An informative guide to buying a Cooking Appliance

Author- Vibhor Shergill (Brother of Sabhyata Shergill)

Today, humans are working on technologies to construct a floating city on Venus, have developed medicines to cure diseases which once seemed incurable, have developed driver-less cars and trains, have done incremental progress in making artificial intelligence a reality and have done advancement in almost every sphere of science. Yet, behind all these human feats there is one major driving force - ‘Food’.

One can live without luxuries, without latest gadgets, without decent clothes, etc., but if there is one thing one can absolutely not compromise upon is a healthy diet. Since, eating well cooked food is so essential for proper functioning of the body, one needs to have an efficient cooking appliance in one’s kitchen that helps in preparing that nutritious food.

Now, if you are a frequent visitor to the posts on this blog, you might be probably aware that we take each topic from the grass root level and we will do the same with this post as well. We will begin with the basics first, understand the different types of cooking appliances available in the market and how they work along with the Pros and Cons of each. Following which, we will discuss the factors one should pay attention to when buying a cooking appliance and how some brands try to cut costs and manufacture below par products that delay the cooking process and some of them may even put human life at risk. Then, we will move onto deciding which are the best cooking appliances available in the market that are not only safe to use but also offer the most value for money.

You might be glad to know that my father works at a company that manufactures home and kitchen appliances like refrigerators, cooking appliances, food processors, kitchen chimneys, washing machines etc. So, at home, we frequently have a conversation about these appliances, what goes into making them, how some brands try to cut manufacturing costs to increase their profit margin etc.
Today, I will try my best to pass on the knowledge that I have acquired from my father over the years, to you so as to help you make a good buying decision.

So without further a do, let’s begin…

THE BASICS

As the name suggests, a cooking appliance is an essential kitchen appliance that is used for the purpose of cooking food. It works on the principle of application of heat to the food contents placed inside a utensil in order to cook them. A cooking appliance is primarily manufactured in two configurations:-

1. Gas powered
2. Induction powered

Gas Powered Cooking Stove
A gas powered cooking stove, also popularly known as ‘Gas stove’ is an appliance that comprises of three basic components, namely:- fuel from LPG cylinder/ gas pipeline, a burner on which utensils are placed and a rotary knob to regulate the amount of fuel supplied to the burner. Generally, gas stoves with two or more such burners are preferred by most people since multiple cooking operations can be performed simultaneously on those multiple burners.

To light the burner, one needs to rotate the knob so as to provide adequate amount of fuel to the burner, a gas lighter which consists of a piezo-electric crystal and a hammer is used to provide the necessary spark to the fuel in order to light it. The flame emanates from the tiny holes of the burner. Food items such as raw vegetables or pulses are placed inside a utensil. The utensil is placed on the burner. The flame raises the surface temperature of the utensil and thus the food inside starts to cook. To decrease or increase the intensity of the flame, the knob can be turned to a position where it lessens or increases the amount of fuel that gets to the burner.

(Image of a Gas Stove)

Now, having learnt the working of a gas stove, let us proceed to discuss its Pros and Cons.

PROS:-

• Operable during power cuts. This is the biggest advantage of using a gas stove over an induction cooktop. Since induction cooktops work on constant supply of electricity, they can not be used in times of long power cuts. A gas stove due to its forte of having no dependence on electricity will at all times cook the nutritious food for you.

• Durable. Gas stoves, due to their relatively less complex design hardly require replacement of any parts. Moreover, the metal burners can withstand heavy weights of the utensils and/or their rough texture without getting damaged.

• Utensil friendly. Due to the hollow centre of the burner of the gas stove, it better accommodates utensils with uneven shapes especially the round bottom ones. Such construction of the burner facilitates that flame heats a larger area of the utensil which significantly reduces the cooking time.

• Better heat control. Specific food recipes require specific heating pattern. In a gas stove one can do precise cooking as per one’s wish thanks to the presence of the rotary knob which increases and decreases the flame. However, controlling the amount of heat on an induction cooktop may not be an easy task as it operates on temperature control and there is no knob to rotate which regulates the amount of heat.

CONS:-

• Gas Leak. One has to be careful with gas stoves and has to ensure that the rotary knob is turned off after use. Failing which, fuel might get wasted and presence of gas in air might become a cause of house fires.

• Cleaning. Since gas burners consist of tiny holes for flame release, spilled foods might block these holes. As a consequence, the intensity of flame might decrease which could result in uneven heating and higher cooking times. Therefore, one needs to regularly keep cleaning the holes on the burner with the help of a pin or a similar object.

• Fumes. As gas powered cooking stove requires a continuous supply of fuel in the form of LPG or PNG, one should ensure that proper ventilation is maintained in the house. An exhaust fan in the kitchen would go a long way in removing those harmful fumes, although a kitchen chimney is better recommended for proper removal of the fumes.

So, having discussed the Pros and Cons of a gas stove, let us proceed to know about the second type of cooking appliance, i.e., the induction powered one.

Induction Powered Cooktop
This appliance is known by the name ‘Induction cooktop’ in major parts of the world. An induction cooktop makes use of magnetic induction to heat the cooking utensil instead of thermal conduction which finds its application in the gas stove. An Induction cooktop makes use of a coil of copper wire which is present right below the glass covering of the cooktop. The appliance is connected to a power source and current starts to flow in the copper wire which results in heating the utensil and its contents.

An induction cooktop is a square shaped appliance with a flat glass top. Food item placed inside a utensil is put on the glass top. The copper coil starts to heat the utensil. Controls of temperature regulation along with timer settings are present on the control panel of the cooktop. Some other controls might also be present on the control panel varying from model to model.

(Image of an Induction Cooktop)

Having understood the working and design of an induction cooktop, let us proceed to learn its Pros and Cons.

PROS:-

• Efficiency. Induction cooktops are highly efficient appliances. Typically, food cooked with an induction cooktop receives 85–90% of the heat energy generated by the copper coils. On the other hand, heat efficiency of gas stove ranges between 50–55% due to dissipation of heat of the flame to the surroundings. Therefore, food cooks more rapidly and evenly on an induction cooktop.

• Cooler surroundings. As discussed above, an induction cooktop does not depend on flame burners to produce heat and rather heat the food items contained in the utensil via magnetic induction. Therefore, no heat is dissipated to the surrounding air which keeps the surrounding temperatures low. Induction cooktops make working in the kitchen in hot summer days a lot less challenging.

• Safety. Since an induction cooktop works on the principle of magnetic induction where no heat is produced outside the utensil, the glass surface of the cooktop always remains at room temperature. Therefore, in homes with small, curious kids who might accidentally touch the cooking stove, an induction cooktop becomes a more practical choice.

• Portability. As an induction cooktop requires nothing more than a power outlet for its operation, it scores very high in terms of portability. Unlike a gas stove which is fixed at one place as it requires to be fitted to an LPG cylinder or requires a gas pipe connection, an induction cooktop can be very easily moved to a new location in the kitchen or home, depending upon requirement.

CONS:-

• Operational cost. Though the initial cost of purchasing an induction cooktop is comparatively lesser than that of a gas stove, the cost of operation is higher. Since an induction cooktop relies on electricity for its operation, one can expect higher electricity bills on using an induction cooktop. On the contrary, the LPG cylinders or PNG connection for a gas stove are quite economical to own and use.

• Lack of precision heating. Unlike a gas stove that has a rotary knob to adjust the amount of heat to be supplied to the utensil, an induction cooktop has temperature controls. One might not be able to properly equate the heat settings achieved on turning the knob at different positions to a temperature value. Therefore, the food item might get overcooked or remain undercooked.

• Limited choice of utensils. Induction cooktops are able to induce heat in only those utensils that are made up of ferro-magnetic materials i.e. those materials that exhibit strong magnetic properties. These materials include cast iron and steel. Utensils made of materials like aluminium, glass and copper are not suitable for induction cooking. Therefore, one is left with a limited choice of utensils that are induction compatible, which is not the case in gas stove cooking where almost every utensil irrespective of the material out of which it is made can be used for cooking.

In my opinion, if you identify yourself as a passionate cook and the one who likes to have better control on the manner a dish is getting prepared, I would recommend you to go with a gas stove because it offers better indulgence with the dish due to the presence of the rotary knob.
On the other hand, if your work profile requires you to shift homes every few years or if you reside in a place where summer temperatures go beyond 40 degree celcius, you would find yourself having a good time with an induction cooktop.

Now, having learnt the Pros and Cons of an induction cooktop and which among a gas stove or an induction cooktop to purchase depending upon requirement, let us proceed to discuss the ways in which some manufacturers try to cut manufacturing costs and maximize their own profits and in turn deliver a sub-standard product to the customers which has a very short shelf life and may prove hazardous to the users.

COST CUTTING TECHNIQUES

• Imprecise Gas Stove Knobs. In order to regulate the fuel supply to the burner, rotary gas knobs are provided in the gas stove. However, matching the amount of fuel supply to the position of the gas knobs require use of skilled technicians and precise machinery. This adds to the overall cost of the product. Thus, in order to save manufacturing costs and to maximize profits, some brands resort to installing imprecise, low-quality rotary knob in the gas stoves they manufacture that do not completely shut off the supply of fuel even when rotated to the ‘OFF’ position. As result, a little amount of cooking gas constantly seeps into the surroundings even at the ‘OFF’ position of the rotary knobs. This can prove to be very dangerous as cooking gas is highly inflammable, and even a little spark in the vicinity can lead to a massive house fire.

• Use of low quality copper coil in induction cooktop. Pure copper is a great conductor of electricity. However, in order to maximize profits, some manufacturers resort to using a coil that is made of a mixture of copper and some other cheap metal/material in order to keep manufacturing costs low. As a result, the induced magnetic induction is not as strong as it would be if the coil is made of pure copper. Therefore, the utensil kept on the glass plate takes time to heat up and cooking gets significantly delayed.

Now, having discussed how some cooking appliance manufacturers cut costs, let us proceed to zero down on some of the best cooking appliances available in the market that are not only the best in safety parameters but are also efficient in their working and offer the most value for money.