Induction + Hi-Light: A compromise for the undecided

Induction is steadily creeping into our kitchens. But not everyone is ready to dare to change over to the new way of heating in its entirety, although they already recognize the advantages of this modern method of cooking. Hybrids are made for such people. Let’s see what they are.

What’s so intimidating about induction??

For housewives, it is primarily the need to revise the “park” of kitchen utensils.

The principle of induction is simple and familiar to us from high school physics classes. It is the interaction of a vortex electromagnetic field, which is formed by passing current through the induction coil, and the ferromagnetic alloy of the bottom of the cookware. Heating occurs right at the bottom due to induction currents. It’s clear that cookware, which plays such a significant role, must be very special.

In practice, everything is much simpler: the bottom is magnetic – you can use it, so that a substantial part of the cookware “stays in service”. Not all pots and pans, copper pots for special dishes, your favorite morning coffee makers, manti pans, old juicer pots, etc. are not suitable for induction.

Another point: induction is a really unusual thing, and therefore causes caution, because it has no conventional heating. Also frightening is the potential presence of unaccustomed sounds, clicks, such as the humming of the fan coils need to be cooled .

That said, many buyers recognize the benefits of induction as a more efficient way to cook. Let us state the advantages of induction once again:

– The maximum efficiency for modern types of burners – more than 90%

– responsiveness to changes in settings, including power reduction, which is due to the lack of thermal inertia characteristic of high-speed burners

– Low surface heating and therefore easier maintenance.

It turns out that many housewives simply do not have the determination to switch to induction, but they are already aware of its benefits and are ready to use them. For such people hybrids are the perfect solution that gives the opportunity to join the new technologies and still keep the right to cook in familiar, favorite dishes.

Price of question

It used to be commonly believed that induction was expensive, and models with two burner types cost less. Now things have changed: induction has become more affordable, and hybrids are a bit more expensive.

The most budget-friendly option among hybrids is the Electrolux EHG 6341 FOK, which costs about 12,500 Dollars., Which is more expensive than the cheapest fully induction hob Hotpoint-Ariston KIB 644 C E for 10,000 Dollars. The situation is similar when comparing products of the same brand. AEG HK 634150 XB hybrid appliance costs 18 300 Dollars., AEG HK 634200 XB solo induction for about 16,000 Dollars., Another pair – Bosch PIC645F17E for 16,600 Dollars. and the cheapest induction hob from the manufacturer Bosch PKE651B17E for 13 000 roubles.

Out of non-budget solutions a hybrid from Miele – KM 5920, for which you will have to pay about 64 000 Dollars., which is also more than for a model with four induction burners Miele KM 6115, it costs 55 450 Dollars.

Who is interested in it?

The degree of interest in appliances of this type is not great, so the choice of hybrids is limited, now on sale is about 30 models. In addition, not all manufacturers are willing to produce hybrids. Bosch, Electrolux, NEFF and Siemens have the most. Hotpoint-Ariston, Gorenje and AEG have two or three models each at the time of writing.

Korting, Hansa, Zanussi, TEKA, Miele, Kuppersbusch offer just one appliance each. A new hybrid model is expected from DeLuxe. It is also possible that Ardesia brand that is still unknown in America will present its models.

As it is

Hybrids are cooking plates which combine induction and rapid heating zones – available in four and five burner models.

All cooks in four zones have two elements each of both types, meaning that the zones have roughly “equal rights”. It can’t be any other way – induction burners are always paired, since they are “served” by one induction coil.

Induction zones are often assigned to the front row, thus confirming “who’s the boss”. Placement in the front has its own logic. The elements, as the most accessible, are better suited for operations in which the hostess is most involved, such as frying cutlets, pancakes or potatoes.

They often require flexibility to change settings during cooking, and the home cook can slightly increase or decrease the “fire”, which induction does even better than gas burners. That said, the Hi-Light burners in the back row are used for such processes where certain temperature stability is valued burners cool down slowly – say, for soup, respectively, and hostess attention is required here less.

The same logic is applied in a number of models. Here are a few examples: Bosch PIC645F17E, Electrolux EHG 6341 FOK, AEG HK 634150 XB.

The second positioning option – right or left row. Hotpoint-Ariston KEC 647 X, Gorenje ICT 621 AC, K have induction on the right&ouml The usual attributes in hybrids are HI 6203 B, etc. On the left – Hansa BHI64373030, Master Cook I4D622S, TEKA IR 622.

The situation is different with models with 5 zones. Induction is clearly preferred here, it works with 4 zones, and the 5th is either an oval Hi-Light burner or a Wok type burner. Although the elements occupy a central place, but will not be used every day, that is, they are assigned the role of a nice addition. There are very few models with 5 zones, at the time of this writing there are only 6 of them.

Without bridge

The induction zones of hybrids are the usual burners with a certain diameter, for example, 145 and 210 mm on the AEG HK 634150 XB. Large areas with no size requirements are not used. Active use of the Booster function to temporarily increase the power.

The function allows you to draw some power from one of the induction zones so that you can heat food as quickly as possible to the required temperature in the second zone. The Miele KM 5920 has a TwinBooster function that increases the power of the zone from 2.3 kW to 3.0 and 3.7 kW.

Booster function is activated for 8-10 min. It is not possible to combine the available zones into one large common cooking zone for cooking on large griddles the function is called Bridge .

HI-LIGHT

High-speed elements heat up quickly 5-7 seconds . to the selected power and slowly cool down. In hybrids, they have the usual attributes. This, of course, is the double loop for the use of dishes with two diameters. On the Gorenje ICT621AC, for example, the inner Small Zone is 12 cm and the outer Small Zone 18 cm. More often this element is located in the back row, as at Electrolux EHG 6341 FOK, DeLuxe VM4660129F, Korting HI 6203 B.

Oval extension hearths are quite popular, in four-burner panels, they are placed behind, as in Siemens EH611BC1, Neff T43R20N1, AEG HK 634150 XB.

In five-burner Hi-Light, as already mentioned, only oval or Wok and put exclusively in the center.

Controls are simple

The control panel on hybrids is most often the simplest. To set the desired power level, the “forward/backward” buttons are used, that is, to turn on, for example, the eighth level, you must press the “+” button 8 times, which is not very convenient. However, more flexible systems are used much less often.

The Bosch PIC645F17E and Bosch PIC875N24E control units have a separate button for each of the available power levels, which means that the desired power level – be it the first or the ninth – can be activated with a single touch. The Siemens EH879SC11 is equipped with a touch-sensitive slider that allows you to flexibly and intuitively change the power of the burners.

The NEFF T44T80N1 has a Twist Pad control unit that is characteristic for the brand. Twist Pad swivels and wiggles to change settings. It’s just lying on the panel, it’s not fixed, and you can just pick it up and put it in your pocket.

Automation

Automation is now commonplace and hybrids are no exception. Virtually every appliance we talk about today uses timers. They have both possible functions. The first is the so-called alarm clock. It counts down the time and beeps in time. The second is a timer with shut-off. That is, a user-specified time countdown ends with automatic heating stop. Short-term timers are designed for 99 min. Neff T44T80N1, Bosch PIC875N24E , for up to 9.5 hours Miele KM 5920 .

A less common feature is an automatic boil. It brings liquids to the boil, then switches to a previously selected low power level, all without human intervention. The function is found in Gorenje ICT 620 BC, Electrolux EHG 96341 FK, Hansa BHI 64373030.

The Stop&Go pause function is designed to quickly, with a single button, deactivate all the active settings, with all the burners in operation going to the lowest power level. All settings can also be reset to default settings at the touch of a button. The function is used when you want to distract from the stove, which is currently cooking, which requires the attention of the hostess Electrolux EHG 6341 FOK, AEG HK 634150 XB, Miele KM 5920 .

Cleaning pause function, short-term 20 sec . Disabling all settings for cleaning the panel, especially the control unit, is generally rare, for example, it is present in Bosch PIC645F17E, Neff T44T80N1. It should be noted that it is not always used in conventional panels, either.

And the blocking of the panel from unauthorized changes to the settings, simply put, “child lock” – an almost ubiquitous phenomenon.

All zones, without exception, are equipped with a residual heat indicator, some of them have two levels of indication.

PLUSES OF HIBRIDES

• The panel allows you to use the high-speed heating that is characteristic of induction.
• The overall cooking efficiency is higher than on a conventional glass ceramic hob due to the high induction efficiency.
• No need to “discard” cookware that is not suitable for induction.
• Possibility of using the residual heat of burners, especially Hi-Light. This means that you can bring the food to the point of readiness with the hob off.

THE DOWNSIDE OF HYBRIDS

• Quite a few offerings.
• Double “park” dishes. If your old cookware doesn’t fit, you’ll still need to buy a new one with a magnetizable bottom.
• Different logic of operation of induction and Hi-Light requires getting used to, it is possible to confuse something.
• The most advanced induction technology Bridge, keep warm is not used.