We’ve all seen induction stoves, they heat the bottom of pans using magnets to create thermal induction, but now, a company called Thermador, as highlighted in The Kitchen Designer, has created a smarter version. Called the Freedom, the new stovetop has electronic sensors in it that allow it to recognize pots that are sitting on the surface. Once recognized, the system creates a thermal map, outlining the shape of the pot or pan, then the person using the stove can adjust temperature settings for that pot or pan. What’s not so obvious at first though, is the fact that pots and pans are not restricted to preset areas on the stove. This means they can be set down anywhere on the surface of the stove and used where they are. The stove finds them and heats them where they sit. This also means that all of the stove top can be used as cooking space, which means of course that a lot more pots can be used at the same time. And because the controls are controlled electronically, a new profile is created for each pot as its used, allowing for unique heating levels for all of the pots scattered across the stovetop.
Also, because the profiles that are created for each pot or pan are unique, they stay with the pot. This means the cook can move pots and pans around without having to readjust everything. The stove keeps track of which pot is which and keeps the heat under it steady.
Thermal induction has become more popular for use in stovetops because it allows cooks the advantages of gas, without having to have gas, and that is the instant on and off that users of regular electric stoves can’t have. Also, because the technology doesn’t heat an element, which then in turn heats the pot, which heats the food, a step is removed from the heating process which makes it more efficient. The down side to such technology is that only metal pans can be used, well that and the fact that the stove sells for around five thousand dollars and uses tons of electricity.
To make adjustments as easy as possible the control panel, which sort of resembles an iPad, is touch sensitive and brightly lit. The stovetop itself is made from ceramic glass, which is good for cooking but also means those using it have to be careful to not chip or break it, especially when using iron pots or pans.
Because Thermador is a European company, the stove first went on sale there, and according to the MailOnline, has been an instant hit. But the paper says that the stove is now for sale in high-end stores in the U.S. as well.