Induction Cooking

• Speed: Induction burners can boil water nearly twice as fast as gas or traditional electric burners
• Precise control: Heat can be adjusted like a gas stove and can be held at a precise temperature. 
• Kitchen comfort: Unlike gas burners that radiate heat in the kitchen, induction burners only heat the cookware, allowing the kitchen to stay cool. 
• Easy to clean: Flat, glass ceramic surface is is easier to clean with a soft sponge. Also, spills won't burn and stick to the surface. 

• Fire: Induction cooking does not involve any open flames and only heats the cookware, reducing the risk of people burning themselves or accidently starting a house fire. Cooking is the leading cause of house fires. In addition, many induction burners have safety features that automatically turn off when not in use or when a cookware is not detected. 
• Indoor air quality: When cooking with natural gas, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and other harmful pollutants are emitted in homes, increasing risk of respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease and other long-term illness. Indoor levels of these toxic pollutants emitted from gas stoves often exceed the safety limits set for outdoor air. Children living in homes with gas stoves are 40% more likely to develop asthma¹.

If you are going to do a kitchen renovation and replace your gas cooktop/range, this is a good time to consider an induction cooktop or induction range that requires a 240V outlet. In this case, you will want to decide on a specific model so that you can place the 240v outlet in the right place for the specific model. Induction ranges of different models require a 240V outlet at a specific location. 

Portable induction burners offer great flexibility at a lower cost. They come in either one or two burner options. They typically plug into any 120V outlet in your kitchen. It allows you to immediately benefit from induction cooking without a hefty budget or installing a 240V outlet.

This is a great option if you are: 

• A renter looking to immediately benefit from induction cooking
• Looking to experiment and learn about induction cooking before the switch
• Looking for a budget alternative to induction cooktops/ranges
• Looking for an additional burner that is safe and can be easily stored

If neither of the above options are a good fit, electric cooking also includes using plug in appliances to reduce gas usage. This includes:

• Heating water with electric kettle
• Using a countertop toaster oven instead of gas oven
• Using a crockpot/instant pot
• Using a toaster

Induction cooking relies on the iron in the cookware to generate heat. If the bottom of your cookware sticks to a fridge magnet, it will work on an induction burner. This often includes most stainless-steel cookware, cast iron cookware, enameled cast iron cookware and some nonstick cookware. 

Cookware made from aluminum, copper or glass are most likely not compatible. However, you can add an induction converter disk placed between your cookware and the induction burner. It will heat up your cookware like a traditional electrical coil burner. 

Induction cooktops create an electromagnetic filed (EMF) around the immediate area of the burner. There is not evidence that EMF has any long term effects on health. However, the EMF can interfere with some pacemakers. People with pacemakers should consult their doctors before using an induction cooktop.