Is The Future Of Cooking Induction?

A very interesting thing happened with building codes in California at the beginning of this year--nearly every city or county quietly adopted a ban on natural gas in any new-build project. This means no gas water heaters, no gas fireplaces (I still have to check into that one as it seems ay too restrictive), and no gas cooktops or stoves. I have heard that the thinking behind this ban has to do with sustainability and cleaner air quality. But I seem to recall the natural gas industry assuring us that natural gas is a clean-burning fuel. Apparently that is not the case at all. It has since been revealed to be quite a "dirty" fuel...so it looks like we were lied to. It isn't the first time an industry has lied to the public to sell a product and it won't be the last.

So what are people expected to cook with if they can't use gas? Well, old-style electric burners, whether exposed or under a glass top, are pretty universally hated. So no gas, no electric. That leaves one choice: induction.

But what is induction? It has actually been around since the early 1900s, was used widely on submarines in the US Navy during World War II (can't have an open flame on a submarine!), and was heavily developed in the 70s. Now there are many models on the market from a wide variety of manufacturers to choose from. Instead of an external heat source like a gas flame or a heated electric coil to heat up everything on/above it, induction cooking uses a magnetic module and a magnetic eddy current to heat up the actual metal in the pan. The cooktop remains relatively cool since there is no actual heat source (residual heat from a hot pan itself may be felt).

Because of the magnetic field, this means that the cookware used must be "ferromagnetic." In other words, it must be made of iron (like black, cast-iron skillets and pans) or magnetic-grade stainless steel. If a magnet sticks to it, it will be induction-compatible.

Clearly glass or ceramic cookware will not work, but enameled cookware such as Le Creuset will work as the material under the enamel is iron.

Copper and aluminum cookware will not work since they are not magnetic...and the irony here is that copper and aluminum are the best metals at conducting heat! But some cookware companies make pots and pans that are layered with iron or steel at the base but sandwiched in aluminum or copper, which makes the temperature more uniform across the pan. Additionally, such cookware can have aluminum or copper sides since the heat will transfer upwards to the rest of the pan better that way. Look for a symbol or notice on the label of the piece of cookware indicating that it is induction-rated.

However, many people do not want to invest in an entirely new set of pots, pans, and skillets just to accommodate an induction cooktop. A recent development in induction cooking is the idea of an "all-metal" cooktop which uses a higher-frequency magnetic field and a different oscillator circuit design to allow use with non-magnetic metals like copper and aluminum.

Because the control of the magnetic field is not heat-centric, changes are immediate and greater accuracy and precision can be obtained with cooking things like delicate sauces. However, many cooks and chefs say they like natural gas precisely for that reason, that they have great control over what they are cooking and how they cook it.

Another factor to consider is the price. While many models can be costly at the outset, users will save money over time as the unit simply uses less energy to do the same thing, with much less energy lost to heat. But back to the idea of induction being "clean" and replacing a "dirty" fuel like natural gas: the electricity it takes to activate the magnetic coil has to come from somewhere too...and we know electricity is generally coal powered. Even more reason to invest in an infrastructure that is going to make a truly clean energy.

Happy designing!