Personally, I put the number of settings above the sizes. Though it is a good idea to look at the manuals on line and see if there are limitations to minimum size and maximum. Then check the bottom of your pans.

I have the Bosch 500, but only for a few weeks now. It's definitely black. So far, the power settings are plenty for me, but I honestly haven't done a lot of cooking since our kitchen became functional again. The cooking on it I have done has been great, with good response time.

I picked the Bosch largely because of the direct access to the 17 power levels, instead of having to press or hold a button to cycle through the levels.

I love my Kenmore range mainly because of the burner layout. The two largest hobs are in the front. I rarely cook with anything smaller than a 12" or 10" skillet.

Too many power levels gets annoying -- what's really the difference between 2.2 and 2.4 and 2.6??? Just more times you have to push the button!

Thanks everyone,

weedmeister, I'll check tonight to see about any minimum size restrictions -- with induction, I know that if I use a larger pan only the section of the pan inside the element will heat leaving a section on the outer edge of the pan with no heat, and if the pan conducts heat well enough then it won't be an issue, but what happens using induction if I use a smaller pan, say half the size of the element, will it at least heat or is the size that critical?

fredandj -- My wife likes the look of the all black electrolux, but in my research I have seen SO many happy Bosh users whereas I have seen very few posts by users of the electrolux - maybe they are so happy they don't post :) I would be happy with either I am sure but I lean toward the Bosh as well, and I chose it for the same reason you did - easy access to the power levels.

stir_fryi -- I think I know why you mostly cook with 10 or 12 " skillets :) I am not sure you are statistically average in your skillet size usage :) We have small kids and if you have kids you know how picky they are -- I have seen my wife many times cooking spaghetti sauce only to have a much smaller pot with separate sauce for one of the kids because they don't like XX in their sauce. I would rather have the bigger element size just to have the option of putting a big pot with stew or something on there.

I have the "Older Elux Icon Induction cook top", the one with the stainless trim around the edges and also a stainless steel divider between the cook top and the touch control panel. It has about the same hob sizes as the Elux model that jw1844 is looking at.

The cook top is not fussy about the pan sizes used on any of the hob sizes, I have put up videos on Utube to display that fact.

I took my largest pan 10 or 11 inches, (at the pan bottom) and put it on the smallest hob with a small amount of water in the pan. At first, I saw a ring of bubbles in the pan, about the size of the smaller hob, but it spread quickly to the entire bottom of my "Emerilware" clad pan, (Stainless, Aluminum and Copper cladding), Copper is an xlnt heat conductor.

I then took my smallest pan with a small amount of water in it, and put it on the largest hob, No errors and the water boiled, fairly rapidly, (alto, not as fast as if I had used the correct size hob for the pan).

The cook top has been trouble free for about 4 years now, makes no noise whatsover, buzzes, humms etc etc. In fact I've yet to even hear the cooling fan running.

One suspects Elux's newer model "might be similar" to mine, (performance wise), but I would really check one in actual operation, just to be sure!

Many of the Bosches have real timers, (IE they actually turn off the hob, after timeout, where as the Elux timer just give an "Entertaining sound" at timeout.

Good Luck with your Pending Decision!

Gary

Personally, I would prefer the bigger hobs to more gradations of power. I only have 9 power settings, and it's not a problem. More important, though, as stir fry mentions, is the hob arrangement. This is personal - would you rather have the big hob in front or in back? (I didn't look at these units - maybe they're not that different.) But yes, the pan size is critical, and you will most likely not be able to use a 5" pan (if you even have one) on a 9" hob. A 6" pan (bottom diameter -not top) might work, 7" should work just fine.

I also agree with fredanj, I like being able to just put my finger on a place or slide it along to change the level. It's quick and easy.

jw1844:

Following up on stir_fryi's point (and Ginny's and Gary's), and keying off your comments about large pots for stew, do be aware that the nominal pan size is measured across the top rather than the base of the pan.

It is the base that matters when matching pans to induction burners and, for most folks, the difference between an 11" and 10" burner is not going to matter much when cooking larger quantities. Depends on what you mean by large quantities.

For example, I have three 12" induction suitable skillets. The base sizes --- the part that actually develops heat on an induction burner --- vary in diameter from just under 9 inches to a skoonch over 10 inches. My 3-quart saute pans (measuring 11" across the top from the outside edge to outside edge) have bases around 9" in diameter. (The flat part of the interior bottom -- what you actually cook-on --- is about 9.7 inches across on my pans, but other brands often are closer to 9 inches.) My nominally 10" diameter NS frying pan has a base that is actually about 7.5 inches. On some 11" induction burners, that pan may be too small to work.

A Le Creuset dutch oven, nominally 26 cm (10.25") at the top, is more like 8" at the base. That LC can make a pretty large quantity of stew by many people's standards, but YMMV.

Would you consider a 12 quarts stockpot to be a "big" pot? I have a Sitram one which has a disk base (as opposed to a fully clad pot such as All-Clad). The disk on the base is only 7.5" in diameter. A fully-clad stockpot would have a base that might be 8.5 to 9 inches in diameter.

If 12 quart capacity is is not a "large" pot for spaghetti sauce, how about a 5 gallon stockpot?. I use a commercial, induction capable one as a canning kettle. The top is almost 14" in diameter but, for induction purposes, the base is only a little over 11" in diameter. If I were going to use it to make gallons of marinara or ragu --- when you need even heating all the way across the base for a very long time -- I would favor getting the 11-inch burner. But for just boiling water, it would not matter whether I had a 10" or 11" diameter burner because there is nothing that can burn from uneven heating across the entire base.

Most manuals for induction cooktops and stoves suggest that they will evenly heat pans up to an inch in diameter greater than the surface markings on the cooking surfaces. And, as you observe, some pans do a better job than others in spreading heat.

It seems to me, though, that for most folks, the largest diameter burners may be a mixed blessing becaues the larger burner diameters will likely have correspondingly larger minimum pan sizes. If 8.5" or 8" is the specified minimum pan size for the 11" burner, then you may be unable to use it with 10" and smaller fry pans whose bases are less than 8" in diameter. Maybe you care about that loss of flexibility and maybe you don't. And, of course, some 11" burners will have 7.5" base diameter minimum pan sizes and some 10" burners may also have the same minimu pan size, which would make the choice between 10" and 11" moot.

The same thinking also applies when comparing the two 9" burners on the Bosch to the 8" and 7" burners on the Electrolux.

As for finding more reviews and discussions of the Electrolux, I think gary dodge has posted a lot on his and has videos, as well. Many of his posts are in the course of threads with titles that do not list Electrolux induction cooktops in the title, so it can be easy to miss them. The search engine here is a bit hit or miss. Try a Google or Ask or Bing search with "gardenweb + dodge + induction " electrolux" as your search string.

As for power settings, that is very much a personal preference based on how and what you cook. As Ginny says, 10 may be fine for some folks and not for others. I personally like some gradations in the mid range (say between "3" and "7" where I would do most of my cooking.) Half steps are fine for me but YMMV and thus the finer gradations provided on the Electrolux.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, May 31, 13 at 13:10

If you want more hob size options but like the Bosch, can you get the 36" ? That one offers a bit more variation for hobs.

I have a very small moka pot that I had to replace for induction and needed to have a very small hob. I have the bosch 500 30" and the smallest hob is fine for it. The moka pot is dwarfed by the size of the hob, but it works beautifully.

I also have a 19" cast iron pizza pan that overshadows the largest hob, but it works fine on it. Sure, there is a hot-spot or rather, a colder spot where the pan is no longer on the burner, but since it is cast iron, the difference is not hugely noticeable, at least not to me.

When I was looking, I considered the Bosch 500 as the best option, for the price. I wanted the true timers (just set power and time, and the rice cooks itself), and didn't want to pay the extra $ for the Thermador slightly more versatile interface. Well, I ended up with a kitchen design that needed a range, so that's what I got -- no real timer, etc.

I think either of those cooktops would be fine, including the the number of power levels and size of burners. I would give consideration to the position of the burners, cosmetics, and the true timer, and price (no special order).

Gary (of the north)

Gary,

Thank you, I am glad to hear that the pan sizes may not be quite as critical as I thought, I know with a regular hot coil stove You can use a large pot on a small hob and vice versa, and although it may not be the most efficient, it will work -- I was worried that with the induction cooktops that they might produce a computer error and shut down -- and you know that won't happen until I have a house full of guests on Thanksgiving!

Also, I had read about the timers on the Bosh - I thought I read that the Elux was the same, but I went back to the manual and sure enough, at least on the model we are looking at there is only one timer, and its just that, a timer - and will not turn anything off for you. I've never had that capability on any of our other stovetops, but I imagine with the faster cooktimes using induction it could be quite helpful.

Ginny,

I had never even thought about considering the hob placement (larger/smaller front or back) --- hmmm, I'm going to mention this to my wife, we love to cook together but since our last cooktop came with the house (so we had no choice) we never thought about it... thanks!

JWVideo:

We are getting all new cookware (Le Creuset dutch oven, I wish! ... drool .... or as they like to call them at Le Creuset "French Ovens" lol)

Thanks for the info about the pan base vs top -- as obvious as it sounds I had not thought about this - I would have seen '12 inch fry pan' on the box and not realized that I might only need a 9 or 10 '' hob to cook with it because of the different base size!

wallycat:

I wish we could get the 36" - we almost did but it was going to require rebuilding our cabinetry, losing two drawers (or at least making them too small to be of much use) and hiring an electrician to upgrade the electrical panel for a 50 amp circuit --- in the end it just got too expensive, so for now we are stuck with the 30" --

I'm glad to hear that like Gary you are able to use pans much smaller/larger than the hob --- this was really my only concern about moving to induction.

attofared:

I know we would be happy with either of these units, so now we have a decision to make!

We are planning to purchase from Lowes (for the extended warranty) but they take two weeks :( so I will let you all know how it goes in a few weeks!

Justice

My Cooktek unit has 100 levels, 0 to 99 then Max.

The difference between 24 and 26? Assuming it is linear, and it acts that way, is 2%. About 36 watts.

I have the 30 inch Bosch and have been using it since around October - love it! We are a family of 5 and I cook from scratch pretty much daily. My husband doesn't care for leftovers so I do LOTS of cooking.

For cookware I opted for Tramontina and have the least expensive set. I added on a 12 quart stockpot with strainer, a 1 quart pot and a 12 inch sauté pan.

I also have Le Creuset, all bought as factory seconds during sales. I purposely buy a different color each time so nothing matches and I can always add on stuff. I have a 7.5 quart French oven, a 5 quart braiser (the most used piece), a 3.5 quart French oven and a grill pan.

I intermix the pieces all the time without issue. I can fit the largest stockpot on the mid-size hob and the braiser on the large hob with no issue. I have only had all 4 hobs going at the same time once or twice since using the unit.

I have never needed more power settings, there are so many available on the unit. Response is instant, you have absolute control. I didn't want to scroll through power settings, so glad I went for the instant access to whatever level I want. Cooking on induction is amazing; we had a 30 year old coil unit before.

My favorite function of the unit is the time that shuts the hob off. It is so useful and much more reliable than the family is in turning stuff off when the timer is up!

My vote goes for the Bosch, but best of luck with whatever unit you purchase!

Well, we ordered the Bosh 30" (NIT5065UC) last night from Lowes -- now we have to wait two weeks :( Very excited though and can't wait to start cooking with induction! Thanks everyone for your input, I am sure both units would have worked just fine, for us the individual timers on the Bosh and its seeming ease of use pushed us in that direction.

sandra_zone6:

We are also a family of 5 and it's great to hear that 7 months in you are very happy with the Bosh. Makes me feel a lot more comfortable spending the money!!

We are now starting to look at cookware (our old cookware was very inexpensive, 15 year old stuff that is falling apart -- I have one saucepan that has holes in the side where the handle used to attach) -- I love the idea of enameled cast iron, a little worried about the weight -- I saw in another thread where TJMaxx has some good deals on factory seconds of Le Creuset. Where did you get yours?

I'll take a look at Tramontina, also the Emeril by ironclad looks good - the last time I cooked on stainless steel we ended up throwing the pan away because it was difficult to clean -- this may have been because of our limited cooking skills -- but I remember it as being a real pain! It may have also been that I am sure it was a cheaply made pan -- hopefully some of the options available today are different. I have read other posts here and around the web about teflon and it possibly having poisonous/toxic flakes? Thats what we have been using forthe last 15 years and I do love the non stick surface! That leaves cast iron which I grew up with and the enameled cast iron now seems to make it even better - I keep reading about flaking of the enamel however, have you experienced this?

Justice

Let me try to put you mind at rest on cookware.

On flaking of enamel from enameled cast-iron, you'll need to check on specific brands. I recall (but cannot find) a chowhound discussion of this last winter. The gist of it (IIRC) was that the less expensive brands were more likely to experience enamel flaking and the most typical offenders were Martha Stewart, Mario Batali and Rachel Ray brands. You will find some reports on Tramontina and Lodge pots, but most folks seem happy with them. The Tramontina 6 qt. dutch oven model was running about $50 at Wall Mart. The most recent Cook's Illustrated magazine (May-June 2013) says it performs nearly as well as brands costing five times as much (e.g., Le Creuset and Staub). There is also Lodge's own line of enameled cast iron dutch ovens which cost more than the Tramontina line but are still less than half the cost of Le Crueset and Staub. A friend of mine bought one of the "Kirkland" enameled dutch ovens from our local Costco for (I think) about $80 last winter. I do not know if that pan is made by Tramontina or Lodge, but it seems to be work very well and has not flaked on the interior. (She's using it on an old coil burner stove, btw.) So, plenty of alternatives to LC.

On non-stick: the stuff is inert when it flakes. Internet research will turn up a lot of paranoid (and mostly fact-free) raving about non-stick just as there is with induction, itself. Did you know, for example, that induction cooks food in half the time of other stoves because it works like a microwave but does not contain the "low frequency radiation" which makes induction dangerous to your health, and that it may send current into your body if you use a metal spoon? That must be true because somebody posted this on the 'net! :>)

To be sure, there are some real problems with NS coatings, even though poisonous/toxic flaking is not one of them. The actual problems with non-stick coatings are:

(a) the chemicals used during the manufacturing process can be hazardous to the factory workers (e.g., toxic and/or carcinogenic). Those chemicals do not get passed on to the consumers who buy the finished products, but the potential risks for the workers may make your conscience uneasy about buying NS products.

(b) getting a NS pan too hot (as in over 650F) will cause the coating to decompose and the resulting fumes reportedly can cause "flu-like" symptoms in people, Those fumes can be toxic to birds (but then, so can the fumes from a self-cleaning oven..

Considering that 650F is hotter than the melting point of lead, and that temps over 500F will generally degrade the slipperiness of teflon (i.e., diminish or ruin the non-stick-ability), and that that most of us would sear meat at around 450F (and wouldn't use non-stick pans for that purpose, anyway), and that most cooking oils have smoke points in the range of 350F to 400F, you can safely use NS by simply recognizing the limits and respecting them, if you like NS pans.

The problem with NS on induction comes from failing to recognize how quickly induction brings a pan to heat. This will be especially problematic for those in the habit of cranking a burner to maximum, walking away for several minutes, then adding oil or whatever, and then reducing the heat. Do that with induction and you can have your empty NS pan at the melting point of lead before you know it. Heck, do that with a cast iron pan and the too-rapid rise in heat may crack the pan; there was a thread here discussing this point last summer. Get a cast iron pan to 600F and your are burning off the seasoning, as well.

So, just set the NS pan to the temp you want to use, it will be at temp pdq, and you will be fine using it.

As for stainless steel and ease of cleaning, that depends somewhat on the pan construction and on technique. Something thin and light is apt heat unevenly and burn food just as it would on any other stove. A more substantial pan will heat more evenly and be less likely to burn. The trick is usually said to be to get the pan hot, then add oil, and wait for ripples to appear (or wisps of vapor from the oil) before starting to cook. When you are done, you can put that SS pan in the dishwasher. For what is not cleaned it completely, a quick scrub with a sponge and some Barkeeper's Friend will easily and quickly polish it back up.

Costco also has a number of decent induction capable cookware sets for less than $200. The selection seems to vary from season to seaon. Last year, I bought a 7 pot set of Circulon "Premier Professional" for $179. (2 sauce pans, a 6 quart stock pot, 3 fry pans (8" to 12") and a 3.5 qt. saute pan, plus lids.) They have anodized aluminum bodies with magnetic bases and non-stick interiors. The pans have worked very well for me on both induction and gas burners. I think there is a comparable "Kirkland" set on sale at Costco, now.)

This post was edited by JWVideo on Sun, Jun 2, 13 at 14:50

Nice post JWVideo.

I strongly recommend that people new to induction not walk away from almost any setting until accumulating some experience.

On the original subject: I bought a Kenmore clone of the Electrolux Icon at the end of 2007. The advantage of the Kenmore was that it didn't have the third stainless steel strip. It also cost less.

This induction unit continues to operate without problems, so I would consider this to also be a credit to Electrolux. I believe the designs have changed over the years, so YMMV.

I would note two things that may be abnormal in my usage; (a) without fail every pan sits on a "tripod" of silicone pads that separate the pan from the cooktop Ceram by a mm or so -- reducing heat load on the electronics via the Ceram, and avoiding scratching, and (b) the space under the unit is occupied by metal wire racks and pans, so there is no significant restriction on the air supply for electronics cooling. These may have only slight or nil effect on longevity, but need to be mentioned.

kas

JWVideo , "Hit the nail on the head" with this bit of info.

I strongly recommend that people new to induction not walk away from almost any setting until accumulating some experience.

It is just soooooo fast, and there is NOOOOO Need to crank the
power up high, like he said, "So, just set the NS pan to the temp you want to use, it will be at temp pdq, and you will be fine using it. "

When I first got mine, I would kick it up to high power or even boost, just to see how fast the succer could boil water, but of course whatever I was gonna put in that boiling water wasn't ready anyway, so cept for "Showing Off", I've just never used the boost anymore, or for that matter any setting much above 6
(Out of 10), except for maybe a very large pot I will be using to boil some spaghetti, but even then, it's not much of a wait.

So Induction is different, as is gas from conventional electric, so just learn to use the tools You have and "Take it easy" until you know the Tool!

Gary

@jw1844 - We have the All-Clad tri-ply and it is pricey. We've had it several years before getting our induction cooktop, though, so there was no issue.

What I recommend you watch for in cookware is any brand that has made itself induction-friendly by welding a 1/4" thick disk to the bottom of the pot/pan. Heat-up will be slower. The cookware will be bottom-heavy.

To augment my AllClad, I've added some Calphalon stainless steel pots and have been very happy with them. No thick disc welded to bottom. (I refuse to use a non-stick interior) I used a 20% coupon at BB&B and really like the two pots I have that are Calphalon. Link below shows the line. BB&B have some pieces open stock, so I didn't have to buy an additional set.

After reading these forums leading up to our kitchen make-over, I have embraced BarKeeper's Friend. It is what my cookware brands recommend, anyway. Our new Bosch DW gets the pots clean 90% of the time, without needing BKF, anyway, so I spend less time at the sink than I did with the old cooktop & DW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Calphalon s/s induction friendly cookware

Unlike Gary I use power boost nearly every day to bring water to a boil before turning it down to keep the boil controlled, or to heat water to a particular temperature for tea in the minimum time. I also know almost to the second how long that will take and set kitchen timer alarms so I can react in time. I don't walk away, but I may be occupied with another kitchen task.

The induction cooktop is the final nail in the coffin of the maxim "a watched pot never boils."

kas

I agree on not walking away from induction. It is amazing how quickly pans heat up and other than to boil water, which I use boost with, you really do not need high heat settings. We have only had 2 boil overs, both due to my daughter heating up soup and walking off to get a bowl, spoon, and drink to go along with it. It is amazing how quickly a boil starts with induction. Nice thing is, you simply pick the pot up, wipe the cooktop quickly and continue on. Stuff doesn't burn on unless you might happen to leave it there, but I wipe mine down daily.

I, too, used to hate cooking on stainless steel pans, even bought and threw out a few. Since buying the Tramontina Tri-Ply, which I bought after reading about on Chowhound and Cooks Illustrated both which rave about them, I am just loving stainless pots and pans. Supposedly the Tramontina has the same build as Al-Clad although slightly thinner for a huge difference in price. I used to cook on old Calphalon, the old, original stuff. The much cheaper in cost Tramontina just blows those pots away. With Stainless, it's all about properly heating the pan up. It took a while to figure out preheating and settings for me, but I can even fry eggs without sticking on my stainless pans. With my moms more expensive stainless pots and pans, everything sticks, I really think it is the better build of the Tramontina that makes them so nice to cook on. And clean up is a breeze, as it is with Le Creuset. Even after browing on the induction and throwing the pan into the oven, even the most stubborn stuff cleans right off after a small soak in soapy water.

I've had my LeCreuset since I had my old coil top so I was a bit familiar in preheating those pots at lower temps. You never use LeCreuset stuff on high heat. The Le Creuset that I purchased has all been at their factory stores, mainly during their bigger sales which run a few times a year. If you go to lcstores.com you can find a list of their locations. Signing up on their mailing list gets you advanced notice of sales and special offers. My first pot, the 7.25 quart French oven, was a second of a discontinued Kiwi color and cost me 150.00. Because I don't stick to one color, I can buy whatever pot I want in any color and have taken advantage of offers to get pots I want without worrying about whether the stuff matches or not. I also benefited from a super nice sales associate who has been willing to go through box after box to get me a pan she feels is the best of the lot. I doubt you' be able to tell why my pots are factory seconds; I only know because she pointed them out to me. I have no issues with enamel flaking, but I do not use metal utensils, I do not throw water in a hot pan, I don't scrape, I cook, and soak if something doesn't wipe away easily with a sponge. I don't baby, but I use common sense and they are holding up fine. LeCreuset will replace things if they ever have issues from what I am told.

Have fun with your induction!!!! Hope you love yours as much as we do ours!

Barkeeper's Friend is fabulous on ss pans. Also, the pans don't get "cooked" looking on induction like they can on other stoves I've had. My shiny tramontina pans still look great.

I do have nonstick skillets, especially for things like eggs, but I enjoyed learning about the "mercury ball test." Someone posted it a few months ago, and now I do it before I brown chicken in a SS skillet. It's fun, and it can entertain your guests, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rouxbe Mercury Ball video

JWVideo:

Your posts are always so helpful, thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us - I know many others besides myself will find them useful. If for nothing else to help banish the NS coating toxic flake internet rage :) (sheepishly I admit to feeling better about it now! Thx!)

I checked at Walmart tonight for the Tramontina 6 qt. dutch oven that you mentioned -- they only had the 5.5 qt model with the rubber/plastic handle on the top -- but I see I can order the 6 qt version with what appears to be a stainless steel handle on the top at their web site. I looked at the 5.5 qt and the build and finish looked very good to me, so I am sure the 6 qt will be similar.

We are planning a trip to costco tomorrow to see what they have.

kaseki:

Our install of the cooktop will also be above a large, very open cabinet where we store pans right now - so lots of room for air to move about. Hopefully that will help the unit to stay cool.

Gary,

I'll take it easy, but I'm pretty sure I will be doing what you did, 'showing off' what am thinking about calling my 'voodo stove' for any onlookers that will watch. (I am sure I'll make the kids be my first audience!) Cooking with magnetism is still like magic to me, I am sure the novelty will wear off at some point and I will just cook ... (but I might giggle a little, with my evil giggle maybe :)

Cavimum:

I saw an all-clad pan at tjmaxx today, wow, much heftier than anything else there, I can see why the $$$ -- I'll take a look at BB&B.

I plan to get some 'barkeepers friend' and have it as part of our kitchen -- too many knowledgeable folks here have recommended it..

You mentioned that you refused to use non stick pans, I was curious why? I am a relatively inexperienced cook so the NS is very helpful, the last SS pan I had was a nightmare and I ended up using it to feed the dog. I am learning now that it was a combination of a very cheap lightweight pan, and extreme inexperience on my part that created that problem, and am thinking about trying SS again.

kaseki:

"The induction cooktop is the final nail in the coffin of the maxim 'a watched pot never boils.'" - enuf said, that is hilarious!

sandra_zone6:

I'll take a look at the Tramontina Tri-Ply thanks!

We have 10 TJMaxx stores within about 35-40 miles of the house so we went to two of them today, no Le Creuset, but I will keep checking back.

I see that lcstores.com that you mentioned is running a sale this very month! They have a factory store not too far from us so we plan to stop by to see what they have tomorrow.

I also love your idea about using different colors, that way you can mix and match whatever you like, and take advantages of sales when they come along without worrying about matching a set.

Ginny20:

I found the mercury ball test very entertaining, had I known this before I might not have given my SS pot to the dog :) Thanks for sharing I am sure it will help us once we start getting our cookware!

I didn't understand the last sentence of the video however, I think she said "This is why using 'measonpath' is so important in your cooking" -- ??

This post was edited by jw1844 on Tue, Jun 4, 13 at 1:47

sandra_zone6:

It turns out there is a Le Creuset outlet near us! Unfortunately for me, they have a 40% off sale going on right now ;)

My wife fell in love with the red 9.5 qt oval oven. The Sales person found a small blemish on the first one so she got another one for us, we could not tell why it was a factory 2nd - it looked perfect to us and we were told it also carries the same lifetime warranty as buying the piece at full price would have. Saved $120!

Thanks for pointing out the outlet stores -- we also got on the mailing list for their monthly sales. Although we could never afford a full cooking set of Le Creuset we can add a piece at a time when they are on sale.

We don't have the induction cooktop yet (waiting on Lowes) so we may try it on our old electric stovetop.

Justice

This post was edited by jw1844 on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 0:04

@jw1844 - I refuse to use non-stick because at very high temps, it out-gasses. Over time, I have developed respiratory sensitivities to any kind of heated plastics including non-stick surfaces. I won't cook with non-stick cookware nor bake with any of the silicone stuff. It took 40 or 50 years before Teflon was taken off the market.

Interesting read at the link below, which confirmed my problem after a frighteningly very bad reaction to overexposure in a sewing classroom with 20+ hot irons and those non-stick sheets (that people with pet birds should not use in their homes).

I always had s/s cookware but I tossed my non-stick skillets. And I look approx. 5 - 7 days a week. (we don't eat out often) Really, Teflon/nonstick surfaces are safe at a low temp, but it was too easy - and tempting - to cook fajitas in it.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Canaries in the kitchen