You just bought a new kitchen appliance but need to know which dishes to use on an induction stove. Don’t worry! This article will explain what dishes you should use and what you should never use.
On what kinds of dishes can an induction stove be used?
Induction stoves work because of the electromagnetic field and the eddy currents it creates. For these currents to work and for the dishes to heat up, they must be made of certain materials. For induction, hobs and dishes made of
- Steel
- Aluminum
- Cast iron
Another important requirement is that all containers must have a ferromagnetic bottom. A simple magnet can help determine which dishes can be used on induction hobs. If a magnet sticks to the bottom of the dish, it is most likely safe to use on an induction stove. A special mark is a sure sign that it will work with the stove. What does the symbol on induction Cookware mean? This icon looks like five turns of a coil for an electromagnet, and it says “Induction” on it (in English, at the bottom).
To save money on pans and pots with magnets on the bottom, special stickers are sometimes put on the outside of the bottom. But this is only a temporary fix and not the best way to get things done. Much better to buy an adapter disc or a set of dishes for induction hobs.
In addition to the material, what other qualities should be considered when choosing suitable dishes? Pay attention to the bottom’s diameter.
With these parameters, the area of contact with the burner will be just right. It’s important to know that if you’ve used dishes for cooking on a gas burner before, you’ll need to buy new ones for induction equipment.
What can you cook on an induction stove?
On an induction hob, you can’t use dishes made of glass, ceramic, or copper. The same is true for products made of other materials that are not magnetic. If you put a container like this on an induction stove, it just won’t work.
Dishes with a thin bottom can’t be used on an induction stove. For fast and coordinated cooking, you’ll need thick (at least 2–6 mm) pans with perfectly flat bottoms that stick tightly to the stove. This bottom will ensure that dishes heat evenly and won’t change shape as they heat.
Can you use enameled pots and pans on an induction stove? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by customers. It depends on what’s at the bottom of the dish. A container like this can be used if the magnet sticks well to the bottom and the surface is smooth and thick enough.
What kind of induction symbol goes on the dishes?
Many companies put a special mark on the bottom of the dishes that tell you whether or not they are ferromagnetic. It is a picture of an electromagnet with several coils. All manufacturers don’t use the same plan. Only this main picture is okay.
On an induction stove, frying pans, kettles, goose pots, and other dishes with this icon heat up quickly and don’t make annoying noises while cooking.
What dishes should you buy for an induction stove? Before buying, it’s important to look at the icon and the manufacturer’s suggestions. You must write on the packaging if it works with induction hobs.
Induction hobs impact cooking
Before discussing the four best induction hob recipes, it’s helpful to understand how its technology affects food preparation. Induction hobs use electromagnetic fields to heat containers, not glass. That eliminates residual heat, unlike ceramic hobs.
Residual heat on the hob glass after the zone is turned off can cook the pan or pot’s contents, but it can also scald. Induction hobs decrease that option because the pan or pot loses warmth faster.
Induction hobs heat containers equally because their bases are flat. Diffusers enhance this function.
Induction cooktops heat up quickly, eliminating those initial seconds when the pan or pot is heated but not yet at cooking temperature. Thus, a typical, sometimes unintentional mistake—pouring food into the pot or pan prematurely—is eliminated.
Unlike a ceramic cooktop, the user has many more temperature levels.
4 recipes that are best for an induction cooker
Now that we know how your induction hob affects cooking, we’ll show you four great recipes.
Beef Stew
The beef stew cooks best on induction hobs, which maintain a low heat throughout the pot. And what better than a stew to cook in this way? Our beef stew proposal includes the following:
- Veal meat (needle or Morillo)
- Carrot and Onion
- Green or red pepper
- Garlic cloves
- Home-fried tomato
- White wine
- 1 bay leaf Salt
- Black pepper
- Water
Simple preparation. Season and brown the meat in the casserole. After that, the meat is removed, and the peeled and sliced vegetables sautéed. Fried tomato follows. Add the meat and wine again to raise the cooking temperature. Finally, add water and simmer on low heat to avoid drying the dish.
Grilled chicken fillets
As mentioned, induction cookers heat the pan instantly and evenly. Thus, multiple steaks can be grilled at once with the same result. For this reason, we include this effortless dish for grilled chicken fillets on our list.
Ingredients:
- Breast fillets
- Lemon\Pepper
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Provencal herbs
As the components suggest, one of the secrets is the spice blend, which you must customize. Another trick is marinating the breasts in lemon juice and spices for 15 minutes. After that, heat the pan without oil and add the breast fillets round-by-round. The results will be juicy. And if you want to produce a striking and attractive impression, you can use pans with a grill-type base, marking the pieces with the distinct lines of a grill.
Valencian paella
Most purists may be astonished by this proposition, but nothing precludes cooking a Valencian paella on an induction cooktop or any other rice from our gastronomy. Sailors: it will be harder to get the same socarrat, or crunchy crust, in a paella cooked on a gas burner. However, it has another advantage: the rice will cook evenly throughout the container, and if we have adequate temperature control, it will be difficult for it to go wrong. Common ingredients:
- Rice
- Chicken/rabbit meat
- Green beans
- Sliced tomato
- Salt
- Saffron
- Rosemary
- Water
In a nutshell, cook the meat and veggies, add water (or broth that may have been prepared separately to add flavor, such as leftover liquid from a vegetable puree), boil the rice, add the saffron threads, and wait. The last minutes should be resting with a cloth covering the paella.
Omelet
Spanish or potato omelet concludes our introductory hob gastronomic suggestions. Why? This is precise because these plates and the associated containers are fantastic for flawlessly creating an omelet on all sides without sticking. If you drop an egg when turning it over, it’s easy to clean! The induction hob glass does not heat up. Thus it will not be coated or burned. To prepare a potato omelet, you will need the following:
- Eggs
- Potato
- Onion
- Salt
- Olive oil
Beyond these essential ingredients, you can explore by adding cheese and milk for consistency, tuna or chorizo for taste, and yeast to grow like traditional bars.
These are only four dishes that will taste excellent on an induction cooker. However, it can cook any frying pan, casserole, or clay pot dish with its adapter or diffuser disc. With some practice, you’ll get the experience you need to master any recipe!