Does Hard Anodized Cookware Work on Induction Cooktops?
Induction cooktops are a very new type of cooktop that have not been around for all that many years. If you need a kitchen that looks great, you want to boil water fast, and you want a cooktop that won’t waste a lot of energy, an induction cooktop is the way to go.
Now, with that being said, in case you didn’t know, induction cooktops require special hardware to function. In other words, only special and specific pots and pans will work on induction cooktops.
If you don’t have the right kind of pots and pans, they simply won’t transfer the heat and get hot. They just won’t work. Well, what about hard anodized cookware? Does hard anodized cookware work on induction cooktops? Can you use anodized cookware on induction cooktop?
Checkout our honest Nuwave Induction Cooktop Review here
What is Hard Anodized Cookware and What’s So Good About Hard Anodized Induction Cookware?
Anodizing metal is a technique that was first developed by Russian scientists, with the point being to make metal tough enough to withstand the harsh conditions of space. The anodizing process involves subjecting metal, usually aluminum, to an electrolytic process at temperatures below the freezing mark. This involves using a high-intensity electric current.
The aluminum is submerged in a bath of chemicals, at which point an electric current is applied to it. This then causes a layer of oxide to be created on the metal, which then hardens and makes hard anodized induction cookware highly resistant to corrosion, extreme temperatures, and more.
What is interesting to note is that hard anodizing is actually a process which speeds up the normal process of oxidization, which is usually a bad thing in theory, but not when it comes to this.
So, What are Some of the Benefits of Using Hard Anodized Cookware?
This type of cookware is extremely strong and resilient. It has an amazing amount of corrosion, heat and impact resistance.
Another great thing about anodized surfaces is that they are extremely hard and resistant to both peeling and chipping, thus resulting in an overall longer lifespan.
Yet another benefit you get with hard anodized cookware for induction cooktop is that it is very smooth and nonporous. For the world of cooking, this means that this type of cookware is an excellent nonstick option. No, it’s not quite as good at preventing food from sticking as something like Teflon, but it’s still not too bad in this regard.
Due to all of these features, hard anodized cookware is also very easy to clean with more or less any type of sponge or cloth.
How an Induction Cooktop Works
Induction cooktops work with electromagnetics. The cooktop contains a copper coil through which an alternating current is passed, which then generates a magnetic field. You then need to have cookware with ferromagnetic bases for this to work. The magnetic ions pass through the base of the ferromagnetic cookware, which results in a current of resistance, and therefore the creation of heat.
Therefore, the main point to keep in mind is that any cookware which is to be used with an induction cooktop needs to have a ferromagnetic base; any kind of pot or pan which does not have a ferromagnetic base will not work with induction cooktops.
Are Hard Anodized Pots and Pans Compatible With Induction Cooktops?
For the most part no, hard anodized cookware is not compatible with the induction cooktop. The reason why hard anodized cookware will not work with induction cooktops is because it contains far too much aluminum, and moreover, it does not contain enough iron or steel to make it ferromagnetic. Every pot or pan that is to work with an induction cooktop requires a ferromagnetic base.
There are a few special options you can go with — hard anodized pots and pans which are specially made to be ferromagnetic, with the aim of making them work with induction cooktops. However, most simply do not come with this.
There are also some special interface disks, which are ferromagnetic disks which can be placed between the induction cooktop and nonferromagnetic pots and pans, which will be heated up by an induction cooktop, and therefore heat the pots and pans on top. However, the bottom line is that for the most part, aluminum hard anodized cookware is not compatible with an induction cooktop.
Induction Cooktop Compatible Cookware
The fact of the matter is that there are only a few types of pots and pans that will work with induction cooktops. The main point here is that your cookware needs to be magnetic or ferromagnetic to work.
Your best bets include cookware made out of stainless steel, cast iron, and normal iron too. If the metal in question is ferromagnetic, it will work. However, any kind of cookware that is made of glass, copper, or aluminum will not work.
Conclusion
The fact of the matter here is that induction cooktops come with many benefits. Mainly, they save energy when compared to gas or basic electric cooktops; they can cook food in a fraction of the time; and quite simply, they look beautiful and elegant too.
However, you need specialized cookware to use with these induction cooktops, ferromagnetic cookware to be specific. Whenever you go to buy cookware for your induction cooktop, it’s a good idea to read the label to see if anodized aluminum induction is indeed compatible or not.