Hello all, have been lurking for the past few days and it seems I’ve discovered where all the former Chowhounders have gone!
On holiday in the summer, I cooked on a Viking gas range and was again struck by how
one piece of cookware (a clad skillet for example) performed so differently on gas than on induction, and also how much more versatile it was on gas than on induction. Induction users will be familiar with the trade-off between heat responsiveness and evenness of heat distribution, which I found to be so much less of an issue on gas.
Over the years I’ve acquired my fair share of skillets in search of the ‘best’ one to cook on my induction hob, and not surprisingly I’ve found I like different skillets for different things. But I have my favourites that have earned their place in the drawer next to the hob:
32cm Fissler Original Profi serving pan with two loop handles - this is the closest I have to a do-it-all skillet, I use it to fry, sauté, braise, etc. etc. I don’t do too much hard searing (like steaks) but when I do this would be the one I use.
13" Lodge cast iron that I like for pancakes and cooking eggs
All-Clad TK rondeau that mostly gets used for stir fries of all things, as it has a wide surface area and being thinner clad, is responsive to heat changes
(Of course I’m not going into all the Dutch oven/sauce pan favourites…)
I’m so curious what other induction users call their favourites for the stovetop tasks that would call for a skillet. Is there such thing as a Jack of all trades for an induction skillet?
Like you, the 32 cm Fissler Original Profi serving pan is one of the top three skillets I use on a regular basis. The other two most frequently used skillets are my Woll 32 cm Titan Nowo nonstick skillet, which I tend to use for making pancakes on weekends. And my 28 cm Paderno Grand Gourmet skillet, which is probably my most frequently used skillet overall. I use it to sauté meat and veggies, as well as mushrooms, on an almost daily basis. If I had to add an honorable mention it would probably be the 28 cm Ballarini 5 mm bare aluminum skillet with an induction interface disc on the bottom. It’s more nonstick than stainless steel and super easy to clean, plus it’s more responsive to temperature changes than the other pans.
Oh that’s interesting - does your Ballarini have an induction-compatible bottom or do you mean you use a separate disc?
I’ve only just recently purchased a nonstick pan to make the one thing I found too difficult in cast iron or stainless - frozen gyoza. I only read about Woll pans after purchasing Anolon Novelle Copper Luxe. I intend to use it very rarely and hopefully never to have to throw it away.
Ah, the Ballarini 6800 series just has thin, perforated sheets of SS affixed to the bottoms. I’d never use an induction interface disc if I can possibly help it – they tend to get overheated and stress the electrical components of most induction cooktops. Plus they completely negate the responsiveness of an induction cooktop, unless you’re willing to constantly move the cookware on and off the disc.
I suspect you’ll be pleased with your Anolon Nouvelle Copper nonstick in any event. The Woll Titan Nowo line is very nicely made and worth considering in the future, however. The pieces I have are all between 9 and 11 mm thick including the SS plate on the bottom.
I used an Anolon nouvelle copper nonstick pan I’d gotten on sale and stashed away(I don’t even remember why I got it) for the first time today - on my induction range. I was very pleased with it. I find that disk bottom frypans work better for me than clad on the stove. I have a Langostina Accademia lagofusion 24cm pan which is great for almost everything I do. It’s a hybrid.
Your Anolon Nouvelle Copper nonstick pan is also a hybrid, don’t forget! And yes, I have Lagostina Accademia Lagofusion skillets in 26 and 28 cm but I tend not to use them as often as the Padernos, for whatever reason. They tend to require more power (and time) to heat up to a comparable temperature, in my experience, and clean-up is always slightly harder (probably because of the conductive sidewalls).
I have two Lagofusion pieces and they’re great. The 26cm Dutch oven I have gets a fair bit of use, but I also have the 26cm loop-handled sauté which is useful for side dishes. They’re very beautiful pieces as well, which never hurts.
Having relegated my Proline to an upstairs wardrobe some time ago, I recently brought it back down to the kitchen after watching some YouTube vidoes of a guy extolling it’s virtues on induction. He made the point that it performs similarly to cast iron, which was a new way of looking at it for me. I intend to play around with it again and see if I like it better than I used. I think the weight used to be an issue for me, now that wouldn’t bother me so much.
I pull out my pan drawer, I see my proline, and then … I choose another pan. I guess I’ll have to give it some induction love. I’m sure it wonders why I never use it. So do I! It just elicits a shrug from me…
For induction stove, I think a resonable thick disc bottom or a thick clad pan are neccessary to ensure even heating and avoid warping. I am also thinking hard to choose between Fissler, Lagostina accademia, Demeyere proline. I choose the 28cm lagostina accademia because it has a both disc bottom and conductive side wall compare to fissler, while it is also lighter than Demeyere proline 28cm. And accademia is the best looking for my taste. But those three pan are less responsive pan and as slow as cast iron pans. I also agree with Am47, with conductive side wall is harder to clean for polymerise oil over long searing.
I also have a 26cm Tefal 3x titanium reinforced Non stick pan with induction sheet on bottom, it serves for fast cooking take and easy cleaning.
