On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1473

thesetechniquesallemitvisiblelightandso
arealsointenseradiatorsofinfraredenergy.
Glowingcoalsorthenickel-chromealloys
usedinelectricalappliancesreachabout
2,000ºF/1,100ºC,andagasflameiscloserto
3,000ºF/1,600ºC.Thewallsofanoven,by
contrast,rarelyexceed500ºF/250ºC.Thetotal
amountofenergyradiatedbyahotobjectis
proportionaltothefourthpowerofthe
absolutetemperature,sothatacoalormetal
rodat2,000ºFisradiatingmorethan40times
asmuchenergyastheequivalentareaofoven
wallat500ºF.
Thistremendousamountofheatisatonce
thegreatadvantageandtheprincipal
challengeofgrillingandbroiling.Onone
hand,itmakespossiblearapidandthorough
browningofthesurface,andsoproduces
intenseflavors.Ontheother,there’sahuge
disparitybetweentherateofheatradiationat
thesurfaceandtherateofheatconduction
withinthefood.Thisiswhyit’ssoeasytoend


upwithasteakthat’scharredontheoutside
andcoldatthecenter.
Thekeytogrillingandbroilingisto
positionthefoodfarenoughfromtheheat
sourcetomatchthebrowningratewiththe
innerconductionrate,ortobrownthesurface
wellwithintenseheat,andthenmovethefood

tofinishcookingthroughwithamoredistant
orweakerheatsource.Thismightbeaspoton
thegrillwithfewercoalsbelow,ora
moderateoven.
InductionCooking
An innovative version of heating with
electromagnetic radiation is induction
heating. It’s an alternative to the stovetop
burner or electrical element, and heats the
pot that then heats the food. In induction
heating, the heating element, under a
ceramic cook-top surface, is a wire coil
through which a rapidly alternating
electrical current flows (between 25,000