Taste | 4 minute read |
If you are going to upgrade or equip your kitchen with a brand-new stove, selecting one from the many options of stoves and hobs in the marketplace can be frustrating. At a certain point, you will have to choose between a conventional conduction stove or a more contemporary option – an induction cooktop. A comparison infographic between induction, gas, and electric stoves can give you a hand in making your decision.
But first, let’s take a look at what these cooktops are.
Induction stoves come with a smooth flat cooking surface which is usually made of ceramic glass. However, unlike what you may already know about traditional stoves, an induction cooktop triggers your pots and pans to heat themselves directly rather than providing an external heat source to the cookware. You’re probably wondering how this works.
Here’s the explanation. Induction cooking heats a cooking vessel by electrical induction, instead of by thermal conduction from a flame, or an electrical heating element. Heat is coming from within the pan, making this method of cooking a lot more efficient.
There’s no cause for alarm there. Even if you’re are worried about electric shocks, rest assured – induction cooking is perfectly safe. The generated electrical currents are limited to your cookware’s base and are just strong enough to heat it. Therefore, now you can be worry free about burn wounds while cooking with an induction stove, and induction stoves are actually the safest option available.
Safety is just one of the many advantages of induction stoves. It is safe to touch, since it’s the cookware itself that gets heated, not the cooktop, making it quick to cook down and easy to clean as well.
In summary, induction cookers are much more efficient than ceramic cookers because they only heat the pan and not the surrounding air on the cooker's surface. Addionally, induction cookers also remain cooler during the cooking process, while ceramic cookers only heats from residual pan heat and losses heat quicker once turned off.
Check out some of our table top induction cooktops:
Gas stoves are probably the most familiar among cooking appliances. The stoves burn gas to create a flame ring that heats the cookware. They always come with burner structures to keep pots and pans stable during cooking.
You can easily control the flame by rotating a simple knob attached to the body of the stove. The heating level is more visible to users in gas cooking, but you have to wait for the heat to reach the expected temperature.
Because the source of heat is an open flame, the energy loss when using gas stoves is significant. It also makes both cookware and the hob very hot during and long after cooking.
>>> Read more: How to clean a gas stove
The ceramic hob, also known as radiant hob, is one type of electric stove and has been around for a while. It has a similar look to induction hobs because of the ceramic glass surface. However, the operating principle is very different.
Passing electricity through an electric coil placed under the ceramic cooktop heats the coil, providing heat for cooking. The heat is generated from the heated elements through the surface ceramic glass to the cookware. It does not waste as much energy to the air as gas cooking.
However, the hob does get heated, and the cooking zone on the surface becomes extremely hot. Electrolux ceramic hobs come with the Residual Heat Indicator to remind the users not to touch a hot cooking zone until the hob surface has cooled down to a temperature that is not harmful to touch.
Free basic installation*
