Skipper
1747
That shelf I posted above wasn’t made for that reason, though we were unsure what the hell it was for when we saw it in the furniture store. My guess is something like garage organization or something. The shelves are wood but the metal is a cheap steel. We added wheels to it for mobility. We also have a stand up cabinet that is something akin to a small cupboard since we don’t have an official walk-in version.
Nobody has the replacement cooktop glass that we need, and with the cost my wife is on board with getting a new range (F*** GE Profile). I had mentioned induction, and after she did her own research, is leaning that way and even more so after chatting with her friend that got a induction range. I took a magnet to all of the cookware we have. It sticks to an enamelled steel pot and non-stick aluminum fry pan that had a disk on the bottom that I assume was specifically made to accommodate induction. The stainless steel cookware set we have is 18 years old and the magnet just slides right off. If we do go induction, is there anything I should be on lookout for in terms of induction compatible cookware?
Cheapass $30 pans from target work. All those fancy patterns and copper cladding and all that stuff doesn’t even seem to help.
So the thing about pans is the bottom should match the size of the cooker. The small ones are slow for me. For real cooking I only use the two big ones closest to me.
Random pic pulled:
Err if you have to cook that witchcraft Chinese medicine you can try an induction disc on top of clay pots
If you get this popular model (runner up in wirecutter) be careful how you clean the clock area. I ended up with grease around the border between the clock + oven housing. I cleaned it with a brillo pad and some soap. That was a mistake. The liquid ended up going behind the panel and getting sucked between the membrane and the circuit board. I had to take it apart that clock unit twice (replacement is like $250 fuck that). Now I just put some tape around there so stuff doesn’t drip down. I could use silicone instead I guess.
My wife uses an enamelled steel pot to brew the the eye of dragon and assorted herbs soup. It just so happens that her mom gave her a pot recently and a magnet sticks to the bottom so we are (un)fortunately all set on that front.
We pulled the trigger on a Kitchenaid induction range. It will here Tuesday. Shopping for appliances these days seems to be a case of what is available versus what you want. “Oh that model, yeah we can order it. You might get it before Christmas.”
Being Canadian, Target has abandoned us having lost a couple of billion dollars. After we made the decision on the stove we made the rounds of stores looking for a cookware set and found a nice Paderno set at Crappy Tire (Canadian Tire) that was on sale.
Skipper
1751
Non-stick. Part of why people love non-stick is that it’s -usually- made with cheap, and light, aluminum. We have several induction versions at this point but they are all heavier than you’d expect, thus defeating one of the things you like about non-stick in the first place. They still work fine, they are just heavy.
Other than that we’ve found everything we’ve needed without issue. I’d say all told we had about 6 things we had to give away that didn’t work on induction, the rest were fine. As wisefool mentioned, the pan/skillet/pot needs to match the size of the burners somewhat. small to small, large to large. Mine will not even work with a small pot on a large burner, keep that in mind.
That being said, it heats BLAZING fast. It also cools down very quickly. Imagine very precise response to heat on/off and you get the picture. I can boil water in less than 90 seconds, and heating up things can be dicey until you get used to it. I’d recommend using lower heat than you think you need until you get adjusted to it.
If you’re going all-in on oven/stove, can I also recommend a convection oven.
My wife’s friend with the induction range also gave us that advice. She has a set of burnt pots from learning this little lesson. I’m going to have to adjust my kitchen work habits. I’m used to putting on a pan to heat and doing something else.
Skipper
1753
I had to do that. We occasionally make quesadillas as a party snack when we have folks over. If I don’t have everything ready at the start, those can heat waaaay too fast. Cheese … everywhere.
I haven’t burned any pots, not quite sure how I’d do that, but I’ve burned dishes a couple of times on the new stove. It’s just an adjustment period, you get used to it very quickly. We stayed at an airbnb a weekend ago that had a gas stovetop and I made bacon and eggs. My wife popped into the kitchen 3 times to ask me, “you’re still making the bacon?” Yes, it takes longer, damnit. :)
I have a 14" wok which is a workhorse for me. Alas, a magnet slides off it like water off a duck’s back. Any recommendations? I know I might hear carbon steel or cast iron, but no. I’m looking at a 14" stainless steel wok from Cuisinart which says it is induction compatible.
Skipper
1755
My carbon steel wok works fantastic. I didn’t do the magnet test on it but since it works, I’m assuming it’s fully carbon steel.
Carbon steel is awesome and lightweight and would be my pick. I followed an online guide to season it, but it’s not nearly as picky about that nor a pain in the ass as cast iron.
I also have a HUGE stainless steel saute pan we use, it’s high sided and works great for a lot of one-pot style things. It can also go into the oven to finish if needed. NOTHING wrong with stainless if you want to pursue that.
Almost missed this part. We bought the two Cuisinart, “induction compatible,” non-stick pans. And … they are quite heavy. I’m sure it’s the center multi-layer makeup that’s causing that but try to go somewhere you can grab and lift one. It might be a deciding factor for or against.
After a year of juggling sheets of dough I built a poc rack system out of pvc. It was much quicker to iterate vs using wood. Putting together a video to better illustrate but basically the sheet that comes of the machine rolls onto (with some coaxing) the bottom roller, which has a belt to main gear. Then I have to split roll to 2 rollers to combine the sheet on itself at thicker widths twice. After an hour rest I start thinning the sheet down by 30% each run.
Having a roll saves me so much time for large batches. Next improvements are: larger hopper, maybe conveyer belt, and maybe power it with a foot pedal but i don’t know. This thing has a ton of pressure so I’d rather not introduce automation into it.
That contraption definitely fits the thread title! :)
RichVR
1758
In that light… looks a bit sinister.
Went with the Rembrandt lighting because I was too shy to show my kitchen. Lol.
Does anybody have any experience with China-Factory special kitchen appliances, e.g VivoHome, Costway? They have a stand mixer that’s literally half what a KitchenAid costs, and that brings it down into my “maybe try it” territory instead of “well researched family heirloom” territory, but reviews are pretty scarce on ground.
Cuisinart and Hamilton beach Eclectic line seem like a middle ground, but if I’m going mid range, I feel like I should just up it to a KitchenAid.
Houngan
1761
For how much? The KitchenAid is often on sale and mine has been going strong for a long, long while. Some companies make better single things than others, and KA made their name with that mixer, I would go with that. Same way I was massively disappointed in a KA processor after my parents gave me their 30 year old Cuisinart. It’s just better in every way.
RichVR
1762
I’d try to find out if the gears are metal or plastic. Plastic gears can fail if the dough you’re mixing is too thick.
Yeah, the modern mid range kitchenaid artisan models are generally plastic gears and way less hardy than the ones you remember your parents using. The attachment ecosystem is very nice, but they’re ALL overpriced for what they are, heh.
This is sub $200, and trumpets metal gears as a key point. But it also claims a 800W motor, which seems absurd compared to the competition (which may just mean that motor wattage doesn’t actually matter).
There are also a whole slew of similar products that don’t claim metal gears, but at < $150, what do I care if if doesn’t last a lifetime? I’m not making bread every week or anything.
All of these products have suspiciously similar control knobs and hinges, which makes me think they’re basically the same under the hood, and probably come out of the same factory. E.g. this one looks identical to the first one. But…I’m okay with that? I basically want the Monoprice of stand mixers.
IIRC torque is more vital that pure wattage but I might be mixing that up with blenders? Hmm. Brain is not providing data atm.
RichVR
1766
I believe that you are correct.
