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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   32965 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 16, 2023

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This will be true if induction is as good as the induction lovers claim it to be.

I've used both extensively, and I'd say that they are broadly comparable in goodness, with a small set of advantages/disadvantages of which the disadvantages of induction might not even be relevant for the vast majority of Western/Northern European home cooks.

Pro gas:

  • You can lift your frying pan or wok off the surface and toss without losing heating.

  • You can easily set your aerosolized grease on fire, which is relevant for some schools of East Asian cooking.

  • You can char certain things on an open flame.

  • Successfully heats some cookware induction doesn't work on.

Pro induction:

  • Much easier to keep clean.

  • No soot, gentler on the cookware it does work with.

  • Little lingering heat. Unused spots can double as work surfaces within minutes after use.

  • Higher peak performance/faster "zero to boiling" time on higher-end consumer-grade devices.

  • The health risks of gas driving the current culture war.

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