Cooking

A guide to using cheap and efficient cooking in your home.

The cooktop is often the last appliance to get electrified. One of the main reasons for this is the bad reputation induction cooktops have compared to gas cooktops.


Let us reassure you – you don’t have to give up your best stir-fry recipe to change to an induction cooktop.

The humble hero

Induction cooktops use an electromagnetic field to directly heat your pots, rather than heating an element or burner. This process effectively transforms your cooking pot into the heating element itself, enabling quick and efficient cooking.

Induction cooktops are fast, easy to clean, and easy to control

Sustainability Victoria highlights that induction cooktops are twice as efficient as traditional gas and electric stoves. Using less energy for cooking saves you money and reduces carbon emissions.

Health and safety are also crucial factors. Studies indicate that cooking with gas negatively impacts health, contributing to 12% of childhood asthma cases.

Induction cooktops help in maintain cleaner air in the home. Also, as the surface of these cooktops stays cool while cooking, they lower the risk of accidental burns.

How does induction work? Is It really magnets?

Put simply – yes! We won’t dive into the science behind induction cooking here, but essentially, an induction cooktop excites the atoms in a pan to generate heat. This means literally only the pan is heated —not your sleeves, hands, or stray food splatters. Safer and cleaner.

Do I need special cookware to cook with induction?

You probably already have the pots you need. If your pots and pans are made of a ferrous material, like iron or steel, then you are good to go! This includes stainless steel equipment.

A simple trick to test if one of your pans will work – try sticking a magnet to the bottom. If it stick, the pot will work on an induction cooktop. When you’re buying new pots and pans, check for the induction-compatible symbol on the bottom or the box.

Do I need a special hook-up in my kitchen?

It really depends. If you already have an electric oven, you already have the 240-volt outlet you need for induction. Your installer will just need to make sure that the amps are sufficient.

If you’re moving to induction from gas, you’ll need an electrician to install a 220-volt outlet. That cost will certainly affect your budget.