Cast Iron Griddle On Induction

17 years ago

Hello to everyone. First post here. My wife and I are planning a complete kitchen remodel and are choosing our appliances. Builders start next week. The discussions and reviews on this site have been invaluable - thanks.
We are considering induction vs gas and understand how induction works and the ferromagnetic pan requirements. There is one thing I'm not sure of - would a cast iron griddle work well lain across one (or two) induction burners? Would there be significant hotspots? Would the ridge or lip which runs around the bottom edge of many griddles raise the bottom too high off the induction unit to work properly? What brands of griddle/induction cooktop do you all use in this way?

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Comments (6)

oskiebabu
17 years ago
The best griddles for standard induction cooktops are at most up to 2-3" more than the burner diameter. De Dietrich has come out with a few zoneless induction cooktops. You can either import them or they can be bought in the USA at Salon Blue Ridge. De Dietrich is considered to often be the state of the art line of parent company--Fagor. One problem is that European warranties are unlikely to be honored in the USA. Maybe Salon Blue Ridge has special warranties.

Within a couple of years I would think other appliance manufacturers might be offering some zoneless models.

Greg
plllog
17 years ago
When I called Salon Blue Ridge about DeDietrich, hoping to find zoneless, they told me they only sold a couple of basic models, though direct import from Europe is possible. But that wouldn't help the ridge/lip thing.

It is possible to get hot spots on induction, even though it's possible to warm up all of a pan that is highly compatible (i.e., lots of iron). Some of it is going to be trial and error to find what temperatures work for you and how they affect your particular pans. Some people have some success using an oblong grill/griddle with a shallow lip on induction. This may depend on the sensitivity of the unit. Some units specifically say they will work up to 1/4" above the surface. The question is really whether the pot detector will detect your griddle pan. Round, single sided, griddles and grill pans are made for use on induction to take advantage of 11" elements.
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erikanh
17 years ago
I purchased these 2 Lodge cast iron pans that I use on my induction cooktop from Walmart:

The grill is great for making steaks and paninis. The griddle works well for making pancakes, although it's not very large.
Fori
17 years ago
LG makes a 30" induction cooktop with a bridge element. I don't know if it's any good, but it might be worth looking into if a griddle is important.

I use a Lodge griddle like Erikanh posted. I suppose one could get two and stick them on separate hobs. You could also use a huge iron pizza pan and just preheat it really well. But I do think that the traditional reversible griddle/grill with all the ridges won't work very well.
erikanh
17 years ago
I just re-read my post. Wow, that was badly worded. The pans are from Walmart, not my cooktop!
creek_side
17 years ago
I just re-read my post. Wow, that was badly worded. The pans are from Walmart, not my cooktop!

I'm glad you cleared that up. Their help seemed really confused when I asked for directions to the induction aisle. ;-)