Advice on using my new induction cooktop.

[rotuts]

I just got an induction cook-top. its a Burton 6000. This one:

http://www.amazon.co...duction cooktop

I decided to make Induction Refrigerator Soup. I have a mid-sized IKEA pot, the kind that has multiple inserts which in past Ive used for pasta, etc.

so far so good. Started by cooking some barley in several cups of water. so far so good.

I'm using the Temp selection, got the water boiling, and turned it down to 212, then 150, now 100.

with the lid on, at 150 the post still boils very vigorously. is this because the lid is on ( which has a small vent hole ) or are these temps unreliable?

at "Temp 100" the temp of the soup so far is 170 Thermapened. Which is OK.

should I use the Power Mode?

so far Im enjoying the experience.

many thanks.

Edited January 10, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I usually use the power mode and turn down to the lower settings when I want to simmer.

[rotuts]

OK thats what I though. 'Temp 100' consistently is giving me therma-temp of 170 which makes its appeal ...

these things are the Nuts, and Im amazed i hadn't tried one before.

its all that copper cookware i was lucky to get 'almost free' in FR in the mid '80's : 11 FF = 1 USA dollar. Fee shipping Air France NYC!

not that that heavy copper nickel lined is perfect, but it's good for a workout in the kitchen!

had to pick it up near Kennedy in the ware-house section. The Customs Man was waiting for me, stuff carefully packed in wood shavings, wooden box, etc We had an interesting talk. Seemed some Doctors were importing heroin at the time ...

Edited January 10, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Raamo]

Whats the best use for these besides boiling water? This seems like a very cheap way to try this out.

[Kerry Beal]

They are great for a nice low simmer when you are using a pressure cooker. Also great for candy making, caramel, etc.

[rotuts]

I'm not the person to ask as this is my first try at it.

MC and MC@H swear by them for many reasons. they seem to use IKEA inexpensive pots and pans. I got this for Pressure Cooking, and having two IKEA pot sets which Ill use for : soup (conventional) pasta, and cooking potatoes for Mash.

there are significant energy savings.

if one were starting from scratch now for a kitchen, I can see an induction top and a turbo electric set of ovens as the way to go.

Edited January 10, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[Raamo]

if one were starting from scratch now for a kitchen, I can see an induction top and a turbo electric set of ovens as the way to go.

I plan on it... I've got a GE Profile electric range that's about 12 years old and keeps on trucking... so I'll likely have to wait for it to die before I replace it.

I remember MC@H swears by it, and says cheap Ikea pans are great. I've already got a nice collection of stainless all-clad so I'm in no rush for new pots.

When you say great for a low simmer? Is this because it's more effecient? I find it super easy to mantain a simmer on a pressure cooker once you learn the pot / electric range.

[OliverB]

I'm most likely going induction once the old spiral coil stove burns out. Probably have to go with jenn air again, since it's all ducted for the down draft and the microwave hangs above (so no way I can get a hood in there w/o doing major surgery) and thought about gas, but I'd have to run a gas line and then I'm sure I'd set kitchen towels and who knows what on fire, since I never cooked with gas. Thanks for sharing some experiences!

[rotuts]

my micro hangs above my gas stove. there is no other 'hood' Im still alive as far as i can tell.

[Raamo]

I have a microwave above my stove as well. It was cleary put in after the fact since there's a duct for a proper hood that's not used.

It appears one of the advantages of a good hood is you can suck all the stuff up that ends up as splater all over the place when you cook with hot oil.... this seems like a good selling point if I can find a better place for the darn microwave.

We do own a microwave cart that's anything but sitting in the dinning room. When I get a chamber vacume it needs some place to sit, perhaps a proper microwave cart would work for both items.

[boilsover]

Hi, rotuts:

Those temperature settings are a complete joke. Ignore them.

Here's another unfortunate fact: When adjusting the power settings, you will find that 6-10 are basically useless for anything but speed-boiling water. That leaves you with 5 discrete (i.e., NOT infinitely adjustable) settings to work with for most cooking. My 1953 GE Airliner has that number of settings.

Let me know if you want to get rid of that outmoded French copperware that won't work on your new hotplate, will you?

[Syzygies]

Those temperature settings are a complete joke. Ignore them.

Are there any induction ranges with a thermometer port and a decent PID, building in the equivalent to a SousVideMagic?

I use my SousVideMagic frequently with a dumb conventional hot plate (the induction hot plates that can be used with an outboard PID controller are very expensive). It astounds me that these PID circuits haven't propagated pretty much everywhere. It seems we're waiting for a generation of executives to retire.

[ChrisTaylor]

Whats the best use for these besides boiling water? This seems like a very cheap way to try this out.

In my context--and I suspect this is fairly common--it's been a life saver. Even with a heat diffuser, my gas stovetop (lowest setting, smallest jet) couldn't maintain a simmer. A slow-cooked dish such as a ragu had to go into the oven, for instance. Something like the pork abodo from Modernist Cuisine at Home would wind up with half of the sauce caked and blackened at the bottom of the pressure cooker. The portable induction top has solved these problems. Other uses? Well, you know that Tetsuya recipe (the basic idea also appears in Heston Blumenthal at Home) where he poaches a fillet of salmon or ocean trout in ~50C olive oil? I suspect that'd be a lot easier to do with an induction cooktop than your average domestic gas stove (altho' I suspect you'd also be able to do it with a shitty old electric stovetop--they have their uses, right?).

With my NewWave cooktop I've found the temperature settings are only relevant if I'm 'cooking' water. If I set it to 80C I find that the water hovers somewhere between 80 and 85C. 100C will bring it to the boil. I suspect that's what the temperature settings are 'designed' for, for want of a more accurate word. The moment you use another cooking liquid (i.e. oil) or start adding things to the liquid, the temperature settings cease to have any relevance to reality and you're best off just using the wattage adjustment.

Maybe it's just because my cooktop is new but I've found it's significantly easier to clean than my gas stovetop if and when things spill on it.

[rotuts]

boilsover

Id never buy these again, but as i have had them for 25 years, Ill keep using them for a 'work-out' in the kitchen !