You won't cause any damage to your stovetop or your pan, but the burner itself simply won't turn on, so your pan won't get hot. This is because any pan used on an induction hob must be made from or have a base that contains a magnetic material, which effectively completes the circuit within the hob.
Nothing happens -- it won't get hot if it's not compatible. If your pan's heating, it must have at least a thin layer of magnetic material in the bottom. Pure aluminum cookware won't heat at all.
There is no point at all in using non induction cookware on an induction cooktop. To do it you need ferrous plates but you are effectively turning the induction hob into a hot plate hob so the gains in speed and efficiency are lost, plus you need to buy additional items which are of no use for anything else.
What Happens if I Accidentally Use a Non-compatible Pan on an Induction Hob? Fortunately, using the wrong type of pan on an induction hob doesn't have costly consequences for your hob or cookware. The induction hob simply won't work, meaning your cookware won't heat up, since the magnetic field can't activate.
Uneven Surface: Cooktops, especially induction cooktops, need to be perfectly level to operate efficiently. If your cooktop isn't fully level, it can rock your pots and pans around, causing the glass to chip.
Common Issues
Another frequent problem is when the induction stovetop isn't heating correctly. This often happens with incompatible cookware, like aluminium pots or non-magnetic pans, which fail to create the magnetic field needed for direct heat. Error codes can also confuse users of induction cookers.
There are many types of cookware that cannot be used on the Induction cooking surface. Aluminum or aluminum clad, copper or copper clad, aluminum foil, glass/ceramic and some stainless steel products (because these will not attract and hold a magnet) cannot be used.
To confirm whether or not your non stick pan is actually induction compatible, take a look at the pan's packaging or the bottom of a pan you already own. If there is an “induction compatible” symbol, which looks like a coil of wire with 4 loops, your pan is compatible with induction stovetops.
Boil dry protection prevents damage to your cookware by shutting off the induction hob if it detects that a pan has boiled dry.
Sometimes the round base touching the induction hob is sufficient for the induction process and sometimes it is not. So the flatter the base, the better the heat generation. For example, stir-frying at high temperatures with a round-bottomed wok will not work very well.
Non-induction cookware can still be used on induction cooktop through an induction converter disk. These disks are magnetic and can be placed on your stove's surface to attract heat. By placing your non-induction cookware on top of the disk, it can then heat up.
If you want to use your regular cookware on an induction cooktop, the metal ring method is one of the most popular hacks. The metal ring is a simple yet effective solution that allows non-induction cookware to work on an induction cooktop.
Since induction burners rely on a magnetic field to generate heat, they'll only work with cookware that's made of ferrous metals (that is, metals that contain iron). Cast iron and most stainless steel pans work well on induction, but copper or aluminum won't, unless it's been specially built to work with induction.
However, Calphalon Contemporary stainless steel and Calphalon Tri-Ply stainless are induction. If you have old cookware, not necessarily Calphalon, another way to check for induction compatibility is to take a regular magnet and see if it will stick to the bottom of the pan. If it does, it will work on induction.
Induction, Williams told me, does not allow for “the same style of cooking; those pan flipping-shaking techniques you use on gas could crack your top.” Without an open flame, you can't char peppers or tortillas the way that some chefs, and even home cooks, do using a gas burner.
Using the wrong heat settings
Because they heat cookware so quickly, setting your induction cooktop to the maximum setting may result in your food overcooking, burning, or cooking irregularly.
You won't cause any damage to your stovetop or your pan, but the burner itself simply won't turn on, so your pan won't get hot. This is because any pan used on an induction hob must be made from or have a base that contains a magnetic material, which effectively completes the circuit within the hob.
Dropping a heavy or hard object onto the cooktop could crack the glass. Do not leave a hot lid on the cooktop. As the cooktop cools, air can become trapped between the lid and the cooktop, and the ceramic glass could break when the lid is removed.
Paper Towel - MYTH - You can NOT cook using paper, baking paper, paper towels or tea towels underneath your pans - just don't do this EVER! No matter what any sales person says or does (even if they are a chef). This is just a zero-common-sense-fire-hazard!
We've also found that something hot or warm — water, a sheet pan just pulled out of the oven — coming in contact with the digital controls on the cooktop surface can trick them into turning on or changing settings, though the burners won't stay on or heat up without the proper cookware on top.
Ultimately, non-magnetic cookware like ceramic, glass, non-magnetic copper, aluminum and non-magnetic stainless steel cookware won't work. Some induction cooktops will flash an error code or indicator light when the cookware you're trying to use isn't compatible.
A full Tefal range of pots and pans to master your cooking. Compatible with all stovetops (gas, electric, ceramic) + induction.
Even so, manufacturing malfunctions, electrical problems, power surges or small mishaps when cooking can damage this appliance.
Answer: Using a towel, silicone pad or other barrier between the pan and the burner is not recommended on Wolf Induction Cooktops because of the possibility of the pan burning the barrier and due to the decreased performance. Take care when sliding cookware across the surface of the cooktop.
Daily Maintenance Tips for Induction Hobs
To prevent scratches, avoid using abrasive cleaning agents, steel wool, hard water and hard scrubbing tools on your cooktop surface, as they can damage your cooktop.