So you have either ordered a new induction range and it is coming soon, or you just had one installed and you are looking at it thinking, what am I missing. I am going to show you three indispensable items you need when you first get an induction range.
Induction Plate
Even if you purchase new cookware, I guarantee you, you will have a few items that you don’t want to throw away or haven’t replaced and still want to use. Examples would be a nice tea kettle, my stove top mocha pot and an aluminum wok I loved. Because these were not induction compatible, I either had to throw them out, buy new ones or not use them at all.
This is where an induction plate comes into play. An induction plate looks like a piece of stainless steel with a handle. It sits on the induction range and gets warmed up by the magnets. You then put your mocha pot, or kettle on top of it and its acts like a fancy hot plate.
This saved me a lot until I was able to get a new kettle for my French Press coffee. Is it perfect? No, unlike say, an Allclad pan, it may not be as flat and get as god a connection so I find it hard to use for things like stir frying.
Cooktop Cleaning Kit
Most people look at their ranges and think it’s a simple glass cook top. but in reality it is a ceramic cook top. This is because it has to deal with a large temperature range as well as pots and pans banging on it all day. Even tempered glass would crack. So appliance manufacturers use ceramic.
Because it is ceramic, normal windex just won’t clean it as well as a special cook top cleaner. What you will see is smudges don’t come off and build up where the pan sits will accumulate over time. Every manufacturer recommends different ones but I say get this one here. It is the same one recommended by the whirlpool brands which means if you have Kitchenaid, Maytag, Whirlpool and even some Kenmore brands, it should work just fine.
Barkeepers Friend
If you have an induction range, at one point you are going to have stainless steel cookware of some kind. And while some brands have less issues with this, many stainless steel pots and pans will discolor with use. You don’t have to worry a bout it but I know my wife hates seeing it. And we have all used a stainless steel pan and find food that looks like you need a sledge hammer to get rid of.
Barkeepers friend is what you need to have on hand. It some how cleans everything and does it without being super abrasive. Not only your stainless steel, but anything that is rusted so it is not a one trick pony.
These three tools remove the the hassle
Keep these tools around and you will not be frustrated. As much as I love my induction range it does take a little getting used to. And I love my stainless steel cookware (heavy and shiny) but it does cook different than the cheap aluminum pans I had before.
Recent Comments