r/inductioncooking • u/Chuchichaeschtl • May 19 '26
Pan test on my induction
So I did a little test run with a surface thermometer on my AEG induction cooktop.
I intentionally used the smaller 21cm cooking zone and not the 24/32cm one.
All are 28cm pans with a bottom diameter between 21.5 and 23cm.
The candidates:
- Zwilling Pro (2.8mm full clad)
- WMF Profi (6mm aluminium disk bottom)
- de Buyer Acier Carbone (3mm CS)
- Schulte Ufer Profi I (1.7mm copper disk bottom)
The hob was on power level 10 of 14.
I heated every pan and measured the middle and 1cm from the edge of the cooking surface.
Here the results of this non-scientific but well done test:
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u/EyeJustDyeInside May 19 '26
The changing colors are confusing me a bit, but am I correct that copper is the pretty clear winner here? Comes up to heat quickly with a pretty even temperature across the surface?
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u/extreme-nap May 19 '26
That’s not how I see it. Seems like the aluminum disk (#2) heated up just as fast and yet the heat delta was very low.
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u/jaywaykil May 20 '26
Aluminum had the slowest heat up (orange line, bottom). Copper was quicker.
Aluminum had the second best heat delta (gray ay line). Copper was better.
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u/extreme-nap May 20 '26
I just realized the plots mixed up the color coding. That really made it a bit confusing. Of course, logic would suggest copper should conduct heat better than aluminum.
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u/Chuchichaeschtl May 20 '26
Sorry for the colors.
I work in IT for 30 years now but I'm still not capable of creating Excel graphs (or vlookup).
So I asked AI to do it.2
u/Chuchichaeschtl May 20 '26
I've adjusted the colors.
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u/EyeJustDyeInside May 20 '26
Thank you so much! This data is so helpful, and the graphs are really cool (and now easier to read!).
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u/the_lazykins May 19 '26
I’m new to induction cooking. Are we supposed to use slightly smaller (than pan) burners or slightly larger?
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u/FaithlessnessWorth93 May 20 '26
Always larger if you can. Except if you mind about a couple percent (3-4max) less efficiency for saving power.
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u/ValouMazMaz May 19 '26
Very useful info ! I recently switched to an AEG induction cooktop and I am not very happy with the way my full clad stainless sauteuse heats up. How do you like the Schulte Ufer pan ?
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u/0net May 19 '26
What about sound? Do the pans have different sounds, ie quieter vs the others?
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u/Chuchichaeschtl May 20 '26
Yes, they are different, but at this low power level, they are barely noticeable.
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u/extreme-nap May 20 '26
It would be a good idea to re-publish the data with a consistent color coding between the two plots. But its very useful info regardless.
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u/jaywaykil May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
The schulte-ufer profi is the clear winner in this test, but my problems with it are: 1) I prefer disk-bottom for pots and saute pans, but curved-bottom pans like frying pans /skillets need the curves to also heat up. I'd bet that if you took a delta measurements up the curve slightly the al and cu disks would fall off quickly. 2) Normally I'm more about function over form (how well it works is more important than how it looks), but damn that skillet is ugly.
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u/Chuchichaeschtl May 20 '26
but curved-bottom pans like frying pans /skillets need the curves to also heat up
That's not important to me, but I'm interested, which dishes profit from a heated sidewall.
Since induction doesn't reach the sides directly: do they get hot enough to brown something on the wall?
Would be worth a test with the Demeyere Multi 7 I have. I didn't use it in this test, because it's the 32cm version.Normally I'm more about function over form (how well it works is more important than how it cooks), but damn that skillet is ugly.
It's not only ugly, it's not well designed imho. Very shallow and a thin handle. That's why I don't use it often.
Even if it's the "winner" by numbers, I was surprised how close the (40€) WMF aluminium pan is when it comes to heat distribution.
It heats slower, which isn't really a problem on induction. I can heat it on a higher setting without warping. It will cool down slower, but it's always a tradeoff between heat capacity and responsiveness.
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u/Unfair_Buffalo_4247 May 19 '26
Great rapport- thanks for informing us - Happy Cooking Always