While cooking over an open fire may be adventurous, fun, and Instagram-worthy, is it time-saving and practical? Probably not. As a result, portable induction cooktops have emerged, promising to bring campers and travelers a host of time- and money-saving benefits.
A magnetic induction cooktop works differently from the traditional gas stovetop. Instead of using a flame to provide heat, the device uses an electronic coil of metal to heat the cooking vessel directly, so the pot or pan becomes a heat conductor.
Induction stovetops cook food quickly and save time and energy since all the heat is generated within the cooking vessel and does not come from the outside (like a flame).
Furthermore, induction cooktops cool down almost immediately after you turn them off, which makes them superior to regular portable hot plates. It is also reassuring to know that there is no open flame.
It is recommended that you use stainless steel or cast iron pots and pans on induction cooktops since these metals are ferromagnetic. Aluminum, glass, or copper pots and pans cannot be used with induction cooktops unless they have a magnetic-grade bottom layer. As long as the magnetic strip of your refrigerator sticks to the bottom of your pan, you’re good to go.
We have carefully selected the following portable induction cookers that are widely considered to be the best available.
This list serves as a great resource for finding the right portable induction cooktop that can fit in tight spaces and be easily whipped out to prepare your favorite recipe.
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
| Duxtop 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop | |
| Cusimax Portable Electric Stove | |
| Duxtop Portable Induction Cooktop with LCD Sensor Touch | |
| iSiLER Portable Induction Cooktop | |
| NUWAVE PIC Flex Precision Induction Cooktop | |
| Rosewill 1800 Watt Induction Cooker Cooktop |
1. Duxtop 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop
For a competitive price, the Duxtop 9100MC had the best combination of speed, even heating, and pleasant-to-use interface of all the cooktops we tested. Duxtop’s power mode, temperature, and timer can be adjusted intuitively and precisely.
There are also safety features included on this cooktop that prevent overheating and alert you if your cookware isn’t induction compatible. In spite of its slight crevices, it is fairly easy to clean. The Duxtop can be a bit noisy at times, but we didn’t find it too bothersome.
2. Cusimax Portable Electric Stove
When you are traveling or camping, cooking doesn’t have to be limited to one-pot meals. You can cook two dishes simultaneously on Cusimax’s portable stove with two burners. The burners heat up in seconds and have easy-to-use temperature controls.
Additionally, the device has an automatic safety shutoff to prevent overheating. The dual burner has received a flawless five-star review from over 500 customers, so you can trust it to work quickly, efficiently, and safely.
3. Duxtop Portable Induction Cooktop with LCD Sensor Touch
Induction cooktops from Duxtop have been rated among the highest and best-selling for over a decade – and this high-tech, the sensor-touch model is no exception.
With 20 preset power and temperature levels, the Duxtop Portable Induction LCD Sensor Touch Cooktop lets you cook in a variety of ways at the touch of a button.
Customers who use this sleek cooktop cite its quality and ease of use, just like most of Duxtop’s appliances. Customers described it as “simplistic, well designed, and very powerful,” while another said it was “the best induction cooktop for the money.”
4. iSiLER Portable Induction Cooktop
iSiler’s 1800-watt induction cooktop with a child-proof safety lock is suitable for use even with induction cooktops that are safer because there is no open flame. However, you still don’t want children to come near an induction cooktop or risk burns, and that’s why it has a child-proof safety lock.
Besides 8 temperature settings and 9 power levels, this device features a digital touch-control display and overheating protection to ensure that the temperature never exceeds your preset setting.
5. NUWAVE PIC Flex Precision Induction Cooktop
The lightweight NuWave Pic Flex induction hot plate weighs just four pounds and stands two inches tall making it easy to pack up and take with you wherever you go. Even though it’s small and travel-friendly, it’s powerful. It has a temperature setting range that goes up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and its digital display makes it easy to control.
The nine-inch frying pan comes with it, and it heats up fast – it can boil water in as little as 90 seconds – so you can get cooking immediately. Many customers note how well it works in trailers and campsites, but one single customer loves it so much they use it for cooking in their house.
6. Rosewill 1800 Watt Induction Cooker Cooktop
Featuring a compact, affordable design, the Rosewill 1800-Watt Induction Cooker Cooktop is the perfect way to get started with induction cooking.
For a little more than $50, you’ll get Rosewill’s 1800-watt touch-control induction cooktop and a 10-inch stainless steel pot to go with it.
There are eight temperature settings, eight power levels, a built-in timer, and a safety lock on this no-frills cooktop with a large LED display and lightweight design.
FAQs
What is induction cooking?
Rather than using an electric element or a gas burner to heat up a pot or pan, induction cooking uses magnetic fields instead, which heat the pot or pan directly.
As a result, your food and water are heated super-fast, and in record time. A wide variety of cookware is available for induction cookers. Here is how they work.
How does an induction cooktop work?
It’s time for a little science so that we can better understand how induction stovetops work (which will lead us to a better understanding of the benefits of switching over to an induction stovetop which will be further explained in the next section).
An alternating electric current is passed through a coil of copper wire under the cooking pot. The resulting oscillating magnetic field produces a magnetic flux that repeatedly magnetizes the pot, much like the lossy core of a transformer. This produces large eddy currents in the pot, which heat the pot due to its resistance.
Induction cookers: what are their benefits?
Let’s be honest — there was a lot of science (that might have slipped right over your head), but what do you really want to know about induction cooking?
If using an induction stovetop, what benefits will you gain that you can’t achieve with a traditional electric or gas stove?
We’re fairly certain that once you see how induction cooking works, you’ll never go back to the old method!
An energy-efficient system
As we mentioned previously, magnetic induction heats up the pots directly, so that all the heat is retained and not lost to the air (in other words, the pot heats up very quickly). When we said that induction cooking would boil water quickly, we meant it! The water has been known to boil in as little as a minute or two (compared to four or five minutes on a traditional stovetop)!
It’s only going to take one minute! In addition to using less energy, cooking faster will save you time as well. Since less electricity is wasted when cooking on induction stovetops, both time and money are saved!
Furthermore, because the heat is directly transferred to pots and pans, the cooktops are easy to clean (messes do not get baked in and dried out), plus they are flat and smooth, so they are easy to clean.
Induction cooking is a great choice because excess heat from the burner does not add to the ambient heat of the room like a normal stove.
Since cooking usually adds heat to your home in the summer (you will know what we mean if you have ever used the stove or oven to cook on a hot day) as the ambient air temperature in your home increases, the air conditioning, fans, and the stove’s vent will also be working overtime.
As a result, there is no additional heat added to the air around the pot in induction cooking. So it’s cook-in time this summer.
Keeping you safe
The induction stovetop brings a new level of safety to your home. When no pot is on an induction cooktop, it automatically turns off (by monitoring the amount of power delivered). You’ll never have to worry about forgetting the stove is on again!
Conclusion
The Duxtop LCD 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop Burner might be your best option if you want the best and money is not an issue for you since it has precise temperature control, a variety of power settings, and a bright LCD display.
Ultimately, it depends on your personal preferences, budget, and the features you desire most. You can choose any of the other above options if you take into account all of these factors.
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