What cookware should I choose for an induction cooker?

The advantages of induction cookers over conventional ones are many. The main ones are high efficiency, instant heating of dishes on the burner, safety (only the bottom of the pan or pan is heated, and the hob itself remains cold), high efficiency. At the same time, buyers of such a stove must be informed that special pan-pans are suitable for it. What kind of cookware will be needed for an induction cooker and why?

How does an induction cooker work?

In ordinary stoves, after turning on the burner, the heater first begins to heat up, then the burner and hob, then the pan, starting from the bottom. This process takes a lot of time. In addition, they cool down quite slowly, causing large losses of electricity.

In the induction cooker, heating proceeds directly in the layer of material from which the dishes are made. The process is based on the absorption of electromagnetic energy generated in the induction unit. And this happens almost instantly. But here, just needed dishes, the bottom of which has a high resistivity and has magnetic permeability (made of ferromagnetic material). And by the way, that’s not all.

For all utensils in which food will be cooked on an induction cooker (and for the most part - to its bottom), a number of quite reasonable requirements are presented.

• The bottom of such dishes should be perfectly smooth and even. Curls or roughness will prevent the formation of an induction field, and the stove simply will not turn on. Or it will turn on, but it will work with noise, rattling and crackling, and this is already unsafe.
• The bottom should be very thick (at least 2 mm, but the thicker the better), this will ensure a long service life of the dishes (it does not deform under the influence of high temperature), and also protect food from burning.
• The bottom of the dishes should not occupy less than 70% of the cooking area, otherwise the induction process will not start.
• It is desirable that the bottom consist of several layers (the outer one - a ferromagnet - directs the generated heat inside the pan, the middle one has high thermal conductivity and retains heat for a long time, the inner one consists of the same material as the whole pan). Sometimes there are more layers - antideformation plates are added to them.

Tip

Cookware that is used for induction cookers is also suitable for ordinary dishes (but on the contrary, it is far from always). Therefore, if you plan to purchase induction in the future, begin to gradually assemble a set of dishes for it now and use it. Such a stove in itself costs a lot of money, and together with kitchen utensils it can be an excessive financial burden.

How to choose a suitable dish?

Such dishes are quite expensive, so when buying, you need to carefully approach the choice and pay attention to a number of nuances.

• The bottom, as already mentioned, should have ferromagnetic properties. Simply put, a magnet should be attracted to it. Therefore, going for such a purchase, it would be worthwhile to bring along a magnet (one of those that hang on the refrigerator is suitable) so that you can easily check the dishes.
• Such utensils are specially marked. The icon of the induction cooker on the dishes looks like several loops or zigzags, often on the product there is an inscription “Induction”.
• The bottom should be very thick (ideally 5-6 mm).
• Standard induction cookers will not turn on if the diameter of the pan is less than 12 cm, otherwise electromagnetic radiation occurs at a height of 12-20 cm from the hob, which is several times higher than the maximum permissible norm and can harm human health or the surrounding electrical appliances. Therefore, it is also important to pay attention to size.
• Utensils made entirely of glass, aluminum or copper, clearly cannot be suitable for such a plate (metals are too soft and quickly deform, the glass does not allow electromagnetic waves) and will not be marked.
• It doesn’t matter what material the main part of the pot or kettle is made of, what coating they have inside. Indeed, only the bottom is involved in the formation of the induction field. It is to him - the basic requirements for quality.

Tip

If you like to cook, for example, coffee in a Turk, the diameter of which is obviously less than necessary, get a special adapter disk suitable for the size of the burner. It looks like a metal pancake with a handle and can successfully compensate for the missing diameter. In addition, with such an adapter, you can use pots, gutters or stewpan, not suitable for induction cookers in terms of bottom quality or materials.

Is an alternative possible?

When buying an induction cooker, many people ask themselves: is it possible to somehow replace the expensive dishes with more affordable ones? Perhaps there is another suitable utensil? In principle, such an option is possible (although it is not ideal). You can try to pick up pots and pans made of ferromagnetic stainless steel, cast iron or enameled iron.

But at the same time you will have to take into account all the features of these materials, because when working with an induction hob with improperly selected cookware, you can spoil not only the dish, but also the stove itself, as well as the surrounding household appliances.

• Cast-iron pans, cauldrons, ducklings are quite heavy, and rarely have a perfectly smooth and even bottom. You will have to choose them especially carefully. In addition, cast iron is quite fragile and can easily crack from impact. Cast iron deteriorates in an acidic environment, which imposes restrictions on the choice of dishes for cooking in such dishes. This material quickly absorbs the smells of dishes, which means that you can’t store food in such a refrigerator in the refrigerator. But cast iron warms up the food evenly and keeps it warm for a long time, and during cooking the food practically does not burn. Another advantage of cast-iron cookware is that it does not interact with products during cooking, and does not transmit any harmful substances to them.
• Enameled dishes from different steel alloys can also be used. But you should pay attention to its bottom. It often has a concave shape that acts as an amplifier for wave vibrations. And this leads to the formation of noise effects.
• It is most reasonable to use stainless steel for such a plate. It does not oxidize, retains more useful properties of products, does not react with them. This means that such dishes can also become a container for storing finished dishes. True, you have to make sure that the food does not burn during the cooking process. Alas, this is a significant minus. In addition, sometimes nickel alloys cause allergic reactions in humans. Then your favorite saucepan will have to be replaced.

Tip

Do not interfere with food that is cooked on an induction cooker with a metal spoon or spatula. It instantly and very hot, you can burn yourself.

The purchase of an induction cooker will allow owners to save significantly on electricity for many years of use. But the fact of such a purchase can hit the wallet hard. Therefore, often the owners of induction cookers are no longer able to pull the acquisition of a set of dishes at the cost of a couple of tens of thousands. In this case, of course, can save the existing kitchen utensils, provided that they meet the requirements.But if material capabilities allow, it is better to still get dishes specially designed for such stoves. It is better, and more durable, and safer.