[Scandiravian]

That looks really nice - I might consider that one if I'm switching away from gas later this year

How is it for keeping a constant, low-mid temperature? One of the issues I have with induction is that the heat is applied in bursts rather than as a constant with gas

This means that when frying with some oils, induction will either heat them past their smoke point in the burst or the temperature will be too low in-between bursts

[levital]

Mine does it in bursts I think (it's fairly obvious when cooking rice, as the water bubbles up periodically), but I've never had a problem with that. I can say that I don't have smoke problems with olive oil, which I believe is one that shouldn't be used with high temperatures.

That said, I'm probably an ok cook at best and I don't eat meat so I can't really say how it would work with that. However, I found that at least the gas range I used when I lived in the UK, wasn't really great for low temperatures either, as the flame tended to not self-sustain properly on low settings.

The killer feature for me personally was actually the steambake thing, as I bake bread weekly. It's not quite as good as directly spraying water into the oven, but still works really well. Obviously independent of the induction top though.

[Scandiravian]

Thank you for the comprehensive answer!

Olive oil has indeed been one of the problematic ones for me - to be fair, it might simply come down to my inexperience cooking with induction

I think I will get some additional cast iron cookware when I make the switch. Hopefully it'll be able to retain the heat better between bursts and make the average temperature more stable :-)

I appreciate that you took the time to answer my question. Hope you have a pleasant day

[adgjlsfhk1]

cast iron is seriously under-rated. they're a tiny bit harder to clean, but they're nonstick without giving you cancer, and you can get them really hot without damaging them.

[bluenose69]

This is correct. Plus they last for generations ... try that with a coated nonstick pan.

Also, and this might just be me, but they are fun to use because they require a bit of skill to use. This is like how it can be more fun to drive a standard car than an automatic-shift one.

[sleightofmind]

This, then, is a limitation of your induction unit. Mine has two modes: Heating, and Temperature. In temperature mode, the cycling you describe occurs. For this reason I almost never use temperature mode. In heating mode, I get the most consistent rice ever (for me, I'm not a cook, just someone who likes rice). Making pancakes in a cast-iron pan, I find myself occasionally switching between 3 and 3.5 on the heating settings -- these are arbitrary numbers assigned by the manufacturer -- to keep the cast iron at the desired heat. It's trivial. I suppose I should try the temperature setting for this -- unlike making rice in a sauce pan, the cast iron probably would probably compensate for the intermittent heating of temperature mode.

My unit is just single-hob portable induction cooker from Duxtop: 15 heat settings -- think of it like continuous power settings -- and I think? about 10 (cycling) temperature settings.

I'm quite optimistic that a high-end unit such as the one used in the Asian restaurant mentioned in the article would hold constant temps without the annoying recycling -- and believe me, I find the on/off business just as annoying as you find it.

I look forward to a time when I have the room for a full-sized induction cooktop. I think that with a decent induction disk (I think I'll just buy a 3/32" disc of mild steel and avoid the laminated units sold commercially, or even just repurpose a crepe pan) I'll be able to do things like Spanish eggs, where just a portion of the pan must be kept heated.

One thing I've found is that egg pans (small saute pans) with just the right slope for flipping eggs are not easy to find in induction-compatible pans. But I did find one pretty close to perfect, and an induction disc will take allow reuse of my favorite non-induction egg pan.

I'm really sold on induction. It's not best for everything, but I can live with its shortcomings while enjoying its advantages.