How to choose a frying pan for an induction hob?

Cooking with a frying pan is a convenient and easy way to cook food. But changing kitchen equipment can present a hostess with a difficult choice. What is the best induction frying pan? Why do you have to give up the trendy ceramic braziers and can a grill or wok be combined with this type of hob? Of course, some of the household items can be left behind.

But answering the question: which pans are suitable for induction, experts quite expectedly declare the need to purchase dishes with a special label. You can find it in almost any store - manufacturers make sure that their audience has a good selection of options for kitchen utensils.

One thing is important: grill pans and other similar products must have a ferromagnetic alloy metal base.

It would seem that checking whether a frying pan is suitable for an induction hob is very simple. You can bring the magnet up to see how well it attracts to the metal surface. But in practice, everything is much more complicated. If the metal of the heated bottom turns out to be insufficiently permeable to electromagnetic radiation, it will be possible to heat it up for a very long time.

The heat transfer will not be enough for frying or braising, but the electricity bills will rush to infinity. Not all metals are ferromagnetic. In most cases, carbon and stainless steel and cast iron fall into this category. But the presence of various additives can lead to the fact that the ferromagnetic properties of the metal will noticeably deteriorate. Respectively, long heating is usually characteristic of steel with a high content of nickel and chromium, some types of cast iron.

To be sure that the pan has exactly the right parameters, you should purchase special dishes... It will not only allow the use of induction electric cookers of any type without any problems, but it will also provide an opportunity to save energy spent on cooking.

The special designation with which such dishes are labeled looks like spiral. The mark can be found on the packaging, but most often it is applied directly to the bottom of the pan from the outside.

In addition to the desirable presence of a special marker confirming the adaptation of the product to work with induction cookers, there are other requirements as well.

• Correct dimensions. It is optimal if it occupies from 80 to 100% of the area of ​​the hotplate. With a coverage of less than 70%, the induction process simply does not start - the contact will not be enough to turn on the stove.
• Multi-layer bottom. It is especially important for non-round pans. It is optimal if there is a material that distributes heat well inside the steel "pie" of two metal plates. In general, it is enough that the bottom has the necessary properties - this allows you to create ceramic, aluminum and other types of pans with a combined base. This solution can be used on an induction hob.
• Smooth and flat base. It contributes to the correct use of heat, saves energy. If less than 70% of the bottom plane is adjacent to the burner, the stove will simply not work. That is why old pans are often not suitable - their long heating is associated with loose contact with the induction coil.

There are different types of pans used in cooking. In the case of an induction hob, they must be marked with an appropriate sign to confirm the ferromagnetic properties of the bottom. In addition, the presence of a sufficiently thick bottom is important.

The main difference between pans for induction cookers is the material of manufacture - most often it is titanium-coated aluminum, steel, cast iron, which have the necessary parameters for fast and uniform heating. As for the division into types and types, here we are talking mainly about the functional purpose of the product.

It usually has a square or rectangular shape. To interact with the induction hob, the grill pan has a round bottom, from which the rest of the surface is then heated. It is a convenient and safe option for grilling meat and fish at home. The internal grooved bottom allows you to get a beautiful pattern on the surface of the food - just like after a barbecue grill, without leaving your home.

Cookware, traditional for the countries of South-East Asia, is not suitable for induction hobs in its classic design. But there are special series of pans with wok effect, their bottom is even and rather wide, necessarily made of a ferromagnetic alloy... The walls of such models are quite thin, well and quickly warming up over the entire area. In addition, special hobs with spherical burners are available to obtain the effect of immersing the product in the heat of the flame.

Baking pancakes requires special utensils. Frying pans for them in the case of an induction cooker are made practically flat, with sides having a low bevel. It is easy to remove ready-made pancakes and pancakes from them, to turn the products over during the frying process. Necessarily non-stick coating, the bottom can be quite thin - rather uniform heating is important. The optimal diameter is 20-25 cm.

They are designed for long-term simmering of food inside. That's why it is recommended to choose thick-walled cast aluminum or cast iron cookware. An induction disc is placed at the bottom of such a dish (it can also be on the lid if it is used as a separate container). The shape of the brazier is rectangular or oval, it can be placed directly on burners that support heating along an extended circuit.

The rating of the best manufacturers is not complete without the following brands.

• Hackman - Finnish company specializing in the production of cookware for induction cookers. Differs in thoroughness in the approach to the development of their models. Among the brand's products, the Matador series of frying pans for home use with an inner ceramic coating and a base made of cast iron or stainless steel stand out.

• Woll Is a German premium brand. Pays great attention not only to functionality, but also to the aesthetics of its products. The assortment of the company includes both classic pans and woks, saucepans, braziers for preparing more complex dishes. The non-stick coating is made of titanium.

• Fissler Is another German manufacturer that claims to be the world leader in the class of cookware for induction cookers. The company produces classic and pancake pans, woks, equipped with a non-stick ceramic coating. Cookware conducts heat well, makes it possible to control the intensity of roasting.

• Rondell Is a German brand that produces such popular frying pans as Walzer with a three-layer titanium coating and an aluminum base. The popular Evolution-R series is equipped with a multi-layer inner coating with diamond chips for increased durability. The non-removable, thermally insulated handle allows hanging dishes. The service life of the cookware is about 2 years. The most popular size is 28 cm in diameter.

• Riess - Austrian manufacturer, known mainly to European consumers. It produces products in the middle price segment, offers steel pans with multi-layer enamel coating. The Kobaltblau series is positioned as a professional one, there are pans in diameters of 24, 28 and 30 cm. Products do not absorb odors, are easy to clean even in a dishwasher, and have a high heating rate. The optimal solution for every day.

• Baf Is a German brand of the premium segment. Among the latest achievements is the "Gigant newline" series, manufactured according to the most modern standards. The bottom thickness reaches 9 mm, the pans are equipped with a durable non-stick coating, a convenient removable rubberized handle. But there are also limitations - the dishes can withstand heating up to only +260 degrees without loss of non-stick properties. The line includes deep cast pans from 20 to 32 cm, pancake pans.

• Teskoma Is a Czech manufacturer famous for its innovative approach to the creation of a non-stick coating. It received the name "i-Premium Stone", has the properties and texture of natural stone. The inner coating is textured. But there are also disadvantages - the limitation of the temperature regime, the refusal to clean with harsh abrasives, the need to use heat-resistant Teflon blades.

• Lodge Is an American brand specializing in the creation of cast iron cookware. Wear-resistant pans almost never fail. The price of the products is quite budgetary, there is a wide range of sizes.But new cast iron products require a special approach - they need to be hardened so that food does not burn to the walls in the future.

• Fissman Is a Danish company that produces pans for induction cookers, including those with a non-stick coating based on stone chips. The basis of the cookware is aluminum, the bottom is multilayer, it provides a high heating rate. But there are also disadvantages - the company operates in the budget segment and does not care too much about the sufficient thickness of the coating, so it is easy to damage it.

• Tefal - a budget French brand that allows you to purchase both a set and individual pans of the required diameter. The middle price category does not make the brand's products less popular. It is quite high quality and modern. All Tefal pans have a proprietary heating indicator, Pro C non-stick coating, comfortable ergonomic handles (in some models they are removable). Among the popular models one can distinguish "Meteor" - a series with a coating imitating a stone.

The choice of a frying pan for an induction hob is influenced not only by the compatibility of the model with a specific type of hob. Parameters such as ergonomics, convenience and ease of use, functionality and reliability of the product are of great importance. Even the best pan will not heat the bottom evenly if it is too large for the selected hotplate. And the quickly abrading coating will quickly nullify all the advantages of the non-stick function.

When choosing a frying pan for an induction cooker, there are several criteria to pay attention to.

• Manufacturing material. Durable cast iron or copper, which has good thermal conductivity, is considered optimal. Stainless or enamelled steel is quite thin and requires additional outer coating. Aluminum makes the pan as light as possible.
• Coating type. Among non-stick technologies, the diamond dust option is the leader today - it is extremely durable, not prone to the formation of the effect of spot heating. But it greatly increases the cost of the product. A more budget solution would be titanium or ceramic coating. It also prevents food from burning and helps prevent odors from absorbing into the walls of the dishes.
• Diameter... Frying pans for induction hobs are usually made with a diameter of 25-30 cm. This is enough for cooking for 2-4 people. But it is worth focusing on the contours of the induction hob - they must be filled by more than 70%.
• The height of the sides... For frying and stewing dishes, saucepans or pans with high (7-10 cm) sides are chosen. Pancake models have low walls of 1-2 cm. Similar options are chosen for cooking cutlets and potato pancakes.
• Bottom features. It should be multi-layered, thick (preferably about 1 cm), flat. In the right pan, the food will not burn, it will warm up evenly.
• Handle type. They can be stationary - fixed on a permanent basis, removable. The latter are more convenient to wash and store. The optimal material is bakelite, which remains cold even when the walls of the dishes are heated.

For information on how to choose a frying pan for an induction hob, see the next video.