Every year, household appliances are becoming more “smart” and modern - there are new electronic devices and devices capable of preparing tasty and healthy food in the shortest possible time. One of these devices are induction cookers. The pros and cons of these devices we will consider in our article today.
World market appearance
This technique is the youngest against the background of its brothers, as it was invented later than all the others. A few years ago, in stores you could buy only two types of stoves - gas or electric. However, recently, more and more sellers began to offer induction cookers.
We will consider the pros and cons of these devices a little later, but for now, let's find out what this technique is and how it is useful for a housewife.
Characteristic
To learn more about this plate, we will talk about the algorithm of its action. The principle of operation of the induction cooker is as follows. A heat source (usually a hot cast iron burner or an open fire) heats the dishes, which, in turn, transfers energy to products on its surface. If it’s smoking fish or making barbecue (by the way, even a tabletop induction cooker can handle such work), then the heat transfer process occurs without such an “intermediary” as utensils, that is, all the energy is directly supplied from the source to the product.
As for induction “heating”, heat generation is possible here only with the coordinated work of all the mechanisms of the stove and the dishes on it. By the way,
an induction cooker is made with your own hands for a very long time (due to the complex design), therefore, in order to save money, it is better not to do any amateur activities in this area.
Burners
Burners deserve special attention. Externally, they can be determined only by circuits circled on the glass-ceramic surface. Unlike gas stoves, these burners do not occupy "extra" space at all and quite organically fit into the interior of the kitchen. Agree, the design of such a hob is very modern:
The main element that conducts heat to the burners is the coil. Without it, the stove simply will not heat food (and indeed will stop working). This element is located under each burner, which is on the hob. High-frequency current of 30-60 kHz passes through these coils. In their design, they are more reminiscent of the primary winding of a transformer. But here one point should be noted. For the occurrence of induction currents, it is not enough to have only the primary winding.
How then does heating occur?
Everything is very simple - if the coil is the primary winding, the dishes themselves are secondary. Naturally, simple ceramics are not suitable for use. Here you need to have containers made of special ferromagnetic material - this is what kind of cookware for the induction cooker should be used. As soon as it is placed on the included hob, induction currents will be induced in the bottom. Thanks to them, the products will be heated enough for their normal heat treatment. It is also worth noting that only the bottom of the dishes can possess ferromagnetic properties - all other parts of it can be made from simple materials. This is quite enough for heating dishes and cooking food. With the technical part of these devices, we figured out completely. Below we will consider what are the pros and cons of induction cookers .
Benefits
The first plus of induction cookers is a high efficiency. As practice shows, almost 90 percent of the heat that occurs when heated passes directly to the cooking food.
All the rest of the energy, that is 10 percent, is spent on heating the walls, the bottom of the dishes and the glass-ceramic hob. At the same time, the efficiency of gas stoves does not exceed 50 percent of the total heat generated by them. Moreover, heating losses are also observed in electrical analogues (approximately 30 percent more than in induction ones). Thanks to this principle of operation, food located on the induction cooker cooks 1.5-2 times faster, and energy costs are minimal.
About security
Another interesting fact: it is impossible to get burned on the glass-ceramic surface of the furnace. The whole “trick” lies in the special material of which the hob is made. Thanks to glass ceramics, you will always be safe, even if you accidentally touch the surface of the induction cooker. However, not everything in the world is perfect, so there are still risks of burns (for example, when cooking fried potatoes with an oil temperature of 150-200 degrees). And in order to reduce them to almost zero, manufacturers install special indicators - the device itself will notify you that the surface has cooled down. Therefore, with an induction hob, you will always be safe.
It should be noted that the glass-ceramic surface cools quite quickly, so immediately after cooking you can safely proceed to cleaning the hob. In the case of gas, you have to wait up to 30 minutes or more until the metal grills and rings have cooled to normal temperature. Saving time is evident.
Along with the fact that the cooking surface of the induction cooker tends to cool quickly, it must be noted its particularly rapid heating. Instant heating of the hob in most cases occurs due to the presence of the Power Booster function. This means that the stove has its own dependent and independent (main) burners. What is this talking about? The main ones for several minutes “take away” all the thermal energy from the addicts and thereby significantly reduce the time for cooking.
Functionality
In addition, the induction cooker is equipped with various useful functions that make the use of the hob more convenient and safe. Among the many "bells and whistles" it should be noted such as:
- Automatic blocking of modes of inclusion of a plate.
- The function of heating the stove only in the presence of utensils on its surface (significantly saves electricity).
- Forced shutdown of heating, as well as an indicator of residual heat.
Cons Induction Cooker
This hob has disadvantages, but still there are very few of them. To reveal the whole picture, we consider each drawback separately.
Price is, perhaps, the very first barrier that repels buyers and encourages them to purchase cheap analogues. Induction devices cost several times more than other stoves, so not everyone decides on such an expensive purchase. In particular, such an overpriced price is determined by a set of additional functions.
What other advantages and disadvantages do induction cookers have? Their second drawback is the inability to heat and cook food on simple glassware. Special containers are required for frying and cooking food. This, as we have already noted at the beginning of the article, is a vessel with ferromagnetic properties. If you don’t have one, you’ll have to fork out a good purchase. But to all this, the stove itself is not cheap, so carefully consider and weigh the pros and cons before buying.