Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I love the induction vs electric coil burners when using the pressure cooker. It's so much easier to decrease the heat quickly when it's up to pressure.

I was sad when I couldn't get gas in my current house, but I have also come to love my induction cooktop. It feels sterile in comparison to using gas, but it is quick and responsive. Plus, my medic-alert bracelet doesn't heat up and sear me anymore when I'm stir-frying.

Oh, the one thing I do love more about induction though is boiling water for pasta. Put it on power boil, then once it boils you can put it on a middle setting (4 - 5) and leave it indefinitely until you are ready for it. Once you are, a quick jump to high power has it boiling again in seconds. You never have to time your sauce to your pasta again. And, now that I'm thinking about it, you can leave simmers forever without having to adjust the heat. Once it's set to they way you want it, it will stay consistent forever (not like gas where you have to constantly adjust higher/lower, higher/lower, and can never actually walk away from anything). Getting good pans makes a HUGE difference too. My AC will boil water in 90 seconds whereas my cheap "induction capable" nonstick pots take 4 minutes +.

*goes upstairs to pry open a pipe thereby justifying gutting kitchen and replacing gas stove

Which brand induction range do you have? Sounds pretty efficient.

Carey,

How do you stir-fry with induction?

Sorry, I haven't popped in for a while. I have an Electrolux induction slide in range. It works really well, but based on the repair rate of all of my other Electrolux appliances, I'd suggest going a different route. Even my 7qt pasta pentola pot takes only a few minutes on power boost to boil. You can't put it on and walk away. Power level 8 keeps it at a full boil once pasta is in. And it holds the temperature rock steady no matter what setting it's on.

I don't use a wok for stir frying and probably don't get the same heat pattern that you do with gas and a wok ring. I use a nonstick pan. I just heat the pan on high with some oil and when it's smoking, away we go. I also have no problem searing steaks in my cast iron pan. I dont do anything different from when I had gas. The cooktops/ranges don't have the same cut off problem that the portable burners do.

The only thing I miss is roasting peppers and heating tortillas. That and the romance of cooking with gas. Cooking on induction feels a bit sterile compared to gas.

I love the idea of induction cooking for all the reasons you mentioned.
My dual fuel range works well and I love having the electric oven for bread baking, especially. The things I don't like about the gas top is the open flame which can be dangerous, and how it heats up my kitchen in summer (in winter it's a help).
It's also a bit of a bear to clean, it has a black enameled top with three heavy cast iron grates. It always looks dirty.
But I do have a trick to make it look almost like new! It's call Sprayway Stainless Cleaner.
Cleans the enamel beautifully and then makes the stainless look like new.

That is simply stunning! Art!!

Oh yeah, I, uh, was so uhm, lusting, I forgot to chime in. I like thee power of gas, but I despise my cooktop. I absolutely can’t keep it clean. I will be going with magnetic induction when I replace it. I’ve used a few and they work great imho. Minimal cleanup and always look new.

My favorite personal stove is the 36” six burner commercial wonder I got for 250.00 bucks and had installed in my house in Beloit. I use induction burners at work and they do ok, especially the big ones. The available power at the burner will make a huge difference in how well it works. Of course, at work we’re cooking about three gallons of pastry cream at a time, or making dry caramel from 4k of sugar, so your needs may vary.

Does anyone have experiences with induction and woks?

I'm asking because I currently use a portable butane-powered burner for my wok, and would love to replace it with something that doesn't produce hazardous waste (the butane cans).