When you think cutting edge technology, you think cooktops. Alright, maybe you don’t, but I do. Okay, I don’t either, but it turns out that cooktop tech is way cooler than you might give it credit for. Enter the Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop, recently unveiled at CES. Because the Freedom Induction Cooktop uses a series of 48 magnetic inductors, it gains all sorts of super powers. Its surface stays cool to the touch, it can support pans of any shape and size, and it doesn’t limit you to placement on any specific burner.
The Freedom Induction Cooktop doesn’t require you to actually place pans in any specific places because it has pan-sensing technology that can track the pan wherever it goes, and provides a handy profile on the touchscreen control panel. Also, since the entire surface is covered with inductors, no matter where you put the pot or pan, it’ll continue to be heated to the appropriate temperature as the inductors underneath it turn on. Because magnetic induction heating heats a pot directly, moving a pan around doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. There’s no “warm up” time. This baby just cooks.
As you might expect, all this comes at a price. A somewhat hefty price of about $5,000. Granted, the Thermador Freedom Induction Cooktop is admittedly aimed towards “the culinary enthusiast” and if you do a little research on fancy kitchen tech, you’ll find that those guys generally have a good chunk of change to devote to their hobby. Now, this isn’t the first device to utilize induction cooking, but it is the first device to utilize it at such a scale, and to marry the technology with pot-sensing technology to create that futuristic feel of “freedom.” I can’t wait until this kind of thing becomes cheaper and aimed at the general consumer so that maybe I can own one like, 5o years from now and use it to make my famous “Grilled Cheese with a Slice of Ham Inside of It.”
(via Forbes, image via The Verge)
Published: Jan 9, 2012 11:08 am