Induction Cooking – Pots and Pans

What you’ll find in this post about Canadian Induction Pots and Pans:

An Introduction to Induction Pots and Pans
A  Review of all the sets I considered
Photos of many of the sets
A few words about the Manufacturers

Introduction to Induction Cooking

In the never-ending reno, the kitchen is getting an Induction Cooktop. Induction cooking requires special pots – they have to have flat magnetic bottoms. My old Revere Copper bottom pots meet neither of those requirements.  (You can test the magnetism of your pots by holding a magnet up to the bottom. If it sticks, your pot is magnetic.)

So, what to buy? Well, I wanted something handsome, shiny and silvery.  This meant, to me anyway, stainless steel. Stainless steel is an iron alloy with chromium and nickel. It is corrosion resistant, and non-reactive to alkaline and acidic foods. It is also resistant to scratching and denting. The best percentage of chromium and nickel is 18/10, but some pots are 18/9 and many are 18/8. The thickness of stainless steel will vary with the expense of the pot. Lower end pots will be made of stainless steel that is .5 mm thick. Most pots will be .6 mm, while premium pots will be .7 mm to 1 mm.

Stainless steel doesn’t conduct heat very well, so pots will have aluminum or copper or both of them to conduct and retain heat. Less expensive pots will have these metals only in a conductor disk on the bottom of the pot. More expensive pots will be clad, that is they will have a layer of copper or aluminum extending over the entire pot, in addition to the conductor disk on the base. The conductor disk will be enclosed in stainless steel, with the layer next to the induction cooktop made of a magnetic metal.

I expect to make a lifetime commitment to these pots, so I looked on the internet for local Canadian retail outlets where I could visit my prospective purchase before I bought.  I checked internet listings for pots that came in sets, because that is the cheapest way of buying them. All in all, I collected data on 34 prospective lines of pots, though there are likely more. The information that follows may have inaccuracies – I didn’t actually go to the store to verify the information.

Most of the pots listed below will be 3 ply stainless, unless otherwise indicated. Most will have riveted handles. Most of them will likely be Made in China, even when the manufacturing company lives elsewhere. Many of the pots listed below are available from other sources, often directly from the manufacturer via their website.

A Review of the Pot and Pan Sets – All of the prices are in Canadian Dollars  (in December of 2010).

1. I didn’t want pots with black handles – no big reason, just a preference. (However, black handles are generally less slippery.) That eliminated:

Lagostina Elysee – available at Sears.ca; 5 pots, 4 lids; black handles, tempered glass lids; $500

Lagostina Ticino – available at Canadian Tire; 5 pots and 5 lids; black bakelite handles; $350

Lagostina Venezia – available at The Bay;  6 pots and 5 lids; black bakelite handles; $500

Lagostina Verbania– available at The Bay; 10 pots and 7 lids; black bakelite handles; $700

Paderno Artistry – available at Sears.ca; 5 pots and 4 lids; handles black silicone; $540 (was on sale for $400)

Paderno Royale – available at Home Hardware; 4 pots and 3 lids; black handles; $290

2. I didn’t want pots with “pot bellies”.  I also didn’t like the appearance of some pots. Again, no big reason, just a preference. That eliminated:

Henkels Twin Select – available at Sears.ca; 5 pots and 4 lids; $950

IKEA 365+ – available at IKEA; 4 pots and 3 lids; $50

IKEA FAVORIT – available at IKEA; 4 pots and 3 lids; $170

Lagostina Commercial Pro – available at Canadian Tire; 6 pots and 6 lids; $200

Lagostina Gastronomica – available at Sears.ca; 7 pots and 5 lids; handles have santoprene inserts; $700

Lagostina Padova – available at Canadian Tire; 6 pots and 5 lids; handles have santoprene linserts; $600

Lagostina Capri – available at Canadian Tire; 5 pots and 5 lids; $430

3. Some pots didn’t appear to be  high temperature oven proof, according to the information I found. That eliminated:

Kuraidori Kuradri – available at Home Hardware; 5 pots and 4 lids; handles have black inserts; oven safe to 350F; $200

Lagostina Windsor – available at Sears.ca; 6 pots and 5 lids; oven safe to 350F; handles have santoprene inserts; $600 (was on sale for $300)

Wolfgang Puck Gourmet – available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 5 pots and 5 lids; oven safe to 400F; $180

4. Some sets contained pots that I didn’t want. Some pots were more expensive than other pots of equal specifications. And some pots were just very expensive. That eliminated:

Calphalon Tri-Ply– available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 8 pots and 5 lids; $380

Calphalon Contemporary– available at The Bay; 5 pots and 3 lids; $1000

Gordon Ramsay Maze – available at The Bay; 6 pots and 5 lids; $800

Weil – available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 5 pots and 3 lids; $650

Kirkland Signature Tri-Ply – available at Costco; 7 pots and 6 lids; $300

Paderno Everlast – available at Paderno.ca; 5 pots and 5 lids; $600; (was on sale for $400)

Paderno Paradigm – available at Home Hardware; 6 pots and 5 lids; $400

Paderno Hearthstead – available at Sears.ca; 7 pots and 5 lids; $750 (was on sale for $200)

All-Clad Stainless Steel– available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 8 pots and 5 lids; stainless steel lids; $1400

Culinary Institute of America – Masters– available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 6 pots and 4 lids; 7 ply; $700

Lagostina Academy FivePly Copper – available at Sears.ca; 5 pots and 5 lids; 5 ply; $1350 (was on sale at Lagostina.ca for $800)

Costco Heritage – available at Costco; 6 pots &  inserts and 6 lids; manufacturer unknown; $200

Mauviel 1830 – available at Bed Bath and Beyond; 5 pots and 4 lids; 5 ply; $900

5. This left me with only 5 sets that met with my approval. In order of apparent quality, starting with the best, they were:

Lagostina Pro-clad VII – available at Sears.ca; 6 pots and inserts and 5 lids; 5 ply body; $900 (was on sale for $450)

Paderno Copperline – available at Sears.ca; 6 pots and 5 lids; 5 ply; $750 (was on sale for $350)

DeLonghi Genoa – available at Sears.ca; 7 pots and 7 lids; stainless lids with steam holes; $700 (was on sale for $350)

DeLonghi Venice – available at Sears.ca; 10 pots and inserts, 7 lids; stainless lids with steam holes; $700 (was on sale for $350)

Paderno Flair – available at Home Hardware; 6 pots and 5 lids; $700 (was on sale for $230)

And the Winner is:

A trip to the store let me look at the pots, feel their weight, and admire their features. After much consideration, I chose a set of Paderno Copperline pots, and one 8L Pasta Pot from Paderno Flair. All the Paderno pots I looked at above are made by a Canadian Company, not the Italian manufacturer also called Paderno.

Here are Photos of many of the pots I reviewed in 2010.

Styles and availability of these pots will likely be different today. To see these photos in full size, and view the slideshow, click on any of the photos. To close the slideshow, click your ‘ESC’ button, or the little ‘X’ in the top left corner.

All-Clad

Culinary Institute

Calphalon Contemporary

Calphalon Tri-ply

Delonghi Genoa

Delonghi Venice

Gordon Ramsay Maze

Henkels Twin Select

Heritage

Ikea Favorit

Ikea 365+

Kirkland Signature

Kuraidori

Lagostina Academy

Lagostina Capri

Lagostina Commercial Pro

Lagostina Elysee

Lagostina Gastronomica

Lagostina Padova

Lagostina Pro Clad

Lagostina Ticino

Lagostina Venezia

Lagostina Verbania

Lagostina Windsor

Mauvil

Paderno Artistry

Paderno Copperline

Paderno Everlast

Paderno Flair

Paderno Paradigm

Paderno Royale

Weil

Wolfgang

The Major Manufacturers of Pots and Pans that are available in Canada are:

 All-Clad – All-Clad is an American Company that was formed in 1971. Their products are made in America, from American metals.

Calphalon – Calphalon is a company formed in 1963 in Ohio, USA.

Culinary Institute of America – Masters – The Culinary Institute of America is a non-profit culinary college. The Masters collection is high end cookware.

DeLonghi – DeLonghi was founded in 1902 in Italy.

Gordon Ramsay – Gordon Ramsay is a Scottish celebrity chef living in London.

Henckels – Peter Henckels registereds the ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS logo with the Cutler’s Guild in Solingen, Germany in 1731.

IKEA – IKEA is a Swedish company founded by Ingvar Kamprad  in 1943. The company is committed to providing good quality, affordable products manufactured in a sustainable way.

Kirkland – Kirkland is Costco’s store brand.

Kuraidori – Translated from Japanese, the word means grade, class, quality, unit, digit. As for the pots, I can’t find any information on the internet about the manufacturer.

Lagostina Canada – Lagostina is an Italian Company founded in 1901.

Mauviel 1830–  Mauviel was founded in France in 1830. It is still a privately owned company.

Paderno Canada – Paderno was formed in 1979 in Prince Edward Island (Canada). They still have a plant there, and it makes their Classic line (which is trademarked as Pots for Eternity), their Chef’s Choice line, and their new Fusion 5 line. Their plant does not  have the machinery or capacity to manufacture some cookware demands (tempered glass lids, induction cooking, copper encapsulation, etc). These come from different countries around the globe (Germany, Italy, China, Indonesia, etc) but are made to Paderno’s standards from inspected manufacturing plants. Their importation of these products have allowed them to increase their Canadian employment in administration, retail and warehousing without eliminating any Canadian manufacturing jobs. Paderno is the only Canadian cookware manufacturer.

Weil – Dr. Andrew Weil is an American who writes about healthy lifestyles through alternative medicine.

Wolfgang Puck – Wolfgang Puck is an award winning chef from Austria who has a line of professional quality cookware.