Hi, I was wondering what should I look for in an induction cooker? Its the
only option (other than gas camp stove which I WILL NOT use indoors) as far
as portable cooker is cocerned in Taiwan. Is 1300 watt enough to fry eggs
and steaks and other things? I live in a small place without kitchens so I
have to use a portable cooker.

Also what should I look for as far as induction compatible frying pans? I've
seen those stainless steel ones but im concerned that things will stick to
it (it claims to be made from surgical stainless steel and costs like 600
dollars NT). I still prefer teflons... but im concerned again is that teflon
will become tefloff in about 6 weeks of use...

<<
Hi, I was wondering what should I look for in an induction cooker? Its the
only option (other than gas camp stove which I WILL NOT use indoors) as far
as portable cooker is cocerned in Taiwan. Is 1300 watt enough to fry eggs
and steaks and other things? >>

Tai-

I don't know what an induction cooker is like, but it sounds sophisticated if
it requires special cookware.

You can buy a single electric burner that would use ordinary fry pans, et
cetera. I have one that has two heat levels, and uses 750 watts of electricity
on the high setting. As I recall, it cost about US$5 several years ago. There
may be others available with two or more burners.

Fred

> You can buy a single electric burner that would use ordinary fry pans, et
> cetera. I have one that has two heat levels, and uses 750 watts of
electricity
> on the high setting. As I recall, it cost about US$5 several years ago.
There
> may be others available with two or more burners.
>
> Fred
>
Like I said, they dont use coil electrics in Taiwan for some reason... Only
portable cooker they have is induction, they do have a halogen unit made by
philips but its rather expensive (about 3000 dollars NT, or 100 US) a 1300
watt unit cost half as much on special. I have used induction cookers at a
dorm one time (they had those "make your own stirfrys" in the chow halls and
they use induction cookers with frying pans) and it does fry up raw chickens
faster than an electric skillet and the electric skillet fries faster than a
buffet range... Like I was asking, I want to know what to look for in an
induction cooker, like features and stuff like that... and also if those
stainless steel skillets will be nonstick like teflon...

I have seen a number of cooking demonstrations done using a Taiwanese
induction cooker. I had wondered how a hotplate with an ordinary cord
could heat so fast, and I only found out it was an induction cooker
last week.

It costs about 200 USD here in the US. They make much more expensive
professional ones, but this one was very good. I am tempted to buy
one.

The saute pan the chefs were using looked like stainless, but had to
be magnetic to work with it. It wasn't as heavy as a big saute pan
with an aluminum or copper sandwich in it to spread heat, but it had
solid professional rivetted handles.

A second pan had a severely warped bottom, so it could only touch at
one point. It seemed to work fine.

I have several cast iron pans that are certainly magnetic. I would try
those before spending for another pan.


On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 03:51:50 +0800, "tai fu" > wrote:

>> You can buy a single electric burner that would use ordinary fry pans, et
>> cetera. I have one that has two heat levels, and uses 750 watts of
>electricity
>> on the high setting. As I recall, it cost about US$5 several years ago.
>There
>> may be others available with two or more burners.
>>
>> Fred
>>
>Like I said, they dont use coil electrics in Taiwan for some reason... Only
>portable cooker they have is induction, they do have a halogen unit made by
>philips but its rather expensive (about 3000 dollars NT, or 100 US) a 1300
>watt unit cost half as much on special. I have used induction cookers at a
>dorm one time (they had those "make your own stirfrys" in the chow halls and
>they use induction cookers with frying pans) and it does fry up raw chickens
>faster than an electric skillet and the electric skillet fries faster than a
>buffet range... Like I was asking, I want to know what to look for in an
>induction cooker, like features and stuff like that... and also if those
>stainless steel skillets will be nonstick like teflon...
>


Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."

"tai fu" > wrote in message
...
> Hi, I was wondering what should I look for in an induction cooker? Its the
> only option (other than gas camp stove which I WILL NOT use indoors) as
far
> as portable cooker is cocerned in Taiwan. Is 1300 watt enough to fry eggs
> and steaks and other things? I live in a small place without kitchens so I
> have to use a portable cooker.
>
> Also what should I look for as far as induction compatible frying pans?
I've
> seen those stainless steel ones but im concerned that things will stick to
> it (it claims to be made from surgical stainless steel and costs like 600
> dollars NT). I still prefer teflons... but im concerned again is that
teflon
> will become tefloff in about 6 weeks of use...
>
>

Start he

http://theinductionsite.com/

If you're doing surgery with your cookware, then by all means, use surgical
stainless steel. Otherwise, there is no advantage to surgical stainless
steel for normal cooking, regardless of using induction technology.

However, there is good reason to select cookware that will work well with
induction, but this doesn't require expensive brand-name pseudo-commercial
cookware. Just well-constructed ferrous stainless with aluminum or copper
core will work fine, as will cast iron.

Don't worry about food sticking to stainless: worry that you won't learn why
this isn't a problem. Sticking is often a good thing (eg. deglaze). When
sticking isn't desired, stainless generally works fine too, if you know how
to prevent it. Ever eat at a restaurant? Ask them how many teflon and
surgical stainless pans they have in their kitchen.

Thanks for the reply... I noticed almost all woks are made of cast iron...
nothing beats good old cast iron when preparing taiwanese foods...

tai fu a écrit :

> Hi, I was wondering what should I look for in an induction cooker? Its the
> only option (other than gas camp stove which I WILL NOT use indoors) as far
> as portable cooker is cocerned in Taiwan. Is 1300 watt enough to fry eggs
> and steaks and other things? I live in a small place without kitchens so I
> have to use a portable cooker.
>
> Also what should I look for as far as induction compatible frying pans? I've
> seen those stainless steel ones but im concerned that things will stick to
> it (it claims to be made from surgical stainless steel and costs like 600
> dollars NT). I still prefer teflons... but im concerned again is that teflon
> will become tefloff in about 6 weeks of use...

I have induction (it's becoming increasingly popular here, as well it should,
it's *wonderful*). As far as pots and pans are concerned, just stick a small
fridge magnet in you pocket when you go shopping. Anything that has a flat
bottom to which the magnet sticks will be good for your cooker. I have a couple
of expensive pans and I also have some cheap ones - the difference is the
lifespan. An expensive pan will be usable for over 10 years. A cheap one will
last from 1 to 5 years at most.

Nathalie in Switzerland

by the way can you tell me if this is normal? when I usually fry I like to
let the pan heat up a little, so the eggs dont cook too slowly going in. But
I did this with an induction cooker and a compatible pan, and the center of
the pan ROSE UP!!! Is this normal?? or is there a better technique for
frying stuff on an induction cooker? Because of the fact the pan rose up I
couldnt get the eggs in the center where the heat is, and that made for an
intresting egg....or should I take a hammer and dent the center so its the
lowest point?

tai fu a écrit :

> by the way can you tell me if this is normal? when I usually fry I like to
> let the pan heat up a little, so the eggs dont cook too slowly going in. But
> I did this with an induction cooker and a compatible pan, and the center of
> the pan ROSE UP!!! Is this normal?? or is there a better technique for
> frying stuff on an induction cooker? Because of the fact the pan rose up I
> couldnt get the eggs in the center where the heat is, and that made for an
> intresting egg....or should I take a hammer and dent the center so its the
> lowest point?

Huh? That pan must be made in the thinnest steel ever made!!!! I never saw the
center of a pan rising up, so sorry, can't help you.

Nathalie in Switzerland