induction cookware question

16 years ago

Just got a GE induction range for our summer home, and I've been looking at cookware. I'm fairly interested in the Emerilware at Bed Bath Beyond. There are two types, and I wonder if folks could help me understand the difference:

-- the tri-ply pro-clad is "bonded tri-ply stainless/aluminum/stainless" and I noted it is magnetic on the sides as well as the bottom. It has rolled rims and glass lids.

-- the stainless steel line has stainless (18/10) sides & and a copper, aluminum & stainless steel base. The sides are not magnetic, but the bottom is. It has pouring spouts, measuring marks and glass lids. (price is lower)

Both are made by All-clad.

Does it make much difference whether the sides are magnetic, and the aluminum goes up the sides?

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

llaatt22
16 years ago
A bit of information from the cookware page of inductionsite.com:

Incidentally, there is a fairly common belief that for a piece of cookware to be "quality" clad, the cladding must continue from the base on up into the walls of the vessel, and correspondingly that cookware consisting of a clad baseplate with solid stainless-steel walls is something lesser. The truth is--as always--not so simple. While some excellent makes (such as All-Clad) do indeed carry the cladding up the vessel walls, other equally good lines do not. Much depends on the particular vessel: for some purposes (meaning for certain types of vessel meant for those cooking purposes, such as sauce pans) having a vessel wall that is heated augments the functionality; for other purposes, in which having the heat concentrated in the vessel bottom is desired or at least satisfactory, having heated walls may actually just waste some heating energy. Remember that on a gas burner, there are often flames licking up the sides of a cooking vessel, so having cladding in those sides can be important; but with induction, it may be less important (though the wall cladding will still help conduct heat up from the base into the walls). In short, it's a complex topic with no simple answer. (Cook's Illustrated stated that "Our tests have shown that disk-bottom pans often perform just as well as fully clad pans: With some exceptions, the thickness of the core is more important than whether or not it covers the sides of the pan.")

So much for the bare basics. For much more detailed explanations of general cookware considerations, we refer you to these several excellent articles:

*

Understanding Stovetop Cookware (by Samuel Lloyd Kinsey, at eGullet)
*

Common Materials of Cookware (by Michael Chu , at the Cooking for Engineers site)
*

Pan Construction and Cost (from A Cook's Wares)
weedmeister
16 years ago
As far as induction goes? No.
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dodge59
16 years ago
We have the Emeril all clad, the older one where cladding did not go up the sides. Wife really likes the set and it works well on our Elux Icon induction cooktop, and no noise. Mojavean and I had a contest boiling water and them simmering. I used the Emeril with 2 quarts of water, turned the biggest hob to Boost (P) with Elux, and the mic was right next to the pan, did not hear much noise, other than the water boiling.
Good luck with your decision!The contest is on Utube.

Gary