Sounds like a crappy product. I’ve cooked on 2 Whirlpool/KitchenAid induction ranges (they’re the same company) and two cheap brands of countertop induction. All four were able to simmer easily and cycled on much more often and more briefly than you describe. And all were plenty powerful.
I did the most cooking on the KitchenAid and it could melt chocolate in a saucepan without scorching. I could hear it pulsing on probably for 1/2 second every 3-5 seconds. On the next setting hotter it could maintain a simmer in silly small quantities. And it could still boil a big pot of water for pasta in a couple of minutes. Pot handles stay cool and spoons don’t get burnt if you leave them hanging over the side. Loved it. I miss that range.
The only thing I had more trouble with was making caramel. The sides of the pan don’t get as much indirect heat compared with radiant or gas, so it wanted to crystallize at the edges. I had to use a thick tri-ply pan for that and still kept a blowtorch on hand to add a little side-heat.
Pulsing the power every 3 to 5 seconds would be fantastic! One pulse every 30 seconds is not good. But I haven’t yet found a manual or sales person that can tell me the period of the pulse width modulation for any brand/model. Not that I have tried very hard.
Maybe I should try KitchenAid. What you describe sounds wonderful.
Sounds like a crappy product. I’ve cooked on 2 Whirlpool/KitchenAid induction ranges (they’re the same company) and two cheap brands of countertop induction. All four were able to simmer easily and cycled on much more often and more briefly than you describe. And all were plenty powerful.
I did the most cooking on the KitchenAid and it could melt chocolate in a saucepan without scorching. I could hear it pulsing on probably for 1/2 second every 3-5 seconds. On the next setting hotter it could maintain a simmer in silly small quantities. And it could still boil a big pot of water for pasta in a couple of minutes. Pot handles stay cool and spoons don’t get burnt if you leave them hanging over the side. Loved it. I miss that range.
The only thing I had more trouble with was making caramel. The sides of the pan don’t get as much indirect heat compared with radiant or gas, so it wanted to crystallize at the edges. I had to use a thick tri-ply pan for that and still kept a blowtorch on hand to add a little side-heat.
Pulsing the power every 3 to 5 seconds would be fantastic! One pulse every 30 seconds is not good. But I haven’t yet found a manual or sales person that can tell me the period of the pulse width modulation for any brand/model. Not that I have tried very hard.
Maybe I should try KitchenAid. What you describe sounds wonderful.