It doesn't have to do with weight. I have a set of Cuisinart stainless steel that does not work because it apparently doesn't have a layer of conductive metal. Bought a set of DeMeyer that looks quite similar and weighs about the same, but does have a layer in there somewhere (can't see it) but it is magnetic and works fine. Pricey, though-- others have found inexpensive pans that they say work just fine.

Cookware MUST have ferrous metal somewhere in its construction to work with induction. If a magnet sticks to the bottom of the cookware, it's induction compatible.

Thanks guys. Guess I'll have to remember to bring a magnet next time I go shopping for cookware that's "SS". I guess my Calphalon doesn't have that ferrous metal layer. Good thing I only bought a single burner to try first.

Any cookware brands you've tried that works (besides DeMeyer)?

I very much like my Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro. I also have a piece or two of Al Clad (not all of theirs works on induction). Calphalon makes a tri ply stainless induction capable - I picked up a 1 qt saucepan inexpensively of theirs to try - it works great as well. Sur La Table has some induction capable cookware that has good reviews (I bought their 12 qt multi-pot). There are a lot of options. As the above - bring your magnet - read the reviews and specifications. Find a brand that works for you, your cooktop, and your budget.

Thanks for the recommendations kimg114. Will look into Calphalon's tri-ply. And, you mean their "Tri-Ply Copper" line correct? I just did a Google search. Only came across their "tri-ply copper" series.

Will also keep an eye open for Cuisinart MCP.

Now to find a magnet. :)

Are you all using Samsung's induction range? I recall they were the first to bring them to market.

The short answer is that what an induction burner detects is the resistance from eddy currents induced by the burner's
alternating/fluctuating magnetic field. If there is enough magnetic mass over enough of the field, the burner continues and the magntic metal in the pan heats. If there isn't enough, the burner signals "no pan" and shuts off.

The problem with your Calphalon SS pan is that it was made from one the stainless steel alloys that do not react to magnets. The most stain and rust resistant kinds of stainless steel are produced with a high enough mix of other metals that the alloy does not react much to magnets. Taht is sometimes called surgical stainelss steel. That's probably waht your Calphalon was made from.

Lots of brands of induction suitable cookware have been described in many postings here. A couple I like are the Costco "Kirkland" stainless steel brand and the Circulon Premier Professional non-stick also available at Costco. Sets of both cost less than $200.

A couple of things to be aware of with using the "single burner" units (Duxtop? Max Burton? others?). One is that the induction fields are only about 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Depending on how hot you want your pans, you may find that outer areas of larger pans do not heat so evenly for stir frying and sautes. The other is the very low heat settings tend to cycle-on and off at low frequency -- that means, instead of an even simmer, the single burner units produce OMG boiling for a couple of seconds followed by several seconds of totally off, and repeat.

Here is a link to the tri ply set on the Calphalon website. It is not the copper.

http://store.calphalon.com/calphalon-tri-ply-stainless-steel-13-pc-cookware-set/298835

Are you all using Samsung's induction range? I recall they were the first to bring them to market.

The Samsung didn't come out until last year. As far as I know, the first mainstream brand here with an induction range in North America was Electrolux back in 2009. Before that there was Diva De Provence.

hvtech42 wrote: "As far as I know, the first mainstream brand here with an induction
range in North America was Electrolux back in 2009. Before that there
was Diva De Provence."

I recall that relationship myself with respect to cooktops for modern kitchens, although I would use 2007 instead of 2009 because that is when I bought my Kenmore (Electrolux) cooktop. However, there were at that time comments on this forum referring to induction ranges from 20 years back, which may have been by General Electric.

Just to provide a stab at completeness with respect to general non-magnetization of the 300 series (more stain resistant) stainless steels versus the magnetization of the 400 series (less stain resistant) stainless steels, we need to put on our quantum mechanics overalls and note these excerpts from:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-dont-magnets-work-on/

"Stainless steels are iron-based alloys primarily known for their
generally excellent corrosion resistance, which is largely due to the
steel's chromium concentration. There are several different types of
stainless steels. The two main types are austenitic and ferritic, each
of which exhibits a different atomic arrangement. Due to this
difference, ferritic stainless steels are generally magnetic while
austenitic stainless steels usually are not. A ferritic stainless steel
owes its magnetism to two factors: its high concentration of iron and
its fundamental structure.

"The metallic atoms in an austenitic stainless steel are arranged
on a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice. The unit cell of an fcc crystal
consists of a cube with an atom at each of the cube's eight corners and
an atom at the center of each of the six faces. In a ferritic stainless
steel, however, the metallic atoms are located on a body-centered (bcc)
lattice. The unit cell of a bcc crystal is a cube with one atom at each
of the eight corners and a single atom at the geometric center of the
cube. Alloying the stainless steel with elements such as nickel,
manganese, carbon and nitrogen increases the likelihood that the alloy
will possess the fcc crystal structure at room temperature. Chromium,
molybdenum and silicon make it more likely that the alloy will exhibit
the bcc crystal structure at room temperature.

...

"Fundamentally, the reasons why ferritic stainless steels are
ferromagnetic while austenitic stainless steels are not are
quantum-mechanical in nature. Suffice it to say a ferromagnetic metal
consists of atoms that have an incomplete inner core of electrons and a
crystal structure that results in a high density of electron states in
the energy bands formed from the incomplete atomic inner core. It also
has an atomic spacing that allows for exchange effects among electrons
in the energy bands associated with the incomplete inner-core level. If
the atoms in the metal crystal are too widely spaced, the exchange
effects are too small to cause alignment of the magnetic moments of
neighboring atoms and the crystal will not exhibit ferromagnetism. The
requirement of a high density of states stems from the Pauli Exclusion
Principle. This principle prohibits electrons with the same spin from
occupying the same energy level. Consequently, if the density of
electron states is relatively small, electrons will need to occupy
higher energy states in order for all to have the same spin. If the
increase in energy resulting from the occupancy of higher energy levels
exceeds the decrease in energy resulting from electron exchange energy,
the structure will not be ferromagnetic."

In other words, while diluting iron can make the resulting material less magnetic, changing its crystalline structure can make it non-magnetic.

When we first went to induction in our kitchen reno, we had a lot of RevereWare pots and pans. All of the nice shiny copper bottomed stainless steel pans were useless on induction, but one slightly dull pan without a copper layer worked great. My guess is that it was from a lower grade RevereWare series and was made from a 400 series stainless steel, whereas all of the shiny pans with copper laminated to the bottom used a 300 series stainless steel.

kas

For ranges, my recollection is that Electrolux was the first of the major brands to start selling induction ranges again in in North America. My recollection is that the cooktops came first (in the North American market, that is) in the mid-2000s. I think hvtech is right about it being in 2009 when we started seeing major brand ranges. My recollection was that Electrolux had a slide-in and a freestanding model, some near clones that Sears sold under the Kenmore brand, and a Frigidiare hybrid radiant/induction slide-in.

I think I recall seeing a GE PHB925 freestanding model at a dealer early in 2010. My recollection is that Samsung started selling its FTQ307 model induction range later in 2010. I do not recall seeing one before 2011. In mid-2012, Samsung replaced its FTQ model with the NE595, 597 and (in Canada) the 599 freestanding models, What Samsung came out with last year was the slide-in "Chef Collection" model.

Before all that, starting around 2003 (I think) Diva de Provence was selling very high-priced 30" and 36" induction ranges but went bust in 2008, I thnk. That also was about the time that I recall Viking starting selling its induction products.

Before that, you have to go back to the 80s when Sanyo, Kenmore and GE marketed induction ranges. My aunt bought one of the earlier Kenmores and kept for decades. I think I might have seen a Westinghouse induction cooker a little earlier at a Dept. of Energy function, but I'm not sure it ever came to market. It disappeared when Westinghouse was gobbled up during some of the corporate buyouts that were popular at the time.

To an earlier poster. it is not merely the brand, such as Calphalon, which makes it induction capable, but the line of cookware within that brand, such as Calphalon triply, which are noted by the mfr to be induction capable. I love my Circulon Ultimate for my induction but Circulon has other lines which are not induction capable. So read the box or the ads re the cookware. I have several different brands of fine cookware, some lower priced than others and they all work very, very well.

I highly recommend German brand WMF. Two sets are on close out just now at Sierra. COOKWARE Just bought the WMF Diadem set for my son's "first" cookware. It IS made in China, but it will induct like a house afire. The expensive set is probably German made. Mine is.

The pots I use daily and think are great are Tramontina all-clad. I have the pans too but don't use them much because my favorite pans for daily use work on my induction cooktop - the pans I use are a Lodge cast iron and a Zwilling ceramic. Le Creuset also works (any cast iron will ). I also have one small pot from the IKEA 365 line and two large pots from the BB&B Denmark line that all work well.

Yeah, as JWVideo said I was talking about ranges, not cooktops. Induction cooktops have been around quite a while (no idea who was first!), but I don't know of any induction ranges here before Diva. Unless you count the induction cartridges JennAir sold back in the 80s for their downdraft ranges.

Can someone more familiar with the history of induction than me explain why there were induction products available 30+ years ago, but it didn't really catch on until recently? Was there a big improvement in the technology or something? It's always baffled me how it isn't a "new" technology per se, but we all treat it like it is. And many people still don't know what it even is.

It is called Europe. Induction was being used over the pond many years before in the states. I have some quite old All Clad that says induction on the bottom.

I know it caught on in Europe before us, but there were induction products available here too, more than 30 years ago. The JennAir cartridges I mentioned and JWVideo gave some other examples.

30+ years ago, processing power was more limited, or perhaps better would be to say that the limited processing power needed for the features we expect for induction, including digital control, fault detection, and fault reporting, required a higher relative cost, and certainly more space. Affordable high power semiconductors that were efficient at the desired voltage, current, and frequency were not commonly available. I don't recall hearing about the power insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) during that period, and a quick check of Wikipedia suggests that development of suitable types was at the time a work in progress. I think it likely that a different circuit approach to today's designs was used and it may have had limitations making it less desirable as a cooking approach.

I've never been one to follow appliance tech. It just seemed to me that I happened to notice that Samsung was the first with an induction range...probably as some one mention in 2010. They used a celeb to endorse it too. Forget who it was. George Forman? :) Maybe Samsung had a strong ad campaign at the time so I noticed. And not Electrolux...who doesn't really do TV ads...that I've noticed. Now there are many (Bosch, GE, Electrolux...).

And, thanks to Kimg114 for pointing out the right Calphalon Tri-Ply series (non-Copper). They even say on the company website that this non-copper set is "induction capable".

So many "induction capable" cookware brands/series out there now...many actually tell you...such as Emeril's All Clad set...

http://www.amazon.ca/All-Clad-E914SC64-PRO-CLAD-Stainless-Dishwasher/dp/B001GD2YRW/ref=pd_sim_sbs_79_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0GQX3ETS54G0DBCTM52J

http://www.amazon.ca/Stainless-Multi-clad-Dishwasher-Cookware-12-Piece/dp/B00PGYV53G/ref=dp_ob_title_kitchen

http://www.amazon.ca/Le-Creuset-Stainless-Cookware-10-Piece/dp/B004FOOOC2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_79_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BCZZSKJ2MRRTFHNWCAG

Any how, thanks every one for your recommendations and information. Will remember to bring a magnet with me when I go shopping.

Are there any "induction capable" cookware with a non-stick or ceramic cooking surface? Or are they all SS?

The cooking surface is above the usually laminated pan base and a coating on it doesn't affect the ability of the steel or iron below it to react to the induction field.

This JA Zwilling ceramic pan (available at BB&B is excellent). I use it on induction and a friend (who is a much better/more adventurous cook than I am) uses it on gas. Mine is the 12". Zwilling induction capable ceramic pan

>>>"Are there any "induction capable" cookware with a non-stick or ceramic cooking surface?"<<<

Lots. Using a search string like "gardenweb + nonstick + induction" should turn up past threads with tons of recomendations.

Besides Zwilling, both Swiss Diamond and Scanpan make very nice (if pricey) non-stick induction-capable cookware. Earlier this year, Cook's Illustrated thought very highly of the LeCruest ceramic coated cast iron skillets.

If you are looking for a whole set of non-stick pans, I can recommend the set of Wearever Circulon Premier Professional induction-suitable non-stick pans which you can find at Costco. (2 saucepans, 3 fry pans. a deep saute pan/braiser and a 6 qt. stock pot). I've had my set for more than three years. Regular Costco price on those is under $200 and coupon sales periodically take it down around $150 and sometimes less. Like the Scanpan and Swiss Diamond pans, these are annodized aluminum bodies with inset, bonded ferromagentic disks in the bases. Work equally well on my induction burners and on a pro-style range's gas burners.

That's a short way with a potentially very long list. Do the search and you will find much discussion and recomendations. Also, you might want to search on egullet, chefsteps and chowhound.

re: hvtech's question about why induction didn't catch on 30 years ago:

1. There weren't many products available.

2. There was not much an advertising push here.

3. The ranges were comparatively expensive.

4. As kas says, the control technolgy was kind of primitive. Some of it wasn't durable. (It gave me a long-lasting prejudice against touchpad controls on the surface of any stovetop or cooktop.)

5. It was hard to get much information on induction appliances. them. Nothing like today's internet back then. (Anybody remember AOL and Compuserve?). If memory serves, I think it was October of 1984 when I first saw some demos of what has become the www internet and saw my first readily accessible newsgroups.

6. In Europe and the far East, with their relatively high utility prices and well developed electrical grids, the utilities had felt an economic incentive to push induction. Also, there were major companies developing the technology in those places. I recall Fagor, AEG and Siemens pushing the technology in Europe and the likes of Panasonic and Sanyo pushing it in Japan and Taiwan.

There was usenet in the 1980's, but the World Wide Web came with the introduction of the hypertext browser in the early 1990's.

Otherwise, agreed with JWVideo, especially about the availability of plentiful electricity (usually nuclear) in places that took to induction, and the amazing cheapness of natural gas here. The coolest thing was the hexagonal "tile" induction that was available to embed in your counter back then. But it was a Jetsons gizmo compared to a proper stove and more for tech geeks than normal cooks. The current power and control is SO much better. Induction can now claim superiority to gas in like for like installations, and more American kids are asthmatic (which gas isn't good for), making market penetration among the let's go buy a new stove crowd much easier.

Re pans, they make a much bigger difference in induction cooking than any other. Rather than deciding on one particular kind, I'd suggest getting a variety and seeing what works best for you. The one constant is the flatter the bottom the better--that is, at the edges, the more that's flat on the glass the better.

I have a lot of Le Creuset enamelled cast iron, but use it differently than I did on coil or gas. I also have a couple Demeyere multi-ply pieces--a skillet and griddle/teppenyaki, some enamelled steel larger pots, and thin carbon steel crepe pans which I find best for things like eggs and pancakes.

Was just looking on the Bed, Bath & Beyond website for cookware. Found many of the brands recommended here. And, more importantly, a cheap "device" some of us might find handy. It's an "induction plate" (obviously this induction plate sits on the induction burner...non-induction pot/pan on the plate). :) Costs about $25.00. Allows us to use any pot/pan on an induction stove. Just thought I'd mention this. I'm picking one up. This way we don't need to bring a magnet :) Or, make sure it's "induction capable" before buying all the time.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/store/product/denmark-reg-8-inch-stainless-steel-induction-interface-disk/1042271550?categoryId=20518

I'm picking one up. This way we don't need to bring a magnet :) Or, make sure it's "induction capable" before buying all the time.

Those plates are only meant for cases where you have a pan or two you just can't give up when you switch (for example, it has sentimental value and you still want to cook with it occasionally). You should not use them in lieu of actual induction compatible pans, because they negate all the benefits of induction! The reason induction works so well is that you're heating the pan directly, rather than heating another surface which gradually transfers its heat to the pan. If you're going to use that plate for a significant amount of your cooking... save your money and get a radiant smoothtop range. The performance will be no different.

Plus, ask people who've actually used an induction plate and they'll just say it doesn't work. It sort of does in theory. It gets hot. But try heating up a big frying pan or griddle on your current stove and putting your favorite Corningware pot or Calphalon aluminum, or Mauviel copper pot on it and start cooking. That's all the "induction plate" is. So try it. If you like cooking that way, maybe this will work for you. OTOH, people who've had to buy new pots for their new induction have been very pleased with $100-200 Tramontina sets. You don't need to buy a full suite of Le Creuset or Demeyere.

Nowadays, you don't really need a magnet in a reputable shop like Bed, Bath & Beyond, either. If it's not marked "induction" don't buy it. Simple. If it doesn't respond well to the induction even if it said "induction ready" on the box, BB&B will take it back. If you're going to use a magnet, use one that sticks firmly--if you have one on your fridge, that would be one that doesn't slide down with gravity--but not a supermagnet or rare earth one (not the kind that's hard to pull off). When you try it on the bottom of the pot, if it sort of sticks but slides easily, it's not the best pot for induction. If it sticks firmly and requires some pressure to move, then it's okay. Do test the BOTTOM. That's the part the induction field hits. Pots with steel in the sides vs. just on the bottom cook differently, but that's another whole discussion, and if you'd be the type who cared you'd probably be really into buying new pots.

Adding to what hvtech and plllog just said, induction works well not just only because it heats the pan directly but because it makes the pan heat itself. That gives you both of speed and responsiveness.

The basic problem with an induction adapter disks is that it just converts your induction burner into a relatively inefficient radiant electric burner. Ever used one of those hotplates with the coils inside a cast iron burner cap? This will be as slow to react and will throw waste heat into the room like any other radiant burner, and can be even less efficient. The adapters are a stop-gap and most of us have found them not very useful in practice.

If you want further research on them, you could search for past threads here and on chowhound (as well as egullet and ChefSteps, IIRC). Cooks Illustrated reviewed several disk adaptors about three years ago, also. Basic conclusion was that the adapter and non-induction pans might be okay for some moderate to low heat cooking (say, pancakes) but will be a pain for higher heat applications and bringing water to a boil.

Thanks for you're comments people. Points taken. Maybe I won't bother buying the plate. :) It IS that easy to find out which brands/series of cookware ARE 'induction capable". Usually mentioned on the company websites (e.g. BB&B). And as some of you said on the box. And if they don't work as advertised (rare I'd think as long as we stick with the major "known" brands) we can return them (if bought at stores like BB&B).