I have an induction stove ; I have used a cast iron trivet under an aluminum pan ( canning pot) and it does work--slowly-- . the trivet must be very flat and low.
This evening, I reassessed all of my pans in terms of magnetism. I have four All-Clad stainless steel pans, and all four of them conduct magnetism well. The lids? No, not so much.
I have two stockpots, both of stainless steel. The smaller one does not conduct magnetism very well, except on the base (it's a metal sandwich) which is the area that counts the most for induction cooktops. I have a larger stockpot that conducts magnetism well, but has no conduction layer on the base.
I also have a large rondeau that again has poor magnetic properties on the sides, but has good magnetism on the bottom.
I have two stainless steel butter warmers, about a 1 cup capacity each, their magnetic qualities are very, very poor (the magnet does still stick, but barely). That might be beneficial for a butter warmer though, don't want those to get too hot.
I have two 100% aluminum pans and unsurprisingly neither one of those two are magnetic. Won't work on induction cooktop by themselves.
The real takeaway point is that stainless steel comes in a wide variety of alloys, some of which contain more ferrous metal than others.
To determine whether or not any given pan will work well on a magnetic induction cooktop, you will need to apply a magnet as a test.
If you are buying the pan without being able to lay your hands on it, you will have to rely on user reviews and hope the retailer has a sensible customer satisfaction return policy.
Many steel pans should work, it's really based on how much ferrous metal is in the pan. As you said, attaching a magnet is the easiest test.
For sure, I have some All-Clad stainless steel pans that have a sufficient amount of ferrous metal to be magnetic. I also have an enameled cast iron Dutch oven which is also a fine candidate for this type of cooktop.
All-Clad as its name suggests has a core inside the stainless steel for even heating. It depends on what the core is made of. The vast majority of stainless pans won't work. All-Clad's best pans have a copper core and those won't work either.
Two of my All-Clad pans are 15-20 years old, the third is about ten years old. I'm pretty sure the core is aluminum which isn't ferrous, yet somehow these stainless steel pans are sufficiently ferrous to hold magnets.
My All-Clad is from the mid seventies. My mom and her friend owned a high end kitchen and home store and sold some of the first All-Clad cookware. They work on induction burners. Oldies, but goodies.
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I have two stockpots, both of stainless steel. The smaller one does not conduct magnetism very well, except on the base (it's a metal sandwich) which is the area that counts the most for induction cooktops. I have a larger stockpot that conducts magnetism well, but has no conduction layer on the base.
I also have a large rondeau that again has poor magnetic properties on the sides, but has good magnetism on the bottom.
I have two stainless steel butter warmers, about a 1 cup capacity each, their magnetic qualities are very, very poor (the magnet does still stick, but barely). That might be beneficial for a butter warmer though, don't want those to get too hot.
I have two 100% aluminum pans and unsurprisingly neither one of those two are magnetic. Won't work on induction cooktop by themselves.
The real takeaway point is that stainless steel comes in a wide variety of alloys, some of which contain more ferrous metal than others.
To determine whether or not any given pan will work well on a magnetic induction cooktop, you will need to apply a magnet as a test.
If you are buying the pan without being able to lay your hands on it, you will have to rely on user reviews and hope the retailer has a sensible customer satisfaction return policy.
If a pan will hold a small magnet, it'll work with an induction cooktop. That's an easiest test for your existing cookware.
For sure, I have some All-Clad stainless steel pans that have a sufficient amount of ferrous metal to be magnetic. I also have an enameled cast iron Dutch oven which is also a fine candidate for this type of cooktop.