Worried you’ll need to buy all new pots and pans to use with an induction cooktop? Don’t! If you’ve been taking our advice, you already own or are already thinking about buying the best induction cookware. And even if you haven’t been turning to us for product recommendations, you likely don’t have to start over with all new cookware because there’s a very good chance you have at least a few pots and pans in your existing cookware collection that will work on an induction range.
The best induction cookware
Compared to gas and electric, induction is a relatively new technology, and there’s still some confusion surrounding it. The most common misconception is that you need “special induction cookware.” But before I debunk that idea—and share BA’s favorite induction compatible pots and pans—let me explain how induction works.
How does induction cooking work?
Since our ancestors started cooking food hundreds of thousands of years ago, it’s happened by way of thermal heat transfer. That is the movement of energy from one thing and onto the next. Even electric stovetops work by transferring heat from the electric coil to the stove’s surface to the pan, which then heats the food.
Cooking by way of thermal transfer has clearly worked out well for humanity, but it’s not the most efficient process, because so much of that energy is wasted heating the cooktop—and the air in your kitchen—instead of the food you’re trying to cook.
Induction technology feels a little more science-fictiony, because it kind of is. Instead of passing energy from one thing to the next, a copper coil (that’s embedded under a ceramic-glass cooking surface) sends an electromagnetic current through the surface directly to the pot or pan, without transferring any energy to the cooktop. Induction-compatible pots and pans immediately receive and conduct that energy, quickly heating whatever is inside.
The surface of an induction stove will still get pretty warm to the touch because the thick ceramic glass will inevitably absorb some of the heat from the pan (thermal transfer!), but it will never get as hot as an electric range’s coil or a gas range’s flames. And unless you leave induction-compatible cookware sitting on your cooktop, you never have to worry about your child (or dog) turning on a burner, because if the sensor embedded in the cooktop can’t find a conductor, no energy is transferred at all. This is why when you try to turn on an induction burner with no cookware (or the wrong cookware), you get an error message.
What is induction cookware?
That was a trick question! “Induction cookware” isn’t actually a thing, but induction-compatible cookware is—and you’ve probably already been using it for years.
As I mentioned above, in order for an electromagnetic induction current to do anything, it needs a conductor to receive the current, and any ferrous or ferromagnetic metals will work. A ferrous metal is a metal alloy that is primarily iron and that includes stainless-steel, cast-iron, and carbon steel cookware, no matter what kind of enamel or coating they have on them (because remember, electromagnetic currents basically teleport through other materials).
This means your stainless steel pans will work on induction, your grandma’s cast iron skillet will work on induction, your Le Creuset Dutch oven will work on induction, and a high-quality nonstick pan will probably work on induction too.
How can I tell if my cookware will work with induction?
If you’re unsure of your cookware materials, there’s a very simple way to tell if it will work on an induction cooktop or not: Just grab a magnet and try to stick it to the base of your pot or pan. If it stays, the cookware is compatible; if it doesn’t, it’s not.
