In the video above from Yuppiechef, you can see the main property of induction cooking, thanks to the cut-in-half pan. The cooking surface itself remains cool, while the pan heats up. An egg dropped into the pan starts to sizzle, but the whites and yolk that spill out onto the cooktop remain raw. This is because induction doesn’t use direct (or radiant) heat to cook, but uses electric fields instead.
In addition to being safer, induction ranges are also more energy-efficient and precise. If you’re boiling two liters of water, it will take you just under 10 minutes on a 2,000-watt electric stove using 320 watt-hours, about eight minutes on a gas stove using 3,100 watt-hours, and less than five minutes on a 2,800-watt induction cooktop using 225 watt-hours, according to Popular Mechanics.
Induction is becoming more popular in the U.S., however. Five years ago, 8 percent of electric cooktops sold were induction. Now it’s up to 16 percent, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Quite a few manufacturers make induction ranges for the U.S., but they are pricey. The ones available at Home Depot, for example, start at around $1,500 and go up from there. Samsung’s Chef Collection induction range costs more than $3,000, though it does have virtual flames so you can tell how hot the temperature is just by looking at your pot.
If you can handle the sticker shock, induction ranges are pretty cool, but hopefully not miraculous enough to get an ICP song written about them.