Induction Cooking.

Kind of a neat word, but if you're trying to sell someone a $500 set of cookware, will you be able to explain what Induction Cooking is and how it can benefit them? If you can't, your job will probably be a little tougher.

Science Class

Main Entry: induction heating
Function: noun
Date: 1919
: heating of material by means of an electric current that is caused to flow through the material or its container by electromagnetic induction

First we'll get a basic understanding of what induction is. Induction by definition is transferring something into something else. Induction cooking uses magnetism to transfer energy into the bottom of your cookware. We remember electrons, those little atomic doohickeys that compose everything. Remember that electrons are like little kids - when they get energy they get excited. When they get excited, they start wiggling around. When you transfer the magnetic energy into the bottom of your cookware, the electrons in the cookware get excited and start wiggling around. Now when all these bazillions of electrons are all wiggling around, it generates heat and the cookware itself gets warm - then hot. The cooking surface doesn't get hot - it just sends the energy along to the cookware. As long at the energy is transferring into the cookware, it will continue to stay hot. Once the energy is removed or reduced, the electrons settle down and the cookware begins to cool instantly.

This is where the material of the cookware is important. If the bottom of your cookware is not magnetic, the magnetic energy from the cooktop goes right on through it and your electrons take a nap. The Tupperware cookware has a magnetic layer and plenty of electrons which love having a good time when you shoot some magnetic energy through them.

Benefits

So now that we all are members of the Einstein Happy Electron Club, how do dancing electrons benefit the cook in the kitchen? Well, lets go through some of the benefits. 

• Control: When you're preparing a meal and you want to raise or lower the temperature of something on the stove, you want that change to be fastfastfast! With a conventional electric cooktop, you lower the temperature and read a book while you wait for the elements (and your pan) to cool. With induction cooking, when you reduce the temperature, the magnetic energy immediately reduces and so does the temperature of the cookware. If you've ever cooked with gas, the effect is very similar.
• Speed: Since the energy is transferred directly from the cook surface INTO the cookware, the utensil heats fast - faster than electric and even faster than gas!
• Safety: When you remove a pan from an electric element, the element remains hot for a pretty darn long time. When cooking with gas, the open flame can ignite fires should something splatter or dangle into the flame. Induction cooktops only get hot from the pan on top of them, and do not generate their own heat. This means that when the pan is removed, the surface cools many times faster than the electric range element or the gas range grates.
• Cleaning: Because it does not generate its own heat, the induction cooktop has no grates or carbon buildup to clean. Cleaning spills is a damp wipe away. Also, since you don't have scorching heat going up the sides of your cookware, the utensils themselves stay cleaner longer and are easier to keep looking new.
• Cheaper and energy efficient: When you use a gas range, 55% of the energy goes into your pan and the other 45% goes off into your kitchen. A traditional electric cooktop sends 65% of its energy into your cookware and the other 35% off into space. Since the induction cookware directs energy right into the cookware, 90% of your energy dollar goes into heating your food! Also, sensors in the induction cooktop can tell when you remove the pan and switch the unit into a standby mode, which uses virtually NO energy at all.
• Even Heating: Hot spots and rings are avoided because the bottom of your cookware heats uniformly. 

The Crystal Ball Says...

Induction cooking is big right now in Europe and Japan, where rising energy costs have resulted in people looking for efficient yet effective ways to cook. The technology is just now beginning to take hold in the United States and several manufacturers produce single-unit cooking appliances as well as full cooktops. Many consumers may not have an induction cooking setup yet, but think back to the Microwave Oven - once considered a luxury, then it became something to just reheat leftovers, now you'll find one in just about every kitchen - being used not just to reheat but to prepare courses and even entire meals.

Have you considered approaching kitchen designers, contractors, and appliance saleshouses to see if they would consider using the Tupperware collection of induction-compatible cookware to help them sell high end appliances while boosting your sales at the same time? If a consumer is considering spending thousands of dollars on a kitchen, they may be quite receptive to the idea of some brand new cookware to accentuate it! The contractor may also be able to use the cookware as an example of how induction cooking can benefit their customer and encourage them to purchase a more expensive induction cooktop. Everybody wins!

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