Topic: Induction Hob if on electric...

[Peripatetic Phil]

Hi Phil,

many modern "aluminium" pans have ferromagnetic inserts in the base

That I did not know, do you cook on induction then ?

I use both induction and halogen -- the main (4-burner) hob is halogen, but I also have a single-burner induction hob which I often use.  Obviously all of my pots/pans/etc. are induction-compatible so that I don't have to think when taking a pan out "will this one work ?".

If so is it something you would recommend, our kitchen needs a refit and I have informed my better half that its not possible to cook curries on anything other than gas.

Apart from three brief years in Tunbridge Wells, where we had an Aga and gas, I have never used a gas hob, so almost all of my curries have been cooked using electricity.  IMHO, if any cuisine requires gas, it is Chinese (and related), because a proper wok burner is a fearsome thing.  But curries, and everything else that I cook, cook just fine using electricity.

** Phil.

[tempest63]

I have informed my better half that its not possible to cook curries on anything other than gas.

I have a Neff five ring induction hob which I have used for 5 years now and can't fault it, I cook a couple of curries each weekend. Far better than halogen with a lot more control.

I also noticed that James Martin was using one in his house on Saturday kitchen. He commented to another chef that it was the future of cooking, or something in a similar vein.

Regards T63

[m0rq]

I'm going to jump in here with a thumbs up for induction. I use a regular electric induction hob with coated steel pans, and it works very well.

One needs to understand how these work, a look in the manual might help: There is a difference between heat and temperature. The induction provides heat to build up temperature. Once a desired temperature is reached at a high setting, it will be preserved on a lower setting. On a scale of 1 to 9, when the induction fires at full blast at 9, it will build up a very high temperature, and set back to 6 or 7 when cooking a curry, it will maintain just the right heat to keep the pan bubbling. Reduction and caramelization just work very well this way, the supplied power is more than enough.

Just one thing does not work for me: using woks with a relatively small base, they just don't build up an evenly distributed heat and keep bubbling in the center of the wok pan. I use a standard Silit pan with a very broad base, and heat gets distributed very evenly in the whole pan, making reduction easy and fast.

[Alastair Sim]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for all of the info on this, but I also have another angle. My good lady will not allow me to use PTFE based non stick pans, apparently at certain temperatures birds start falling out of the sky with the nasty fumes (I might be overstating this a little). I have tried a very expensive ceramic coated pan and a cheap Aldi iLag ? coated pan. These are great on day one but seem to quickly loose the ability to become non stick, the manufacturers seem to use the same 'get out' by stating that the pan has not been cleaned correctly.
I am currently using aluminium pans for cooking curries as these seem to the best for non stick and easy to clean, and yes there scares about these too.
I did start out with stainless but it's the burning on the sides and a pain to clean, trying not use abrasives as this exacerbates the situation.
I do currently own a very expensive stainless frying pan but it gets used for non curry activities, I still have some occasional mino burning issues with that but I am considering spending a day with a car buffing mop and a load of jewellers rouge to create a highly polished surface to see if that helps.
I had a quick nose around, could not pick up on those aluminium pans with ferruos inserts, if anyone can enlighten me I would much appreciate the help.
Thanks again.
AS

[Peripatetic Phil]

You could try one of these -- mine came from Aldi and is not Ernesto/ILAG (as are my stainless pans) but rather Crofton/Ceramic.  24cm rather than 28cm as in the first (Amazon) link, lovely soft-touch handle, light and well balanced. Used /only/ for curries !

** Phil.

[Alastair Sim]

Hi Phil,
That's fantastic thanks, and not expensive at all, my precious stainless steel pan is a 70GBP job.

I take it that you do not use the a metal chef spoons otherwise there is a potential to damage the coating.

Thanks again
AS

[Peripatetic Phil]

No, only wood or nylon for my ceramic-coated pans.
** Phil.

[Garp]

Nice to see some disregard of the myth that BIR has to be cooked in an ally pan with gas burner

(Although I like my gas hob and wouldn't want to change it, and an anodised wok)

[tempest63]

Nice to see some disregard of the myth that BIR has to be cooked in an ally pan with gas burner

I thought it used to be black iron cauldron hanging from a tripod over a wood/coal fire?

[stevepaul]

Been using a single ring induction hob for years. They are very controllable and very efficient. So efficient and fast that I don't bother with the electric kettle anymore. Between that and a mini oven I can cook a full Sunday roast for two no problem and everything else in-between. The full sized cooker I have is just used to support the mini oven and once I get round to making a built in unit, the cooker will be going to the tip. I've seen twin induction hobs in Aldi and been tempted, but I just don't need a twin.