If you’re an urbanite like me, you’re likely used to living in small spaces. Heck, you don’t even need to be an urbanite to live in a small space, but if you do, you know that doing so comes with its share of sacrifices–especially where appliances are concerned. I’m lucky enough to have a dishwasher, but it can only hold a couple of plates and a fork before it needs to be run, and my fridge struggles to accommodate more than a jug of milk and brick of cheese.
One thing that really irks me though is my oven. I mean, it does the job to some extent, but is hardly the calibre of appliance that is going to help me spread my culinary chops. In fact, sometimes I wish I could get rid of it entirely in favour of more kitchen storage space. As it turns out though, there is a solution for people like me who have limited space, but want to cook, and want to do so well, and that’s induction cooktops.
What is induction cooking?
You might be asking yourself: “what is induction cooking?” and I don’t blame you. To be honest, I had no idea what it was either until recently. In the most simple and unscientific terms, induction cooking is a means of heating a cooking vessel by magnetic induction as opposed to thermal conduction from a flame or an electrical heating element.
As a result, the vessel (aka pot or pan) is heated directly, allowing for very rapid increases in temperature to be achieved. I could throw in other terms like “oscillating magnetic field” and “magnetic flux” to describe it, but that just makes my brain hurt. In a nutshell, induction cooking equates to heat coming on extremely fast, which makes cooking fast and easy. Induction also offers cool to the touch operation, which is ideal in cramped quarters.
Induction Cooktops for Very Small Spaces
If your kitchen has very limited counter space, or you live in shared accommodation like a dorm room, products like this Cuisinart 13.5” Induction Cooktop is absolutely ideal. As an induction cooktop, it is energy efficient and easy to use, while also offering eight different settings that distribute heat evenly so you can adjust to whatever it is you are whipping up for dinner. It’s also exhaust and flame free, so no matter how small your space you won’t have to explain to neighbours what it is you are up to in your kitchen.
Induction Cooktops for Spaces with Counter Space
As it turns out, installing an induction cooktop is no more difficult than dropping the cooktop on to the counter and connecting the wiring. So if you have the counter space and want more than one element, look no further than a larger cooktop like this 30” Smooth Top Induction Cooktop from GE. Its induction elements allow you to cook quickly with accurate heat and a cool-to-the-touch surface, while its Pan Presence with size sensors heats the element to the size of your pan and automatically turns off when it senses the pan has been removed.
Induction cooking has been around since the 1950s but really only started gaining popularity among chefs in the past ten years or so, so the fact that you can have one in your home is pretty cool. Even cooler is that they are almost tailor made for small spaces, so no matter what the size of your home, you too can cook like the pros.
View Best Buy’s selection of portable induction cooktops.
View Best Buy’s selection of non portable induction cooktops.
