Induction cookware is one of the most popular gadgets in the cookware industry. But, this cookware worth the hype? or what makes these cookwares unique? Can you use induction cookware on a gas stove? What are they made of? And the list of overwhelmed questionnaires goes on.

Let’s begin with some factually- supported reasons why you should or shouldn’t bring these cookwares inside your kitchen?

What makes induction cooking/cookwares unique?

The strong magnetic field!!

The Induction cookware is different from others based upon their buildup and the mechanism they use to transfer heat. These flat-bottomed cookwares have ferromagnetic properties as they are (mostly) made of stainless steel or cast iron.

Experts recommend using induction cooktops with these pans and pots. Such cooktops have a metallic coil beneath their surface that generates a strong electromagnetic field between two surfaces. Hence, an alternating current source activates the electrons, which set up the energy field for cooking. It generates an eddy current that heats the magnetic base of the cookware and cooks the food.

Let’s discuss some of the thought-provoking facts about using induction cookware.

Swift cooking

The #1 advantage of using induction cookware on a gas stove is its ability to cook food in less time. Gas stoves don’t require electric resources for cooking, so the heat transfer becomes direct. The flame heats the surface evenly without being delayed or lost to surroundings. Hence, cooking in induction pans or pots using a gas stove saves more time than automized cooktops.

Safe to use

The easy, flexible cooking and temperature control features of these magnetic cookware are highly appreciated by expert chefs. They transfer heat to food without spreading over its entire surface. So, you can touch the pans during or after cooking without hurting your hand or sensitive ladles.

Now with induction cookware in your kitchen, you don’t need to babysit your food with a fear of getting it burnt on high flame.

Little maintenance properties

When the cookware cooks food evenly, the chances of burning are minimum. No burnt food means no stuck residues. So they are pretty easy to clean and maintain. Just a little seasoning with a quality lubricant like olive or coconut oil is enough to extend its usage.

Eco-friendly

Induction cooking is highly safe for human health and environmental scenarios. Because it:

• Uses less energy as compared to traditional cookware
• It doesn’t emit carcinogenic gases on high flame
• Dissipates heat; preventing overheating of the environment

Versatile nature

The best part about switching to induction cookware is its compatibility with a given cooktop. You can use glass, induction, electricity, or gas stoves to cook food in induction cookware. The care guides for each type of cookware may vary, but the cooking experience and results would be satisfying.

Can you use induction cookware on a gas stove- addressing the elephant in the room!

We’ve already discussed the versatile nature of induction cookwares with different cooktops. So the answer is pretty simple. Yes, you can use induction cookware on a gas stove!

The compatibility of the gas stove with the interior with which the induction cookware is made is the only thing that matters.

For convenient usage, you should be using these cookwares carefully and only with compatible stoves. Gas stoves are usually compatible with the following materials:

1. Stainless steel
2. Copper
3. Aluminum
4. Cast iron
5. Graniteware

Each material shows different properties depending upon its construction and temperature ranges. Let’s discuss each type of cookware in detail and understand which induction cookwares go best with a gas stove.

Stainless steel

The pioneer of the cookware industry, stainless steel pans and pots are an excellent choice for a gas stove. The pure metallic cookwares serve best when combined with induction technology. These are ideal for all kinds of cooking operations such as simmering, frying, baking, or sauteing.

Gas stoves don’t have any indirect medium to transfer heat for cooking, which means the flame and pan are in direct contact. The Stainless steel utensils are durable enough to withstand these extreme heating ranges.

The inert nature of stainless steel is perfect for food with acidic nature. Even your ceramic-coated pans and pots have a limited tolerance in terms of the temperature range. Exceeding these limits can cause trouble.

That’s why induction cookwares with stainless steel interiors are ideal for cooking food on gas stoves.

The dark side of stainless steel cookware

These stainless steel cookwares have some limitations as well. The food we cook in these pans or pots at high temperatures mostly sticks to its surface. The cleaning and maintenance are a bit hectic than ceramic or aluminum cookware.

Expert recommendation:

Coating stainless steel with a good conductor (i.e., Aluminum) can increase its durability and heat-conducting abilities.

Copper

Just like aluminum and steel, copper heats up quickly and provides excellent cooking properties. This rugged metal provides solid adhesive properties to the ferromagnetic base of induction cookware. Unlike most other metals, copper binds the magnetic plate quite strongly without leaving room for extra spaces.

These empty spaces may create nuisance in the future by inviting troubles like corrosion or broken magnetic chips. So copper pans or pots could be a great choice as induction cookware.

Expert recommendation:

Try finding copper pots whose thickness is between 3mm to 2mm. This way, the base of your induction pans would be within safe limits and won’t damage readily. Stainless steel can also be coated with copper for efficient induction properties.

Aluminum

Aluminum is the #1 choice for making great cookware!

Aluminum is leading many other metals for making excellent quality cookware because it’s:

• An excellent conductor of heat and electricity; transmitting heat equally
• Light-weight
• Easy to clean
• Doesn’t emit harmful chemicals
• Binds coatings quite easily

You might think with all these properties, it should be the best metal for induction cookware. Right? But here is a fantastic twist! Though aluminum is an excellent conductor of electricity, its lightweight and hollow interior doesn’t convert it into heat as effectively as steel. Hence, to make it responsive to magnetic fields set by eddy current (in induction cookware), the aluminum base should be filled or supported by a stainless steel disc.

Cast iron

Cast iron or enameled cast iron both make ideal induction or regular cookwares. These close relatives of stainless steel have excellent properties that might provoke you to bring them home for your gas stove.

The cast-iron cookware is:

• Durable and resistant to direct flame heating of gas stoves
• Heavy with great power to dissipate heat
• Transfers heat efficiently without damaging food or magnetic coatings
• Excellent aesthetic appeal that provides dual-tones within the same cookware

But cast iron isn’t the best option as induction cookware for your gas stove. Its strength against corrosion is relatively more minor as compared to other metals. The magnetic layer may start chipping in response to subtle stress. These gaps resulting from cracked magnetic layers affected the induction properties of cookware. Hence, I don’t prefer choosing cast iron as an ideal metal to bring home for your gas stove.

Granite

Stainless steel is heated with porcelain at elevated temperatures to obtain an irresistible metallic cast. The resulting metal cast is known as granite, which has excellent properties as cookware.

Granite cookwares are easy to clean, maintain, and protect from extreme heat conditions. As induction cookware, heat transmission from the magnetic layer to food is quite efficient than cast iron.

So, investing in something like granite would be worth spending than ceramic or other types of cookware.

Everyday cleaning guide for induction cookware

Cleaning induction cookware isn’t a scary or hectic deal, but you should keep a few things in mind before bringing them to the sink. Though induction pans aren’t delicate, just like non-stick-coated ones, you still have to be careful while washing. The magnetic coating at the base of induction cookwares demands you to be a little more careful and avoid its damage.

Follow these washing tips to increase the lifetime of your induction pan and avoid any hazards.

• Don’t wash the burning red hot pans with cold water. Or in other words, don’t immerse the burning pan in the water right after removing it from the stove.
• If you’ve cooked something sticky, just like a caramel or sugar syrup in your induction pan, wash it off as soon as possible. If it remains unwashed for longer, it will stick to the surface and won’t go off without harsh scrubbing!
• I always use a mild or recommended cleanser to wash my induction or other cookware because they don’t harsh with their interior.
• I never recommend using harsh scrubbers or dishwashers to clean induction cookware. But there are many mild scrubbing brushes or pads readily available in the market and can do this job quite effectively.
• Wash your cookware every time you cook something in them.

How to get rid of burnt food off induction cookware?

It doesn’t matter what kind of cookware you use for cooking; burnt food or sticky stains will always be there to mess with you. It might be a problem, but not an impossible one!

I got you covered with this handy guide that will help you remove tough stains from your induction cookware.

Hot water soak

Soaking in hot water could be the ultimate solution in most cases. For Example, if you were frying some omelets or pancakes in your induction pan and it stuck to the surface, you only need to soak it in hot water. Give it a stay time of 5 minutes and wash it off using a gentle dishwasher.

But for the toughest stains, we need to proceed further.

Cover it with baking soda paste

Baking soda is a great scrubbing agent for dishes, fabrics, and teeth. Just mix 2 tbsp of baking soda with some water to make a thick consistent paste. Apply it all over the burnt surface of your pan and leave it for 30 minutes. The thick fizzy paste will exfoliate the residues of burnt food and come off the surface quickly.

Use white vinegar as an alternative to baking soda

White vinegar has a foul odor but excellent cleaning efficacy!

The procedure to remove stains from your cookwares using vinegar is quite simple. Mix 1 cup white vinegar with water and pour this solution into the burnt pan. Simmer it for 15-20 minutes until the adhered food leaves the surface. Discard the solution, let it reach the normal temperature, and wash it off with a good dishwasher.

Can you use induction cookware on a gas stove forever?

Well, the answer to this question is relatively straightforward: you can use your cookware as long as they are non-hazardous to your health. Induction cookware is non-toxic until:

• The magnetic coating starts chipping off
• Their interior is of superior quality

Any cookware that has some coating on it requires special care. Once this coating comes off, chemicals start leaching from its surface. Even though it’s present on the outside, it can still react with the flame of your gas stove and produce toxic fumes. These fumes either get mixed with your food or enter your body through inhalation.

So, keep the coatings intact and make sure the steel interior is thick enough to withstand temperature or other possible fluctuations.

Can you use induction cookware on a gas stove just like an induction cooktop?

No, there are certain practices for dealing with both cooktops. Induction cooktops are pretty easy to operate and work effectively as compared to electric and gas stoves.

Flameless cooking on induction cooktops creates a significant difference. In the case of a gas stove, you need to monitor the cookware over time while cooking.

Whereas induction cookwares are free from such nuisance!

It’s similar to the fearless cooking theme where you don’t need to worry about babysitting your cookware continuously because the temperature in induction cooktops is controlled automatically by the sensors.

Electric vs. gas stove- which one is best for your induction cookware?

Both gas and electric stoves have their benefits and limitations. Some features of both stoves can suit your cooking needs while others may not. Let’s have a quick review of both stovetops to understand which one works best inside your kitchen.

Fuel requirements

Gas stoves run on fuel; hence they don’t require electricity. A full gas container can serve you cooking meals for grand dinner parties or a few family meals. But, once finished, you’ll need to refill it overtime again.

On the other hand, electric stoves need a constant supply of electricity to work efficiently. There’s no alternative to it. But the advantage here’s: you don’t need to refill it over and over again, just like a gas stove.

Cleaning and maintenance practices

Electric stoves win over gas when it comes to cleaning and maintenance practices!

Gas stoves have several curves that are often loaded with grime and grease. These curves are hard to clean as compared to the smooth surface of electric stoves. The plain automated surface of electric stoves is easy to clean but requires maintenance more frequently than gas stoves. The sensitive glass surfaces of these cooktops are easy to damage through harsh rubs.

Budget-friendly

Though these gas stoves cook precisely through their versatile features, they can still cost you extra bucks. They need regular maintenance and fuel to operate. Unlike gas stoves, electric cooktops require a one-time investment. They don’t require replacing their function parts repeatedly. Electric stoves are also free from fuel costs!

Safety

The safety of your cooking gadgets depends on their usage. Irrespective of the interior or coatings on the cookware, you should understand the following conditions:

• What kind of cookwares is excellent for your stove?
• Keeping your kids away from cooking gadgets
• Reading the user manual carefully
• Discontinue using the cookware if the magnetic coatings have started chipping off

Based on all these factors, it should be easier for you to choose which type of cookware is ideal for your induction cookware. You’re free to consider every point and make the right choice.

Things to avoid while using induction cookware on a gas stove

It’s useless to read long lists of cookware compatible with a gas stove until you don’t know how to take care of them. To extend the usage of these magnetic coated stainless cookware, you’ve to follow the instructions mentioned below and on the user guide that comes with your cookware.

1. Don’t wash your induction cookware in dishwashing machines. The magnetic coating is hard enough to withstand heating or other harsh maintenance, but still, careless washing can affect their durability.
2. Don’t use steel wipes or curvy ladles for cooking with induction cookware.
3. Bleach is the worst enemy for your cookware. Despite the exclusive cleansing action, bleach not only ruins your cookware but also produces chemicals that are hazardous to human health. So, it’s better to spend extra money on expensive dishwashing cleaners than compromising on inferior quality products such as bleach.
4. To make your stove last longer, cover it adequately after cooking and cleaning. It not only protects the surface against dirt and grime but also prevents it from scratches.
5. Turn off the flame after usage and make sure not to put empty cookware on the flame.

Is induction cookware safe to use for acidic foods?

Yes, induction cookwares are inert to any alkaline or acidic solution.

Unlike other coated cookware, the presence of stainless steel core protects the cookware against unwanted spills. You can cook your favorite marinated dishes (including extra hot spices and citrus extracts) without any hesitation. But don’t forget to follow the washing prerequisites.

Does the anodization of aluminum and producing ferromagnetic bottom share the same phenomenon?

No, both are different and independent phenomena that make the bottom of your cookware more robust and durable.

In the anodization process, the metal (in this case aluminum) is hardened using electromagnetic procedures. The objective of anodization is to increase the durability and strength of the metal so it doesn’t alter under unfavorable temperatures. Later, it’s coated with some non-stick layers such as ceramic or Teflon.

On the other hand, ferromagnetic bottoms are specially designed to induce a magnetic field in the cookware. This field is induced utilizing an unsteady current source.

In both cases, these mechanisms are incorporated as additional entities to improve the existing efficacy of cookware.

The final takeaway

Induction cookware is a worthy addition to the cooking industry.

This cookware is different from ceramic and other coated pans and pots with great desirable features. The primary concern about these cookware is their safety and compatibility with the stoves or cooktops.

In this blog post, I’ve discussed every aspect of induction cooking or cookware in detail to answer your query related to this class of cookware. Based on all this factual data, it might be easier for you now to decide whether you can use induction cookware on a gas stove or not.

If you found this information useful, please share your experience in the comments below!