Can I use cast iron on an Induction Cooktop?

If you have upgraded your cooktop to an induction cooktop, great move! Induction cooktops have so much to offer. They have many benefits energy efficient, safer, look beautiful, and will still cook as well as any other cooktop. Induction is nothing like gas or the older coil electric stoves. Either of those could be a fire hazard if the wrong thing got too close. Of course, if you have an induction stove or your thinking about purchasing one, you have done a little homework on them. There is one consideration you have to consider when using an induction cookstove. That is what type of cookware will you be using with it. That is the one thing that not everyone knows. Some just assume that you can use any cookware.

Can I use cast iron on an Induction Cooktop?

So you need to know, that no you cannot use all cookware with an induction cookstove. You have to use a metal that can be magnetized with your induction stove. In the scientific explanation that is how it works. Through magnetic waves between the induction and the cookware, you are using. There are some pans that will not magnetize. However, some that are not do have a bottom that is. There are easy ways to tell if your cookware will work or not. Just take a magnet and touch the bottom of your pan with it. If it sticks to the bottom of the pan, it will work. If it doesn’t it means it cannot be magnetized and will not work with the induction cooktop. There are some obvious ones such as glass and aluminum. Unless they have the bottom that was mentioned before.

If you are old school and love your cast iron pans, they are a real winner on induction. There are some that say not to use them because they will scratch. Well, tell you the truth any pan has the potential to scratch if you are sliding it along the stove. It can just happen easier with cast iron pans they are heavier. So go ahead and use your case iron like you always have. Common sense just has to be used with all cookware usage. In most cases it may even be easier since using induction heat can be controlled. There is no more getting the heat just right like you had to with older methods. It will be easier to figure out what your magic heat number is with an induction cooktop. With an induction cooktop, it is also a good idea not to slam pots down too hard. Since it still utilizes a glass top, it has the potential to crack. Not from the heat not from the pan but from the force. Normal use should not pose an issue with breakage. So don’t think you have to give up on your favorite cookware, just learn how good it feels to cook better with induction cooking with your cast iron! Let others know how easy it is too, so they know you had the same question too!