you’ve ever cooked fish where part of a fillet got overcooked while the rest was undercooked; if you’ve ever made rice and had some undercooked while the rest burned; if you’ve ever burned part of a strip of bacon while waiting for the ends of the strips to be done, then you’ve already experienced the joy of uneven heating.
A second job of cookware is to hold that heat so as to maximize Maillard reactions. These reactions take place at higher temperatures. Thus if you have a flimsy pan and tossing in a steak crashes the temperature, that will mean more steaming/boiling of your food and lower Maillard reactions, resulting in less-tasty food.
Electric vs Natural Gas (or Butane Propane etc.) vs Induction Cooktops and Ranges
SUMMARY
I’ll cut to the chase for those of you who want the bottom line. If you want the most even heat in a residential cooktop possible regardless of drawbacks, get either multiple-ring gas or an induction cooktop that has dozens of little induction coils. Those tend to cost quite a lot, though. For everyone else, if you can afford it, get induction, as it strikes a great balance, though the upfront cost is still relatively expensive. If you can’t afford induction, get gas (assuming you already have the gas line and ventilation ready to go). If you can’t get either, get electric radiant, and if you can’t get that, get electric coil (same thing as electric radiant, but harder to clean). Also consider hybrid induction-gas ranges if you have a piece of induction-incompatible cookware you absolutely can’t let go of, or use woks a lot to stir-fry, as most induction cooktops struggle with both. Frankly, though, I’d rather just get a portable gas stove for those situations. [Read more…]