I think you'll need to be more specific about what exactly this "disaster" was like, or consisted of. Did the pancakes burn (induction is more powerful than an electric coil)? Or did they not cook at all (some may have problems turning on the hob, or setting the correct temperature; non-magnetic pans don't work well)?

Perhaps you can have your wife describe her experience more specifically and clearly. It may help to try boiling water, just to see what goes right (or wrong) with that, and if the issue is with cooktop controls, pans, or what.

I think going from non-stick to clad might be the disaster?

I don't make pancakes on stainless, so I can't really advise well, but here's a great piece (a favorite around GW for years) about properly heating a stainless steel pan. That might help the adjustment.

I will say that even on enamel, which is pretty non-stick on its own, I use a thin film of oil under pancakes to make them flipable while they're still very tender (for those who don't want their pancakes brown).

Thanks for the quick responses. We've boiled water no problem (the 'boost' function blows her away). As I understand it, it took awhile to cook the pancake interior, to the point where the outside was burned and sticking to the pans. She said she used 'a ton' of butter to help the the sticking, but it all came out looking more like hash (on the bright side, the pancakes were really buttery!). BTW, that was a very cool link plllog, thanks!

As an aside, cleaning the pans have been a bugger too. We got Bar Keeper's Friend and it does help, but serious elbow grease is required each time. Maybe the setting's too high and we're just scorching everything?

> serious elbow grease is required each time. Maybe the setting's too high and we're just scorching everything?

Yeah, it shouldn't be hard to clean stainless at all. I don't have induction, but I've had stainless for 30 years now, and they're every bit as easy to clean as any non-stick surface. You shouldn't need "a ton of butter" either. For pancakes I use about the equivalent of a single pat from a restaurant for my largest pan. It sounds like you're using too much heat.

I think you're right, at least with the pancakes. Too high a setting will give you just what you said with overdone outside and uncooked inside. I'm not sure about the sticking, since there was enough butter for "buttery", unless it was really burnt burnt, but I'm thinking it's that if the overdone part wasn't very thick and it was really goopy above that, that there wouldn't be enough structure to hold it together.

Re cleaning, try a little hot water soak. After the gunk had a chance to soften up, it should come right out with a soft scrubbie--should come out with wiping and a light scrub if there's a trouble spot, not big time elbow grease. I use the agave fiber or corn ones. Nylon is even tougher, but shouldn't scratch up your pots. If there's something charred on solid, sprinkle baking soda liberally over the char, spread paper towels gently over that, and wet with boiling water--just to thoroughly wet, not swimming. Leave it overnight. Chemical reaction, it should come right up.

Another thing to consider is the dishwasher. The Finish Quantum Powerball tablets recommended by this forum has a good chance of taking all the crud off, saving you a lot of water and work. In general, dishwashers use less water than hand washing, and putting pots in a current model dishwasher will go a long way toward holding enough heat to make it dry well without a heat cycle.

One thing (for your wife) to remember about an induction cooktop is that the different rings have different energy outputs. I have two rings that are visually similar sizes, but they're actually 3 cm in diameter (1.25") different, and have a 400 BTU power difference. That doesn't sound like a lot of oomph, but I do notice a difference when doing the same task in the same pot. So level three on one will be slower than on the other. I'm thinking with pancakes maybe you're using a large pan on a double ring. That'll probably have more power yet. That is one of the drawbacks--not having all the elements the same and having to learn the differences--but at least there are the visual cues of the different sized rings.

Have some patience. Heat the pan on a higher number until it's good and hot, then, for pancakes, reduce the temperature to something pretty low. Once you find what works for you, you can just leave it on that number. For instance, on my 21 cm ring, I use my new (since remodel) medium crepe pan for three egg omelettes. On 3 with lots of patience for a soft, yellow omelette. On 3. (3 1/2) for "normal". On 4 for hard, brown. At this point, I can make one while I'm half asleep. It took me a few to learn at what point the butter browns, at what point the eggs stay yellow but the center will cook (eventually), etc. Stick with it and it'll all be fine.

My DW swears by her mother's instructions, simmer water in the pan for a while after adding some Comet cleanser. Use some ventilation.

Cooking with induction requires careful attention to power setting when there isn't a large volume of liquid to stretch out the reaction time to too much power. And a film of grease is the most difficult to manage.

After wowing yourself heating up a pan to cooking temperature in zip time, simmering pancakes and such will need a much lower power setting to maintain the hot pan surface temperature. The actual cooking time of a pancake is not affected by whether one uses induction, gas, or electric coil heat input, so after quickly heating up the pan, one shouldn't unconsciously think that the rest of the process can be similarly sped up.

kas

I could never cook pancakes in anything other than a non-stick pan. I don't think her results would have been any better on any other kind of stove.

For my induction cooktop, I have Farberware Classic non-stick skillets and an All-clad non-stick skillet that all work well on the induction. The all clad was expensive but the interior has remained nonstick longer than the Farberware.

I really like my ScanPan non-stick induction pans; they've held up well for over a year so far. For some things, omelettes and pancakes among them, nonstick is much easier. There are other brands of nonstick pans for induction as well, now.

Thanks all. I'm wondering, given the comments, whether we should get a cast iron pan for this type of cooking. Would that be better?

I swear by my Le Creuset 10" and 12" enameled cast iron frying pans/skillets. I make scrambled eggs, pancakes, crepes and I also use them to oven bake corn bread. Awesome. NOTHING sticks!!

I melt a good amount of butter or oil, but not excessive...and NOTHING sticks.

Also, I had a mixture of All Clad, Demeyere and a few Le Creuset for my Induction Cooktop. I have sold and given away all my cookware, except the Le Creuset. I now have ALL Le Creuset for cooking! NOTHING works better for Induction. And Le Creuset is 100% dishwasher safe, where Staub recommends hand washing. The performance of Le Creuset on Induction is the absolute best!!!!!

I too have mostly Le Creuset cast iron and love it. Things don't generally stick, but it can be done if you're determined.

I think you were right the first time when you said that the issue was trying to learn a new stove and new pots at the same time. Give it awhile. Spending a little time learning how to clean messes off of what you already have, and getting things not to stick to it, will make cooking easier on into the future no matter how much money you spend on fancy new pans.

Personally, I wouldn't do pancakes on stainless. I use non-stick. There are several out there that are induction-capable.

Also, induction will run 'hotter' than coil electric because it is more efficient. If you used to use '5' for cooking, you'll probably use 2 or 3 for induction.

Are all of the Le Creuset pieces good for induction? How about the square grill pan? The Bistro round grill pan and round griddle pans look nice too : )

If it is cast iron it will work. Just like putting a square pan on a radiant top.

Fishies, the only questionable Le Creuset pieces don't have flat bottoms. I have a square grill plate that reverses to griddle. This has a lip around it. The cheap countertop model won't recognize it. My built-in will, and it'll heat up, but they warn specifically against this kind of pan. From what I can ascertain, the big problem is heat build-up underneath, but I haven't been able to find out if that's primarily because the glass could crack, as a liability weasel lest you burn yourself on it, a serious attention to both, or what.

If you put a square pan that is bigger than a round element, the corners will heat up slowly. They will heat up, but they won't react as fast as the parts that are right over the element. They have to have the heat, or lack thereof, passed along through the iron. If it's smaller than the ring, there shouldn't be a problem, though if it's a double ring, the outer might not recognize the corners as an actual pot, so it would only turn on the inner. I've used my apple shaped Le Creuset tarte tatin on induction. Same issues. Works fine.

Best results come from the pot with the largest bottom area lying flush, so in some ways the tarte tatin is actually good on induction, and moreso than my curved skillets. My old coupe shaped soup pot was my favorite pot on electric and gas, but is least favorite on the induction. Or maybe the pumpkin casserole is the least. Whereas the old 2-in-one sauce pan, which had been my least favorite, became my go-to pot on induction because of the larger flat bottom. I even got a second one and a bigger one at the outlet.

Basically a lot of the old rules are different. The old idea that a curved or conical pot was better because of the extra heat to the sides and the wide surface area, is a gas idea. For induction you want the greatest contact with the surface of the cooktop, so flat bottom and straight sides is the ticket.