Commercial Cooking Equipment: From “Gas” to “Induction” – A Chef’s Perspective

At four o’clock in the morning, when the city was still asleep, I stood in front of the gas stove in the back kitchen, watching the jumping blue flames licking the bottom of the cast iron pot. After twenty years of cooking, such scenes have long become part of muscle memory.

Last summer, on that sultry afternoon, the new apprentice was burned by the leaking gas when changing the gas tank. The pungent smell of gas and the scent of burning spread in the back kitchen. At that moment, I suddenly realized that it was time to embrace change.

In the kitchen of the catering industry, the stove is the core area where chefs perform magic, and the changes in stoves have a profound impact on cooking skills and the quality of dishes. Nowadays, 商用电磁炉 are gradually replacing commercial gas stoves and are becoming the new favorite of many professional kitchens. It is a general trend for commercial induction cookers to replace commercial gas stoves. This change will bring many positive effects to the catering industry.

I. Accurate temperature control

In the cooking process, the control of heat is one of the key factors that determine the success or failure of a dish. Different dishes and different cooking stages have different temperature requirements. Commercial induction cookers have unparalleled advantages in this regard.

1. Commercial induction cookers

First, commercial induction cookers can achieve precise temperature regulation. Through the buttons or knobs on the control panel, the chef can accurately set the required temperature with a minimal error range. Whether it is low-temperature slow cooking or high-temperature fast stir-frying, it can be easily controlled.

For example, when making some exquisite French desserts, such as caramel pudding, it is necessary to accurately control the melting temperature of sugar to achieve the ideal degree of caramelization. Commercial induction cookers can stabilize the temperature at around 150°C, ensuring that the sugar molecules are evenly heated and slowly transformed, forming a golden and mellow caramel layer without partial burning or uneven temperature.

2. Commercial gas stoves

In contrast, the temperature regulation of commercial gas stoves is relatively rough. Although the firepower can be roughly controlled by adjusting the gas valve and damper, it isn’t easy to achieve as much precision as an induction cooker. When cooking some dishes that require strict temperatures, the unstable temperature output of the gas stove may result in uneven quality of the dishes.

II. Heating speed

1. Commercial induction cooker

Commercial induction cooker has a faster heating speed. It uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to generate heat directly at the bottom of the pot, with a thermal efficiency of more than 80%.

It means that in cooking scenarios that require rapid heating, such as stir-frying Sichuan cuisine’s Kung Pao chicken, the induction cooker can instantly raise the pot temperature to a suitable high-temperature range.

It makes the chicken particles quickly caramelize on the surface and lock in the tenderness inside while allowing spices such as dried chili peppers and peppercorns to release a rich aroma in a short time without causing the ingredients to become old or the spices to become too bitter due to long heating time.

2. Commercial gas stove

However, due to the loss of heat transfer during combustion, commercial gas stoves have a relatively slow heating speed. Especially under high power requirements, they cannot quickly reach the ideal cooking temperature, thus affecting the speed and quality of the dishes.

III. Safety and health

The kitchen is a high-temperature, smoke-filled workplace. Chefs spend a long time in it every day, so safety and health issues are crucial. Commercial induction cookers provide better protection for chefs in this regard.

1. Open flame heating

From a safety perspective, commercial induction cookers do not have open flames, which avoids the risk of safety accidents such as explosions and fires caused by gas leaks. During the use of gas stoves, gas needs to be mixed with air before ignition.

Once the gas leak is not discovered in time or the ignition operation is improper, it may cause serious safety accidents. Induction cookers only work when they are powered on and there are pots and pans placed on them. There is no open flame leakage, which significantly reduces the safety hazards in the kitchen.

2. Cooking efficiency

In addition, the surface temperature of commercial induction cookers is relatively low. Although its heating efficiency is high, during the cooking process, the temperature of the stove top will not rise as quickly as that of a gas stove and remain high for a long time. It reduces the possibility of the chef being scalded by accidental contact to a certain extent, especially when the kitchen is busy and people are moving frequently, which is more friendly to the chef’s safety.

3. Health & Safety

In terms of health, commercial induction cookers reduce the generation of oil smoke. Due to its precise temperature control, it can quickly complete cooking at the right temperature, avoiding the situation where excessive decomposition of oil and other ingredients causes a large amount of harmful oil smoke due to excessive temperature.

（1）Amount of Harmful Gases

During the high-temperature combustion process, gas stoves not only produce a certain amount of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides but also, because of its heating method, the ingredients in the pot quickly produce a lot of oil smoke. This oil smoke contains a variety of carcinogens, and long-term inhalation will cause damage to the chef’s respiratory system and health.

（2）Room Temperature

Scorching heat waves always surround the traditional stove, and the temperature in the back kitchen in summer often exceeds 50℃. After switching to induction cookers, the overall temperature of the kitchen dropped by 8-10℃, and the workload of the exhaust system was reduced by one-third. The most intuitive change is that the thermometer hanging on the wall no longer needs to replace the deformed shell every quarter.

（3）Chef’s Healthy

According to relevant studies, chefs who work in a kitchen environment with heavy oil smoke for a long time have a relatively high probability of suffering from respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. The promotion and use of commercial induction cookers will help improve the air quality in the kitchen and create a healthier working environment for chefs.

IV. Energy saving and cost-effectiveness

For restaurant operators, cost control is a key link in operating efficiency. Commercial induction cookers perform well in energy saving and cost-effectiveness.

1. Energy utilization rate

In terms of energy utilization efficiency, commercial induction cookers directly convert electrical energy into thermal energy and have high thermal efficiency. Most of the electrical energy can be used to heat pots and ingredients, reducing energy loss during the transmission process.

However, during the combustion process of commercial gas stoves, heat will be dissipated to the surroundings, and the thermal efficiency is usually only about 40%, which means that a large amount of gas energy is wasted. From the perspective of long-term operating costs, although the initial purchase cost of commercial induction cookers is relatively high, its energy-saving effect is significant. In the case of frequently used catering kitchens, it can save restaurants considerable energy expenses.

2. Maintenance cost

In addition, the maintenance cost of commercial induction cookers is low. Its structure is relatively simple, and it does not have a complex combustion system and many vulnerable parts of gas stoves. Therefore, the failure rate is low in daily use, and maintenance is relatively easy and inexpensive.

Due to their mechanical structure and combustion characteristics, commercial gas stoves require regular maintenance, such as cleaning the burner head and replacing seals, to ensure their regular operation and safety performance, which undoubtedly increases the operating costs of the restaurant.

V. Cleaning and Convenience

The modern catering industry pursues efficient and convenient work processes, and commercial induction cookers also meet this demand in terms of cleaning and ease of operation.

1. Easy to clean

The surface of the commercial induction cooker is smooth and flat, making it very easy to clean. After cooking, wipe the surface with a damp cloth to remove stains and residual food debris. The cleaning time is shortened from 2 hours a day to 40 minutes.

There is no carbon deposit or stubborn oil stains, and the food-grade stainless steel countertop is as bright as new with a rag. The frequency of visits by maintenance technicians has been reduced from twice a month to once every six months.

However, due to the complex structure of the burner head, bracket, and other components of the commercial gas stove, food residues and oil stains are easily left. Cleaning requires more time and effort, and it isn’t easy to clean thoroughly. Long-term accumulation of oil stains may also cause safety hazards.

2. Easy to operate

In terms of ease of operation, commercial induction cookers are usually equipped with digital control panels and multiple preset cooking modes. Chefs can quickly set the required cooking temperature, time, and other parameters through simple button operation and can even store commonly used cooking programs to achieve one-click cooking.

For some highly standardized food production processes, this can significantly improve work efficiency and reduce manual errors and repetitive work. The operation of commercial gas stoves is relatively cumbersome, requiring manual adjustment of multiple valves and switches to control the firepower and combustion status. For new chefs or kitchen staff, it takes a certain amount of time to master their operating skills.

VI. Adapting to modern catering trends

With the continuous improvement of consumers’ requirements for catering quality and health and the increasingly stringent environmental protection policies, the catering industry is moving towards a green and sustainable direction. The use of commercial induction cookers is a reflection of this trend.

1. Creating new dishes

From the perspective of dish innovation, the precise temperature control characteristics of commercial induction cookers provide chefs with more creative space. They can try some cooking techniques and innovative dishes that are difficult to achieve with traditional gas stoves, such as low-temperature vacuum cooking and some unique processes in molecular cuisine, to develop more distinctive and competitive dishes to meet consumers’ increasingly diverse and personalized taste needs.

2. Environmental protection

In terms of environmental protection, commercial induction cookers use electricity as energy, which reduces dependence on fossil fuels and reduces carbon emissions compared to gas stoves. It has a positive significance for catering companies to respond to the national energy conservation and emission reduction policies and enhance their environmental protection image.

At the same time, with the continuous development and popularization of renewable energy power generation technology, the environmental protection advantages of commercial induction cookers will become more prominent, laying the foundation for the sustainable development of the catering industry.

结论

From the perspective of cooking effect, safety and health, cost-effectiveness, cleanliness and convenience, and adapting to the development trend of modern catering, the replacement of commercial induction cookers with commercial gas stoves is a necessary and beneficial change in the catering industry.

As chefs, we have the responsibility and obligation to accept and master this new technology, provide consumers with better quality and healthier food, and create a safer and more comfortable working environment for ourselves. Shortly, 商用电磁炉 will be more widely used and popularized in catering kitchens, pushing the entire industry into a new stage of development.

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