these techniques all emit visible light and so are also intense radiators of infrared energy Glowing coals or the nickel-chrome alloys used in electrical appliances reach about 2,000ºF/1,100ºC, and a gas flame is closer to 3,000ºF/1,600ºC The walls of an oven, by contrast, rarely exceed 500ºF/250ºC The total amount of energy radiated by a hot object is proportional to the fourth power of the absolute temperature, so that a coal or metal rod at 2,000ºF is radiating more than 40 times as much energy as the equivalent area of oven wall at 500ºF This tremendous amount of heat is at once the great advantage and the principal challenge of grilling and broiling On one hand, it makes possible a rapid and thorough browning of the surface, and so produces intense flavors On the other, there’s a huge disparity between the rate of heat radiation at the surface and the rate of heat conduction within the food This is why it’s so easy to end up with a steak that’s charred on the outside and cold at the center The key to grilling and broiling is to position the food far enough from the heat source to match the browning rate with the inner conduction rate, or to brown the surface well with intense heat, and then move the food to finish cooking through with a more distant or weaker heat source This might be a spot on the grill with fewer coals below, or a moderate oven Induction Cooking 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 ...up with a steak that’s charred on the outside and cold at the center The key to grilling and broiling is to position the food far enough from the heat source to match the browning rate with the inner conduction rate, or to brown the surface... Induction Cooking 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... inner conduction rate, or to brown the surface well with intense heat, and then move the food to finish cooking through with a more distant or weaker heat source This might be a spot on the grill with fewer coals below, or a