When you’re in the middle of cooking dinner, you probably aren’t thinking about anything but the food itself. However, perhaps you’ve pondered whether or not there is a better way to simmer or keep the eggs warm without overdrying. Or what are induction cooktops?

We’ll shed some light on a few key points to help you understand the induction cooktop vs electric and what the pros and cons of each are.

All the Facts on What are Induction Cooktops

What is an Induction Cooktop

Induction cooktops are quite high-tech actually. An induction cooktop uses an electromagnetic field to heat up a pan while the rest of the cooking surface remains cool to the touch. Pretty neat, huh? It gets better. Unlike with gas or electric cooktops, induction takes the guesswork out of fitting the right cookware to the burner of a gas stove or heating element of an electric cooktop.

With gas and electric, you have less control over the heating of the pan unless you have a perfect match in burner-to-pan size. Conversely, with an induction cooktop, you have a high amount of precision in the way that regardless of pan size, an induction cooktop heats the entire bottom of the pan as it reacts with the magnetic field.

When you heat a pan over a gas burner, some of the heat gets distributed into the air surrounding the pan. In addition, you need to try to fit the pan to the burner size. Sometimes, the flames are wider than the pan, fanning out around the pan rather than on the bottom of the cookware. An induction cooktop is about 60% more efficient than its gas counterpart as there is no loss of misdirected heat. The entire bottom surface of your cookware remains hot while cooking.

An induction cooktop is also roughly 40% more efficient than electric. Again, the entire pan bottom is heated as opposed to only the area that touches the heating element. An added bonus: when you’re finished cooking, the cooking surface will be cool to the touch so your food is hot rather than your entire kitchen

Induction Cooktop vs. Electric

What are induction cooktops like versus electric cooktops? Everything you need to know rides on understanding comparisons. Let’s look at induction cooktop vs electric for a minute. You can think of induction as an extension of electric, as it requires electricity to operate. The difference is, the heat source is hidden on a smooth-top surface that requires cookware containing iron to allow the transfer of heat using electromagnetism.

Pros and Cons

Pros of Induction Cooktops:

• Precision in cooking regardless of pan size
• Cool to the touch is safer, especially for children
• Better energy efficiency for cooking
• Doesn’t affect the ambient temperature of the home

Cons of Induction Cooktops:

• Requires electricity – you’re out of luck if there’s a power outage
• More expensive to purchase
• Requires induction capable cookware containing iron

There are some reputable brands that carry quality induction cooktops: KitchenAid, Viking, and Miele all carry high-quality induction cooktops that are worth checking out.

When your current cooktop is ready for service or repair, contact Tiger Mechanical to get the job done right!

Check out this video from KitchenAid to learn more about how induction cooktops work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPyJfEhDELY