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Comment by PragmaticPulp | Hacker News Reader

> That sounds great to me, but I don’t see apartment buildings here in NYC being built with induction cook tops.

Very true for the average apartment.

Two (huge) obstacles for induction cooktops:

1) They're still more expensive than a non-induction electric cooktop. Might not be a big deal in a $1 million apartment buildout, but if someone is remodeling a block of apartments that are going to rent out no matter what they contain, the remodelers are going to get the cheaper non-induction equipment.

2) They depend on the type of cookware used. Again, not a big deal if you're a homeowner spending $$$ on a remodel and cookware to go with it. But it is a big deal if you're trying to rent out apartments to people who have cookware and you don't want to get constant calls about the fancy cooktop not working.

It's not realistic to expect the average NYC apartment to get fancy induction cooktops. They're just going to get the cheap electric units.

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> They're still more expensive than a non-induction electric cooktop

I don't know where to buy cooktops in the US so I can't do a comparison, but on one of the biggest websites in the UK the cheapest induction hob is £105 right now, and the cheapest ceramic hob is £80.

> They depend on the type of cookware used.

You can buy a pad from amazon for less than $10 that will let you use any cookware on an induction hob. Most cookware _is_ suitable (I bought a new pan before the holidays and even the cheapest non stick pans had a stainless steel layer on the bottom)

While I was waiting for the electrician to add a new circuit for our new induction oven (replacing an aga), we bought a £35 plug in induction hot plate. 80% of our existing pans were induction ready too

It's also important to note that you likely don't need a new circuit if you already have a ceramic electric hob, only if you're installing a new one. I also just did a quick google and in the supermarkets around me, the only pan I could find under £30 that isn't induction compatible is a £10 wok from sainsburys. Everything else had a steel plate.

I don’t “buy” the cookware argument. A cast iron skillet, a pot, and a good saucepan are enough for most folks, can be acquired for under a hundred bucks.

> A cast iron skillet, a pot, and a good saucepan are enough for most folks,

There's a reason 99% of people have non-stick aluminum cookware. Everything else is horrible, and I say that from bitter experience. How often do you scramble eggs on your cast iron skillet?

That said...

> can be acquired for under a hundred bucks.

You can certainly get a small set of non-stick aluminum cookware with induction plates built in for under $100, however, it's not the easiest thing to find in the first place.

I ONLY use a cast iron pan. Every flatmate we've had have ended up scratching the shit out of our non-sticks (even after educating them on how to use it...).

Cooking on cast iron is great- you simply heat it on a low temp with some oil on the surface first, and scrambled eggs / ommelet is no problem.

It's pretty heavy to hold with one hand, but overtime I've gained stronger wrist strength and can handle it no problem now.

We're on our third non stick, but the cast iron is still going strong.

> Every flatmate we've had have ended up scratching the shit out of our non-sticks (even after educating them on how to use it...).

The rule is simple: those pans must never even be looked at by something metallic during use or cleaning. Wood or plastic are fine. I use wooden tools. Fingernails are not OK too.

Of course flatmates use to be quite anarchic and careless especially young ones.

Flatmates can also do bad things to cast iron, e.g. dump them in the dishwasher and let them rust. Can't tell you how many times I've had to reseason a pan. After a point I just stopped trying to educate them and said, "you buy your own stuff and feel free to ruin it if that's how you want to treat your stuff".

What happens to wooden tools after they are used? In my experience they end up in the dishwasher where they get ruined.

I put wooden spoons in the dishwasher. They don't last as long as they might, but they cost €1.

I'll handwash more expensive wooden tools.

Try bamboo. Can be soaked, it's great.

I wash them with my hands. Dish soap and warm water.

I don’t understand why carbon steel isn’t more popular in the US.

Other than heat retention, it’s as good if not better than cast iron in every way, and it’s way lighter to boot.

Agreed. We (US) own a couple carbon steel pans of different sizes. Incredible cookware for <$100 total. Far and away cheaper than our Le Creuset cookware and in many respects just as good

I hear your argument about the needs of tenants and don’t disagree about your general point. I just wanted to add that I’ve given up entirely on non-stick skillets. The finish inevitably comes off that I probably ate or it loses it’s non-stick properties (presumably from microscopic portions coming off that I probably ate) and I have to bin it.

So I actually do cook scrambled eggs (and omelets) in a well seasoned carbon steel pan. I’ve made eggs fried over easy in my cast iron. It requires butter and the pan has to be the right temperature (it sticks more if you start too cold), but it’s doable.

It does stick a touch more than non-stick, but it’s not difficult to clean by any measure.

We’ve been using All Clad non-stick pans (below) heavily for maybe 8 years and they haven’t lost their non-stickiness. We tried many others, including a different kind of All Clad non-stick that didn’t last even a year, we’re very happy with these.

https://www.amazon.com/All-Clad-E785S264-Anodized-Nonstick-D...

I had the same experience as you. Thought I was doing something wrong and went with an expensive coated pan. Still lost its nonstick after a year. Have since changed to uncoated pans from tramontina. It took some time understanding temperatures with the pans as sticking and burning both can be avoided, but are much more apparent with these. I actually asked a salesperson to upsell me their expensive coated pans and the amount of work they laid out was basically the same as my uncoated pans, except that mine will not stop working because some proprietary magic dust isn't working anymore

> How often do you scramble eggs on your cast iron skillet?

Almost daily, through there are things one leearn. Butter is a must, especially in term of flavor, and if you fry bacon before then you need to let it cool down for a bit or the egg white will get bubbly.

I find the cultural aspect interesting. Non-stick teflon frying pans tend to degrade over time and as such, do not get passed down when people here move out. It was also not something that we used when I was young since they easily broke if misused. That is th part I suspect will change with time.

Ikea, $60. Or $15 for an even cheaper set.

Maybe this is because induction hobs are much more common in Europe.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/annons-5-piece-cookware-set-gla...

I'm in the US. I went and checked the pots and pans in my kitchen. Out of five pots four are magnetic. And we have a cast iron pan. I assume that means they'd work on an induction stove.

I cook on cast-iron twice a day, just about anything. Once you actually learn how to cook on it, there are zero problems with sticking or anything else. Tends to be healthier than cooking on a nonstick surface as well.

And yes we make quite a lot of eggs, scrambled and fried, works just perfectly without a mess.

> There's a reason 99% of people have non-stick aluminum cookware. Everything else is horrible

Onyx pans are amazing in every way (nonstick, scratchproof, dishwasher safe, induction ready) but not yet sold in the US I think: https://onyxcookware.de/

There are similar ones sold on AliExpress that would presumably ship to the US, e.g.: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mr49PaC

>How often do you scramble eggs on your cast iron skillet?

Every time I make scrambled eggs. It isn't difficult. I don't even see what you are getting at with this question.

Same. “As often as I scramble eggs.”

Seasoned carbon steel woks are a lot better for most non-acidic foods then teflon; they are truly non-stick.

cheap pans are 3 for $12, 8x as cost effective

I now live in Asia, where almost everything built recently is induction. It's wonderful. Hardly an electric garbage stove to be seen anywhere.

Induction cookers are expensive today, but they aren't theoretically expensive. One day, they'll be cheaper than resistive heaters.

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