Moving to an induction range

Cooking Discussions
1

I’m moving from a house where I’ve cooked many years on a beloved gas Viking range to a house with a GE Profile 30" induction range. I’ve already replaced my old All Clad aluminum bottom layer triply with new Tramontina stainless bottom triply, but I still need to replace my aluminum nonstick skillets. I do have a Lodge 12" skillet and an unknown 8" cast iron skillet, but they can get heavy and awkward for everyday. So I’m thinking of replacing the nonstick with carbon steel. My concern is all the warping I’ve heard about online of carbon steel on induction burners. Is this fear real? Is there a way to use carbon steel skillets that I can genuinely expect not to warp them? Or should I just use the Lodge and live with the fact that my wife will never use it because it’s too heavy for her? Thanks for your help with this 1st world problem.
JB

2

I have the exact stove you’re moving to. I’ve never warped anything. I rarely use the highest setting, even with my carbon steel. I have had a cheap tri ply pan warp on a regular electric burner, though, and not using the highest setting. I heat my pans slowly, and try to match their size as closely as I can figure to the size of the coil. I’m sure there are lots of suggestions already in threads here.

1 Like
3

I have no carbon steel pans… but I do have some tramontina non-stick aluminum with induction compatible disks fused to the bottom.

They work quite well and have very even heating (frequently used for sauces and other delicates).

4

Thanks for your thoughts. Your advice was pretty much what I’ve heard about how to use induction safely, but hearing first hand about using my new range is great. There sure are lots of horror stories out there too. It will be interesting adapting my cooking to the new range.

5

Thanks for your words on Tramontina. I’ve been using a Tramontina aluminum nonstick 8" skillet that was recommended by the NY Times’ Wire Cutter. It worked great on the gas stove. Both the NYT review and my experience with the skillet were in my thinking in selecting the Tramontina tryply.

6

I’m happy with mine. No horror stories. It beats the glasstop electric that it replaced. Cleanup is an unexpected plus. No burned-onto-the-glass cleanup. horror stories