Only LC I have is the non-stick crepe pan, and it works perfectly on an Electrolux induction. But my pan size fits more close to burner size than what you describe.

Any chance that the skillet wasn't centered on the ring? You're talking side to side uneven, right? Or do you mean patchy all over?

I get some unevenness with any pan if it's off center, especially if it hasn't been on long enough to really warm up thoroughly and have all those electrons dancing for their lives. There's just more excitement right over the inductors than there is where the heat has to spread through the pan. You could measure out from the center and put masking tape or stickers where the edges should be and try again.

If it's still uneven, maybe there's something wrong with the pan. Can you check it out on gas to make sure it's not the pan?

Also, this phenomenon will be more pronounced with cast iron than with multiply Demeyere. The copper and aluminum in the Demeyere are there specifically to spread the heat around once the steel gets excited. Cast iron is a poor conductor, which is what makes it so great for cooking. :) Once it's hot, it stays hot.

That said, I usually prefer my Demeyere skillet for browning, mostly because I don't mind putting it in the DW or scrubbing it with something sharper than a corn curly, but also because it heats faster and I get impatient. :) Though, come to think of it, that's really about searing red meat. I use the Le Creuset for chicken balls. :)

Is the unevenness ring shaped? Because if the pan isn't completely heated up, you could have a hot ring right over the inductors, where the very center and sides aren't as hot as a circle about three inches wide in the middle. Again, it's the spreading effect, and the ply pan uses the good conductors to minimize it. You might just need to let the pan take longer to get hot.

I love my Le Creuset, which I've used on coil electric, gas and induction, but it does take awhile to heat properly. I usually start it high and turn it down because I'm impatient.

Thank you, Co_Co and Plllog!

And sorry it took me so long. :-)

I returned the LC to WS. I think it was the pan.

It failed my "pancake test" miserably, even on gas. I tried several times and I did preheat it on a medium heat for a long time.

Then, out of curiosity, I boiled water in it and watched the bubbles appear.

When I boil liquids in a SS saucepan on my induction cooktop, the bubbles are everywhere, I don't really see them forming a ring (maybe, just a little in the beginning, though I did see a ring when I used a portable unit).

In this LC pan, it was not even a ring: a small weird crescent-like shape formed first and eventually got to something resembling a circle but it never spread to the sides. And the side close to the short handle was always under-cooked, even on gas.

I guess even LC can be defective. :-)

All in all, I am not crazy about how cast iron, enameled or not, does on induction.

I think I am going to try carbon steel next... :-)

I love my DeBuyer carbon steel crepe pans. They're flat with a slight turned up edge. My favorite for things like eggs and pancakes.

And, yes, that does sound like it was a defective pan. While it does take awhile to fully heat evenly, cast iron should give you a picture of your inductors. Unless, perhaps, the issue is with your inductor? But no, you said it did the same thing on gas. Must be the pan. Weird. LC is guaranteed, but much easier to return to WS. :)

The reason the bubbles are all over in your stainless is because of the copper and/or alumninum plies, as I said above. The way it works is the iron (steel) gets excited by the inductors, and that is spread to the copper and/or aluminum. Being good conductors (they use them for electrical wire, after all), they spread that excitation all along their plies. This distributes the heat evenly to the whole shape of the pot, and the rest of the steel that isn't in contact with the inductors gets hot from the excited copper and/or aluminum.

You are not required to love cast iron. :) The carbon steel will heat up the same way that cast iron does, but being so much less massy, it'll heat up faster. Do give it a few minutes to even out, though. Being over anxious gives a browned circle in the middle of a yellow omelette. :) You may not love carbon steel either, but it's worth a try.

Thank you for the input, plllog!

But I want to love cast iron! According to (almost) every GW-er, it is the next best thing after sliced bread. :-)

My induction unit is Gaggenau. What kind of inductor does it have? My Lodge cast iron does OK on it, though not as well as Demeyere.

I have another question: Which steel is better for crepes and eggs: Blue steel (Force blue) or Mineral B (former Carbone plus)?

The former is thinner which may be better for crepes, no?

I have read everything about blue/black/carbon steel I could find on the Internet and I know the pros and cons of each but couldn't figure out which one is better for crepes.

Any thoughts?

Put your Lodge pan on to boil an inch or two of water. It should boil before the pan is fully heated, so you can see the shape of the inductors. My Gaggenau has wide rings. Donuts. When the pan is fully heated, the bubbles should be distributed. I always had more of a heat ring issue with gas than I have with induction. That's one of the knocks people used to have--there isn't a cold outside of the pot to shove more done bits into.

Lodge is heavier than Le Creuset. Thicker. I don't know if that means it suits you better.

You don't have to love cast iron! Using the Lodge regularly will put enough iron into your food that you shouldn't get anemic. :)

NOTHING is going to top Demeyere for evenness of heat distribution. I'd believe that another very fine multiply could equal it, but not surpass. :) OTOH, thin carbon steel will heat up a lot faster. Comparing Le Creuset to Demeyere, I'm not surprised that Demeyere wins. :) It's okay. I love my Le Creuset, but wouldn't kick John Pawson out of my kitchen. :)

I don't know about the different DeBuyer lines. Mine were described as "carbon steel" only, and the pans themselves just say the name/date/France. I'm guessing that was the same as "Carbonne", but can't say for sure. I found a Chowhound thread on the topic, which isn't all that clear. Scroll down to the middle where there's a big graphic for the post about what De Buyer said. Mine are about 1.5 mm thick at the edge (just under 1/16" by my Stanley tape). I wouldn't go much thinner! Do be sure that you're looking at the crepe pans in both. There are thicker frying pans. I have three and the blini pan. I call them small, two egg, and three egg. That's omelette size. For a taller omelette, I actually will do three eggs in the two egg size, but it's a bit too small for comfort for three sunnyside up. OTOH, if you want an egg for a sandwich on bun or muffin the blini pan is perfect. :) The low sides make turning very easy. :)

These do need seasoning. I've done cast iron with oil, but I really recommend butter for these. One of the science wonks here years ago described why butter polymerizes better, but it's a bit over my head. In experience, I can say that it does a better job on my carbon steel.

There are all kinds of different ways to make crepes, so it's kind of hard to make recommendations. I think it's the shape of the pan that I like, but I grew up making poured ones. The mode, nowadays, is to use a slightly convex pan and a pusher to spread the batter. The reason the thin steel is so good for crepes, I'm guessing, is that it has such good recovery time. The same is true for carbon steel woks.

Short and the long of it: Cast iron is great because, while it's slow to heat, it retains its heat very well. Thin carbon steel is great because, while it's not as great a conductor as copper, the thinness allows it to fully heat very fast, and after cooling from the ingredients, it heats back up fast.