Cooking technology changes the kitchen
By: Beverly Allen - October 10th, 2007
Induction cooktops were big news at the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show held in Las Vegas last May. That’s because they offer they offer “the best of both worlds,” according to Mathieu Sabbagh, marketing director for Bosch.
“It has the convenience and clean lines of an electric cooktop with the responsiveness of gas. It’s also very safe,” says Sabbagh.
An induction cooktop is basically a large electromagnet panel that quickly transfers or “induces” heat onto any magnetic surface, such as a cast-iron skillet, placed on it. Since the heat transfer is between the electromagnetic field beneath the cooktop and the magnetic surface with which it makes contact, only the pan heats up. So there’s no wasted heat and no part of the exposed element that can burn fingers, or send unused heat into the air.
Bosch just introduced 30- and 36-inch induction cooktops, along with a 30-inch hybrid that has two induction elements
and two conventional elements. For more information about prices and features, visit bosch.ca. Prices start at about $2,300.
Miele makes a 36-inch induction cooktop with five burners, touch 
temperature controls and a “stop and go” setting that lets the user pause the heat if they’re called away from the stove. This model sells for $4,299.
Consumers can test drive an induction cooktop at a Miele showroom. For locations, visit http://www.miele.ca/
Having a cooktop will require having a separate oven. Sabbagh suggests a built-in model, which he says is more ergonomic than a conventional floor model. “Having a range on the next to the floor not the best solution for families with young children,” says Sabbagh, “nor is it great for an aging population that doesn’t want to bend over too much. Having a wall oven at eye height is probably better for everyone.”
Sabbagh favours convection ovens. They differ from traditional North American ovens, in which a heating element sits on the bottom of the oven and is regulated by a thermostat. In convection ovens, there are elements on the bottom and top of the oven cavity, and fans move air throughout to create a more even heat. In “European” convection, a heating element is attached to a fan at the back of the oven, so that air is heated before being circulated.
One of the biggest advantages to convection cooking is that it cuts pre-heat down by about 25 per cent, says Sabbagh.
The steam oven is also new. Its proponents say its cooks very quickly, but also very gently, retaining the colour and texture of the food. Unlike dry heat cooking, it doesn’t require the addition of fat to keep foods moist.
Both Gaggenau and Viking now make a steam/convection oven. For information, visit http://www.gaggenau.com/US_en/Home.do or http://www.vikingrange.com/.
While innovative cooking technology is getting lots of ink, the Aga cooker, which was designed almost eighty years ago, is also gaining a new generation of fans.
The original Aga cooker was designed in the 1920’s by Swedish physicist and Nobel Prize winner Gustaf Dalén. His cooker used radiant heat, which protects food from the harsh heat of an exposed element or open flame.
The original Aga required fuelling only once a day (a bonus is a world that cooked in coal ovens that required constant feeding to ensure available heat). 
Made almost entirely of cast-iron, it not only retained heat extremely well, but distributed it at pre-set levels to different parts of the oven which could be used for roasting, baking, simmering and warming.
Today, Aga makes cookers that run natural or propane gas, oil or electricity, but which retain the same basic technology as earlier models. Like its predecessors, an Aga is always on. While that means that it’s always ready to use, it’s not an energy hog. Once an Aga is up to operating temperature, it requires a trickle of energy.
A high-heat plate on the range top is large enough to hold three average pans, and the manufacturer says it boils water faster than most electric kettles.
The roasting oven can hold a 13kg bird and can also be used for grilling and baking, while a simmering oven is great for making stews and stocks. Four-oven Agas also have warming oven and plates.
The Aga comes in a range of distinctive colours, which are created by metal oxides on the tough vitreous enamel surface that coats the cast-iron guts of the unit.
All that metal, and a construction process that includes several processes still done by hand, means the Aga has a hefty price tag. Prices start at about $6,500. But those who love it, love it a lot. Devotees like culinary wünderkind Jamie Oliver has said the Aga “make people better cooks.”
It’s hard to do justice to the Aga in just a few paragraphs. To get more information, go to http://www.aga-ranges.com/.