without creating intense hot spots that literally warp and destroy your pans
We’ve been using off-the-shelves induction stoves for about 10 years and never had this problem. I would definitely love to see a longer duration of comparison of the heatspots in traditional (non-induction) and induction cookware though.
You always get intense heat where the bottom of the pan makes contact and then the sides are hundreds of degrees cooler, which means your French omelettes stick to the sides of the pan and get ruined
Do you not have nonstick cookware (cast iron, carbon steel, etc)?
I have carbon steel and stainless steel, as well as cast iron. I don’t use nonstick whatsoever. It is well known that induction doesn’t perform well with carbon steel. The issue is carbon steel’s poor heat conductivity which makes it very difficult for heat to spread up the sides of the pan. Gas doesn’t have this issue because the flames and hot gases wrap around the sides of the pan and heat them directly. Having hot pan sides is critical to prevent the eggs from sticking when you tilt the pan to roll up a French omelette.
As for warping? Just search on YouTube. There’s tons of videos showing how easy it is to warp a pan on induction: just use high heat. This is never an issue on gas because of the superior evenness of heating, so you can crank gas as high as you want. Yes, you can turn the induction heat way down to avoid warping but then your performance and responsiveness goes out the window and you spend a ton of time waiting around for the pan to preheat.
Another issue is when you’re searing meats, frying eggs, or sauteeing veggies and basting by spooning hot fat over them. To do this you need to tilt the pan at an angle so the fat pools on one side and then rapidly baste the food. Unfortunately, induction burners stop heating as you try to lift and tilt the pan. Plus the sides of the pan aren’t getting hot so the fat cools when it reaches the sides of the pan as you tilt. You can still do the technique but it’s much slower, clumsier, and less effective without gas (which continues heating no matter how you tilt the pan).
We’ve been using off-the-shelves induction stoves for about 10 years and never had this problem. I would definitely love to see a longer duration of comparison of the heatspots in traditional (non-induction) and induction cookware though.
Do you not have nonstick cookware (cast iron, carbon steel, etc)?
I have carbon steel and stainless steel, as well as cast iron. I don’t use nonstick whatsoever. It is well known that induction doesn’t perform well with carbon steel. The issue is carbon steel’s poor heat conductivity which makes it very difficult for heat to spread up the sides of the pan. Gas doesn’t have this issue because the flames and hot gases wrap around the sides of the pan and heat them directly. Having hot pan sides is critical to prevent the eggs from sticking when you tilt the pan to roll up a French omelette.
As for warping? Just search on YouTube. There’s tons of videos showing how easy it is to warp a pan on induction: just use high heat. This is never an issue on gas because of the superior evenness of heating, so you can crank gas as high as you want. Yes, you can turn the induction heat way down to avoid warping but then your performance and responsiveness goes out the window and you spend a ton of time waiting around for the pan to preheat.
Another issue is when you’re searing meats, frying eggs, or sauteeing veggies and basting by spooning hot fat over them. To do this you need to tilt the pan at an angle so the fat pools on one side and then rapidly baste the food. Unfortunately, induction burners stop heating as you try to lift and tilt the pan. Plus the sides of the pan aren’t getting hot so the fat cools when it reaches the sides of the pan as you tilt. You can still do the technique but it’s much slower, clumsier, and less effective without gas (which continues heating no matter how you tilt the pan).
Here’s some videos on the technique:
Steak
Eggs