Making dinner with an electromagnet may seem improbable to cooks who have grown up with traditional natural gas and electric cooktops, but in recent year’s induction cooking tops have become increasingly popular. Initially they were mainly used in Asia and Europe, but now they have become more widespread in North American kitchens as well.
Advantages of Induction cooking top surfaces include:
- Safe. When the coil is turned on it generates a magnetic field that will only heat up the cookware. It doesn’t heat up the cooking surface. So unlike electric or halogen cooking tops there is no danger of accidentally burning yourself by touching the surface.
- Efficient and fast. Induction cooking tops bring water to boil faster than gas or electric cooktops, and it’s incredibly energy efficient. In fact, 90% of the energy used is transferred directly to the pan for cooking, versus only about 40% for gas stoves.
- Easier to clean. As mentioned above, because an induction cooking top surface is not magnetic, it stays cool throughout the cooking process – this means that accidental spills aren’t burned on and hard to clean.
One of the many significant benefits of Lotus Rock cookware is that it is induction safe*; unlike aluminum or copper pans, which are not permitted for use on on this type of cooking top surface. Aluminum or copper pans can be used on induction if they have a special plated bottom attached to them, but because Lotus Rock pans are produced with a thick 2.0mm carbon steel gauge they are already induction safe and this type of plated bottom is not needed.
The fact that Lotus Rock cookware doesn’t need a plated bottom also has some other advantages. First, by having no steel plate at the bottom of the pan the appearance of Lotus Rock cookware is not impaired; all pans have the same tough, glossy black look on both their interior and exterior. Second, although some aluminum and copper pans may have a plated bottom to make them induction safe, if these are not applied properly then either the pan will make a bothersome noise or they will not conduct heat effectively to the pan’s surface. Lotus Rock’s heavy gauge carbon steel substrate along with its thick ceramic interior and exterior means that on an induction cooking heat is spread evenly and quickly around the surface of the pan for an excellent heating effect.
*Lotus Rock pans can be improved for use on induction cooking tops with the addition of the Stable Concave design.