Check Out My First Experience Cooking on Induction With an Inexpensive Induction Burner I Just Bought at Aldi’s

I paid just $39.99 for this 1800 watt Induction Burner at Aldi this week.

Induction cooking is something I have been wondering about for a while.  Currently, I use an electric stove and oven.  However, this form is supposed to work as fast as or faster than even gas and use much less energy.  Nonetheless, it is a pricey gamble when you think the price for the full size 30-inch induction range would be more than $1,500.00.  

Before making that investment without knowing how well it would perform, I thought it would be best to get a feel of how it cooked by buying an induction burner.  America’s Test Kitchen recommended if you get an induction burner it’s better to get one that allows up to 1800 watts.

I saw the advertising on TV for that NuWave induction burner that I was considering to test first before I found a special buy the other day at one of my favorite store’s Aldi’s with their Kitchen Living Portable Induction cooktop for only $39.99.  This cooktop gave me the 1800 watts, which is as high as you can go on a regular plug.  Any higher and you are talking about full range type electrical connections so I snagged one up while they were available.

This model is small but fits a sizeable 6.5 quart stock pot with ease.  So my first project just boiling water and making some pasta was easily done.  All I did was sort through my pots and I found a number of them that a magnet would stick to.  Some won’t work and that’s a factor you also need to think about the possibility that you also might need to buy new pots before cooking with induction.

I’m still tweaking this and need to figure out the right temperatures and/or power settings.  On my induction cooktop you can select either a power setting up to 1800 watts or a temperature.  In the past I just dialed my stove to preset the power setting.  Induction let’s you pick the temperature you like, which is certainly new for me!

Does anyone have some recipes or tips to share?  I would really appreciate all and any advice that you have to share with me.

Something to Consider When Buying Cookware

If you're planning on buying an expensive cookware set in the near future, I suggest you plan ahead.  Will you be using a gas range or an electric one with coils forever?  As we all know, most pots can work on a gas range or an electric one with coils.  If you say yes with all certainty, then you don't have to worry.  

However, if you are not sure and could possibly want to switch one day to a smooth top or even an induction range, then you could have a problem.  Induction is slightly different from the regular smooth top electrics.  Induction is a faster cooking surface that needs ferrous metal (iron) in the pot or pan to get the induction cooking to work. 

That beautiful cookware could no longer work for you.  When cooking on an electric flat surface range without coils, it's a good idea to avoid copper bottom pots and cast iron.  They can leave marks and damage the surface if you forget while the heat's on and nothing is in the pot.  

The sales people might recommend you should only buy induction cookware for flat surface electric cooking.  Of course, the induction pot set looks fantastic. Yet, I have discovered a cheaper solution.  Bring a magnet with you to the store before you purchase.  If the magnet adheres to the bottom of the new pot, then you have a winner! 

Remember one thing, if you buy really nice pots and pans, quality ones, they will be around for a while.  If you can't afford induction cooking now, you might in a few years when they become less expensive.