For more comfortable kitchens, businesses are making induction cooking an alternative to high heat. Induction cook tops are able to heat up a pan faster than traditional gas or electric ranges and because only the pan is heated up, the rest of the cook top remains cool. Heat is produced by an electromagnetic field which reacts with any magnetic surface thus no
heat is generated until a magnetic pan comes into contact on the burner and heat is subdued when the pan is removed -giving it a huge benefit in safety. Cooking with induction also quickens the speed of cooking, especially useful during rush hours. Precision is an advantage to chefs who require an exact temperature to cook a certain item. Before installing an induction cooker, there are few things to look at:
SPACE – the generating of magnetic field means that induction ranges require adequate space surrounding them to properly vent the heat from the cookware and electronics inside. How much space you need will depend on how many elements you have. On this note, if you wish to have items like built-in ovens or storage drawers under the stovetop, ask the manufacturer if there are specific dimensions to adhere to for this purpose.
POWER SUPPLY – typically, an induction set includes “pot recognition” which means elements will not power up unless there is enough surface covering it. Elements comprise of an inner, core element surrounded by a secondary ring and the outer ring is only activated if the pan’s base overflows the inner core. Some manufacturers have an “auto-detect” function that turns on the outer element while manual switching is also available.
ELEMENT LAYOUT – commercial kitchens will usually have more than a single-element induction stovetop. Arrangement of elements matter for workflow coordination. Would you prefer big elements in front so that there is no need to lift heavy pots to / from the back or have those behind so that it is easier to reach the smaller pots and pans?
COOKWARE – only magnetic metals work with induction thus stainless steel and aluminum cookware cannot be used. Nowadays many cookware makers make “induction ready” pots and pans that incorporate clad, metallic bottoms on them so check before buying.
EXTRAS – most induction units come with touchpad controls on the surface of the unit making it easy to operate and clean. If it features knob controls, extra space might need to be allocated for them. If little things matter, look for one with ‘automatic timer’ which serves as just a reminder while some timers can control a certain element or even independently control all the elements.
** Special thanks to Dipo for providing the image depicted in this article.
