The induction hob has become the new favorite of both beginner and professional chefs alike, for the ease and convenience it provides. On one hand, it has a small size, offers a plethora of modern features, and overrules the ancient cooking style, there are some loopholes where it lacks. For instance, it might consume greater power or the complex configuration might give you a hard time cracking your way. In the article below, we have discussed aspects like these and much more to make your decision comparatively easier than before.
With no further ado, let’s skim through the major advantages and disadvantages of an induction hob.
Advantages of an Induction Hob
Optimum Safety
For the people who have got kids at home, an induction hob is a way better choice to let your kids give you a hand during the kitchen time. It is because unlike the outdated gas tops, you won’t have to deal with a high flame, so this pretty much cancels out the risk factor. Above all, it’s a basic science that glass counts as one of the worst heat conductors, and an induction hob depicts a glass cooktop, so ultimately that adds to the safety feature. With an induction hob, you need not worry about untoward incidents anymore.
Improved Precision
Let us address one fear that beginners always have in mind when it comes to investing in an induction hob. It is that it might be a Herculean task to understand the temperature settings at first and one becomes more vulnerable to making minor mistakes. No, there’s no such chance since induction hobs have preset temperature settings, so a beginner doesn’t have to indulge in that anymore. Furthermore, unlike the continuous fluctuations of gas, electricity has a constant flow so there would be no abrupt change in the heat transmission. You can have an uninterrupted heat supply to cook your food way faster than before.
Smart Energy Consumption
This is the feature that makes us adore the induction cooktops for all the right reasons. Firstly, due to their unique mechanism, they don’t need extra energy to heat the surroundings of the hob so it’s a win-win. The induction hobs use this same energy in heating the bottom of the pan as soon as you put it in contact with the cooktop, hence there’s zero wastage. One more thing about it is that in summers you don’t have to deal with a stifling kitchen. It’s for the reason that these sorts of stoves don’t heat your cooking area as the other ones do.
Faster Cooking
As we mentioned above, there’s no unnecessary transfer of heat and all the energy reaches for the pan’s bottom, the moment the induction hob starts working. This also helps in cooking your food in a shorter duration without compelling you to make any compromise on its texture or taste. You can prepare the same food way faster on an induction hob in comparison to gas or grilled stoves. This is why we assure you that induction hobs may consume greater power, but they compensate it with a faster cooking rate. Hence, at the end of the day, your hard-earned money goes doesn’t go in the drain.
Portable & Travel-Friendly
Since induction hobs are small, they are easily portable and you can carry them to all your favorite cooking spots. This also tends to be helpful if you are a restaurateur and want to move your workplace to somewhere else. The same goes for the people who change their homes frequently, you finally have a kitchen essential that you can rely on. Apart from all this, summers are just around the corner, you can go for an induction hob to throw all those big summer parties. Especially in warmer areas, an induction hob is a perfect choice for your kitchen.
Disadvantages Of An Induction Hob
More Expensive
This is the time to let the cat out of the bag, yes, induction hobs may cost you an arm and a leg. It’s because of two main reasons. Firstly they have become instant fame so their demands have skyrocketed overnight. Secondly, for all the energy-saving features it depicts, you might have to swallow a bitter pill at the time of purchase. It’s true that in comparison to gas cooktops, induction ones may cost you a fortune. However, the long-term outcomes are worth it and you need not fear any risk factor while opting for the latter one.
Work with Specific Cookware
To get the most out of your induction hob, cookware is the key you would not want to miss out on. It is because induction cooktops are rather cookware specific and using any other type may lead to the burning of your food. Let us give you a tiny tip here. When you are out to buy an induction cooktop, always remember to keep aside some budget for the special cookware as well. Otherwise, even if you have bought an induction hob and don’t have the right sort of cookware, you would have to compromise on its biggest features like faster cooking.
Less Versatile
You might have seen chefs in the cooking shows, shaking the pan amidst the sky-reaching flames. This is just one of the many techniques to add to food’s taste and tells a lot about chef’s skills. However, this is where the induction hobs lose a point. As there are no flames, you can’t do any such feat to impress your potential customers. This is the exact reason that induction hobs might have made their place in restaurants, still, they need more time to downright replace the old gas stoves.
High Maintenance
You might have got this idea by now that the greater number of features in the induction hobs require more maintenance sessions every year. You have to save some of your budget especially for this job otherwise there can be serious consequences. We know it may not sound ideal to the people who were planning to save more this year.
Complex Configuration
Induction hobs do seem tricky at first when you have never used an advanced cooktop before. Let us tell you that there will be innocuous errors, thanks to the complex temperature and time settings. However, with time, you can get a steady grip on all these puzzling aspects.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end, the crux of all this debate is induction hobs do have their pros and cons like any other kitchen essential. However, for their unprecedented convenient nature, the cons seem rather bearable for a moment. On a brighter note, they are new to the market and there’s a hope that with time, the technology will improve and induction hobs will becomethe epitome of cooktops.