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I have an induction hob which starts at a temperature of "60" - it is too high for some types of cooking and I'd like to reduce the heat that gets distributed to my pan without taking my induction hob apart!

For gas, there are such a thing called gas hob heat reducer... this allows the lowest temperate of the gas stove to be even lower. They often look like

enter image description here

Is there an alternative for induction?

(image source: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diffuser-Kitchen-Accessories-Converter-Induction/dp/B08PS4KX11/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1YF0DOGL9WEBA&keywords=gas+hob+heat+reducer+for+rice&qid=1662218450&sprefix=gas+hob+heat+reducer+for+rice%2Caps%2C65&sr=8-6)

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You can always reduce the temperature of an induction hob by placing the pan farther away from it. Usually, a thin wooden cutting board works well, if you don't use too high temperatures.

You can buy metal discs for induction, which are mostly used for using non-inductive cookware, but also considerably slow down the cooking heat. I don't know if you will find them more convenient than simple distancing though, and they are one more uni-tasker for the kitchen.

That being said, I would first try cooking normally. The "temperature" setting on home-use induction hobs is quite useless, since the temperature displayed has nothing to do with the temperature in your pan. It will of course be hotter if you set it to "100" than to "60", but it won't give you an actual 100 or an actual 60 in your food.

Also, I am not aware of any food which requires to be cooked in a pan held as low as 60 Celsius! So if the hob is capable of giving you such low temperature, you wouldn't need to use it anyway, and certainly not to reduce it further.

So, just start cooking your food, and if the heat is too fast for you, then use a distancer, or buy such a diffuser.

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  • I wonder what the scale goes up to - maybe it's 60-100%. That would be less nonsensical than degrees
    – Chris H
    Sep 3, 2022 at 19:59
  • @ChrisH I used to have an induction hob, and have seen them at relatives' too. The scale is indeed degrees centigrade. It is quite nonsensical, because the controller is connected to a sensor that is placed somewhere in the innards of the hob, and the hob itself doesn't get hot except by a bit of conduction from the pan, so what happens is that it keeps the hobs' insides at a constant temperature, no matter what happens in the pan. Luckily, the units usually also have a "wattage" mode, which uses simple time modulation, and is much more useful.
    – rumtscho
    Sep 3, 2022 at 20:09
  • The only one I've (briefly) used had just 1--6 like on a resistive electric hob. The idea of a temperature control mode sensing a barely-relevant temperature seems very strange to me, though I've heard of it. Power control makes far more sense
    – Chris H
    Sep 3, 2022 at 21:08

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