Induction Cookware

15 years ago

In the past I have only cook on electric cooktops; however, I am now the proud owner of an induction cooktop. The majority of my pans (Emerilware) will not work with the induction cooktop, so I began doing a little research on which pans would be best to replace them with. But I am a little unsure because induction works so differently from everything else because the heat is actually generated inside the pan itself.

Which style of pan is better suited for induction:

Tri-ply Stainless - Most have approximately 2mm of aluminum. Is this enough to cook with high heat? For example when searing a piece of meat can it retain enough heat so that the temperature doesn't drop significantly? Or is that not really an issue with induction cookware because of the efficiency of the cooktop? And would I have to worry about the cookware warping under certain conditions due to its thin bottom?

Encapsulated Base - Most have approximately 6mm of aluminum. Would I lose the responsiveness of induction because it is retaining a lot of heat?

Demeyere Atlantis - Encapsulated copper seems like it would be best because copper transfer heat so well, but does that matter with induction or would it be a waste money?

Enameled Steel/iron - Would this heat evenly and be responsive since it is directly controlled by the cooktop? Do the cooktop themselves cook extremely evenly in so much it really doesn't need a heat dispersing layer in the cookware?

Comments (5)

arley_gw
15 years ago
I can answer this a little. I just got an induction cooktop (a tabletop model, not a built-in) and here are some early impressions:

If a pan is advertised as good for induction, it is. I have a couple of pressure cookers which claim that (Fagor and Kuhn Rikon) and they work fine.

Cast Iron works well, too, whether raw (as in a black iron skillet) or enameled (as in Le Creuset and its imitators). As far as the responsiveness, cast iron itself is a slow reactor; the cooktop reacts instantaneously, but the iron itself is sluggish. The distribution of the heat is dependent on the design of the cooktop itself. The little cheapo cooktop I have (a Magneflux cooktop--see the link for my initial impressions on it) has all the electromagnetic induction coils distributed fairly tightly in the center, so the center of any pan heats up more quickly than the peripheries of the pan. I believe that to be a function dependent on the hob design, not so much the cookware material.

I have some old Cuisinart and Belgique stainless pans that don't work at all. I don't know what their bottom discs are made of. As I said, all the cookware I have that has been advertised as good for induction has worked fine.

If I ever get the $$$ rounded up to do my kitchen redo, I'll probably splurge both on a good induction cooktop like Meile or Cooktek, and splurge on some Demeyere cookware as well. You only live once.

Here is a link that might be useful: magneflux
stirfry2
15 years ago
Hi, I have a DeDietrich induction cook top. I have bought most of my pots and pans at places like TJ Maxx. Just take a small magnet with you, if it sticks to the bottom, it will work. Have fun, they are really a great option for those of us that have electric, not gas.
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stephcsews
15 years ago
We recently put in an induction cooktop. I found several cookware sets at Sears that are made by Kenmore. I bought 2 sets & several open stock pieces & I've been very happy with them.
tcstoehr
15 years ago
You should invest in some cast iron skillets. Avoid Emerilware since it is low quality Chinese import. Get Lodge for new skillets, or better yet find some old Griswolds online. The older skillets have higher quality iron and a smoothly machined cooking surface. I just finished buying 4 Griswold skillets on Ebay and am totally pleased with these awesome antiques. I also have some induction-ready Vollrath pans and they seem to be well made and work well.
ntt_hou
15 years ago
Initially, I saw this set at Overstock.com. After looking around, I found this set cheaper on eBay from this vendor below.

I purchased it and found out that the Tri-ply SS is magnetic. Wouldn't that work well with your induction cooktop?

Here is a link that might be useful: Concord/Leisureman Tri Ply SS Cookware Set