What Is Induction Cooking?
Conventional cooking, whether gas or electric, requires an element to create heat, then transfer it to your pot or pan through a stovetop surface. In that process, only about half of the available energy is actively used to cook your food; the other 50% or more is wasted on heating the surface and surrounding air.
In induction cooking, your pot or pan IS the heating element. When the cooktop is turned on, a copper coil underneath the surface uses electromagnets to generate an alternating electric field. This magnetic energy does not produce any heat until it comes into contact with magnetic material: your cooking vessel. The electromagnetic energy induces currents inside your pot to vibrate at a rate of 20,000-50,000 times per second, causing friction. Heat is created in your pot (not on the cooktop's surface), with 90% of the energy directly heating the contents.