If you’re thinking about buying an induction stove, you can test-drive the technology beforehand by borrowing a one-burner countertop cooktop from the Lincoln Public Library.
Mothers Out Front and the library collaborated to provide the induction cooktop and offer it for loan from the Library of Things. Induction stoves look like a smooth-top electric stove but have a large coil of wire underneath each burner that creates a magnetic field to heat up the iron in a cast iron or stainless steel pan.
Lincoln’s Green Energy Committee recommends induction stoves because they don’t burn fossil fuels and are more energy efficient because they only heat up the pan and not the air around the pan. Cleanup is easier because spilled food doesn’t get cooked onto the smooth glass surface.
The library will also loan a large stainless steel pasta pot if desired. Some may need this if their cookware is not iron or stainless steel; induction stoves will not work with copper, glass, aluminum, etc.
Borrowers should note that portable induction cooktops draw much less power than a built-in cooktop, which requires a 240V outlet as opposed to a countertop 120V outlet, so a full-size kitchen cooktop will heat pans much faster. Like smartphones, induction stovetops give off electromagnetic signals, so if you have a pacemaker, consult a physician about your options.
Library of Things items are not on the open shelves so borrowers need to ask for the item or call ahead at 259-8465. The loan period is one week and can be two times if nobody is waiting for the item.
For more information, see the GEC’s induction cooktop web page or flyer, or this Consumer Reports article.
An induction stove came with my condo when I bought it. I love it. But stainless steel cookware might not work. To test whether or not a pan will work, test the bottom with a magnet. If it sticks, it will work, otherwise not. Some on-line pans for sale will claim to be induction but are not, so beware.
We have had an induction cooktop for 28 years. I highly recommend it. I’d never use anything else. It heats cookware incredibly fast, much faster than gas, and without the open flame and smell of a gas cooktop (which is always put forth as the “best”). The glass surface looks great and is so easy to clean. And, yes, your cookware must be magnetic so that includes cast iron if that is your preference. I’m an All-Clad fan but there are lots of other brands of cookware that are magnetic and work on an induction cooktop.
Aren’t libraries AMAZING? Boo to folks who think we don’t need libraries in the Google era.