What's the best cookware for coil element stoves?

[Marky_Mark]

Hi guys

 

What are the best brands and types of pots and pans, vintage and modern, to use on traditional coil cooktops?

 

I have some All-Clad pans and this week I purchased some nice vintage Ekco Flint and Amway Queen pans.  I know the most suitable pans should be flat bottomed, but unfortunately some of these pans have bottoms that are fairly concave and they don't all make good contact towards the centre of the elements.

 

Mark

 

[rp2813]

I'd say anything with a bottom surface that doesn't warp or otherwise get bent out of shape.

 

[sudsmaster]

You might want to consider choosing cookware that is induction friendly just in case later on you want to get an induction stove. And induction friendly cookware has some iron or steel in the lower surface, so that it captures the magnetic impulses and turns them into heat.

 

Personal note: I just took a magnet to my favorite cookware and only the cast iron stuff is induction ready. Shoot!

 

 

 

 

[parunner58]

Rich, I totally agree with you. About 20 years ago I wanted to replace my Farberware cookware(I should have just kept it) with either Calphalon or All-Clad. I invested close to $1400 in replacing everything I had in Farberware to Calphalon. Now I love them but when I switch to induction I have to replace them all.I'm thinking of starting now and replacing what I use a lot one by one. I purchased A "Made In" pan and really love them.

 

[joeekaitis]

And if you want to test the evenness of the heat . . .

 

. . . mix up some pancake batter.  Next best thing to a FLIR (Forward-Looking InfraRed) thermometer.

 

[combo52]

Best cookware for conventional electric cooktop

Needs to be flat and be reasonably heavy.

You can test the cookware for the suitability on your coil top range by putting an inch or two of water in it set the burner on high and boil some water when the water is getting close to boiling lift up the kettle, you should not see any red underneath it in an ideal world.

In reality there may be a few small spots of red, but if even a third of the element is glowing red, the pan should not be used especially at a higher heat.

It will damage the element, possibly causing the element to fail violently , it can be dangerous to the cooktop the user and the pan to let an element be red hot underneath the pan.

John.

 

[gansky1]

 

I've tried the Amway Queen, Wonder Ware (mom has a set of this she bought in '67) Montgomery Wards, Sears etc.   Ecko, West Bend & Regal made many of these in lots of variations for different sellers' brands.  Many will work on induction, but sensors on ranges vary so it can be hit and miss. I hear Samsung induction pan sensors are bit more sensitive and much of this cookware won't work at all.   I used some of these Regal-made pans for a while, found they were a bit thin compared to the All-Clad I was used to.  

 

All-Clad Metalcrafters has an outlet store online and periodically has sales events with big discounts on damaged package, seconds, etc.  You have to sign up the emails and while you'll get occasional sales notices, watch specifically for the factory sale and clearance.  I've bought pans and cookware through these events several times, huge savings to be had.  You may not find all the pieces you want on the first go, but another sale will be coming soon enough.  

 

This link is to their customer service page, scroll down and enter your email address to sign up for the notices. 

 

https://homeandcooksales.com/customer-service

 

[tomturbomatic]

Tuck a magnet in your change purse and test the bottoms of pans before buying to see if they are magnetic if you are buying for induction. Flatness of the bases in induction cookware is not as important as it is for regular electric elements.

I think the new Farberware pans with the aluminum base sandwiched against the stainless steel pan with another layer of stainless steel to hold it very flat should be good for use on an electric element. Farberware skillets flattened against the element very well, but water in a pan like a sauce pan or stock pot prevented the base from getting hot enough to flatten against the surface unit.

 

[ea56]

Almost all of my pots and pans are Classic Farberware SS, the newer version from the 90’s with the aluminum core sandwiched between two layers of SS. It is excellent, and worked well on my previous coil top and works equally well on my new smooth top stove too.

I tested it with a magnet and it won’t work on an induction stove, which is fine with me. I have no intentions of buying an induction stove any time soon, if ever. I’m perfectly satisfied with my radiant smooth top.

I also have two Cusinart non stick frying pans and they also work great on either a coil top or smooth top.

Eddie

 

[joeekaitis]

About that "magnet test" . . .

 

Our stainless steel bowls fail the magnet and flat bottom tests but they'll heat up on our Frigidaire induction stove.  Is it possible Electrolux is using something similar to Panasonic's Met-All technology?

 

We don't have any aluminum or copper cookware to test.

 

[norgeway]

I wouldnt trade

That Amway Queen, or any other waterless cookware sold on home demonstration IE Saladmaster, Townecraft, Vita Craft etc for all of the others I bought a bunch of All Clad on recommendation of others and ended up giving it all away, its miserable to use and the hardest thing to clean ive ever used.

 

[sudsmaster]

"That Amway Queen, or any other waterless cookware sold on home demonstration IE Saladmaster, Townecraft, Vita Craft etc for all of the others I bought a bunch of All Clad on recommendation of others and ended up giving it all away, its miserable to use and the hardest thing to clean ive ever used."

 

Sorry, not clear to me which you prefer:

 

1) Amway Queen (Saladmaster, Townecraft, Vita Craft)

 

2) All Clad

 

?

 

 

 

[norgeway]

ANY

Of the cookware sold on home demonstration is basically made the same, Most all of it is made by Regal, any of it is my favorite I use Townecraft I do NOT like All Clad, the handles are uncomfortable , the metal spots and is terrible to get shiny, andthe lids set flat like restaurant cookware so when a pot simmers it spits all over your stovetop, ill keep my 45 year old 5 ply Townecraft, the lid sets down inside a lip so it minimizes spatter and forms a seal

 

[norgeway]

I re read

My post i made a typo i see why you didnt get what i meant.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks for the help and advice.  I have used gas and induction almost all my life and I have little experience with anything else, until now!

 

Some of my pans make fairly good contact while others make very poor contact.  I have also bought a couple of other elements to try and it is no better.  Here are two photos I took immediately after lifting up the All-Clad frying pan pictured above -- terrible contact.

 

I had never previously even thought about this issue, as it is of no concern whatsoever when using gas or induction.

 

 

[Marky_Mark]

Eddie, the 90s Farberware pans you mentioned sound interesting.  How would I identify that specific type when looking for used ones?

 

Based on what you said, I ordered this new Farberware pan last night and it will be here tomorrow.  I can always send this one back if it doesn't work out.

 

[vacerator]

My grandmother gave me her Revereware stainless pots.

I had a very difficult time controlling the heat, and burning or scorching foods.

 

[kenwashesmonday]

Revereware's less expensive line without copper bottoms is very thin and can be difficult to control.

 

[ea56]

Re:#15

Mark, the pan you ordered is exactly what my 4qt. Farberware pan looks like. I love these pans! I had a complete set of copper bottomed Revereware before I switched to the Farberware. I like the Farberware much better. They heat fast and evenly and are easy to keep clean and shiny. I use Barkeepers Friend to polish them.

Theres lots of this cookware on eBay. Search for Farberware Classic SS. I prefer the older version with the SS lids, not the newer version with the glass lids. Glass breaks, SS doesn’t so the older version is more durable. The really older version has aluminum bottoms rather than the sandwiched aluminum core with the SS base. I have just one pan like this, a 1 1/2 qt sauce pan which is a rare pan. It is fine, but I do prefer the newer version, but I also like the particular pan size too.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 2/20/2023-11:58]

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks so much, Eddie!  The pan came today but I haven't tried it yet.  I've also just ordered the 6-quart version.  The cooktop is not yet installed, so I had been trying it out by temporarily wiring it up to 240 V in a non-code compliant but safe way  

 

Perhaps it's just my inexperience with coil cooktops that's leading me to believe there is a problem.  Most of my pans do not sit flat against the entire element, causing parts of the elements to glow red when set to high.  Some of my pans are much worse for this than others.  But maybe this is normal and expected even if not ideal.  I originally thought that a good, non-warped pan would sit flat against the whole element but maybe I was expecting too much?    

 

I must say that I am impressed by this coil cooktop's performance, response times and controllability.  Of course it's not instant like gas and induction.  But a pan of boiling water goes from raging to absolutely still in 90 seconds when turning from maximum to off.  

[this post was last edited: 2/20/2023-23:09]

 

[ea56]

You’re very welcome Mark. I hope you'll enjoy cooking on your new coil top stove. Don’t worry too much about a pan or two that isn’t perfectly flat, just try to minimize using that pan until you have another to replace it.

Also, unless you are boiling water, or bringing something to a boil, for the most part you won’t you won’t need to use high heat. When cooking on an electric stove the best results are achieved by starting out at the heat you intend to do most of the initial cooking at, then turn the heat down to finish the process as appropriate. For instance, if you’re going to saute some chicken, a pork chop or a steak, heat the pan on med high, hold your palm over the pan after about 3-4 mins and if the heat radiating feels like the pan is hot enough put the meat into the pan, and reduce the heat to med and cook the first side, turn it over and cook the second side. If any additional cooking is desired after the browning then reduce the heat to low or simmer and finish the dish. You just don’t need to or want to use the highest heat for most cooking, only to bring liquids to a boil.

Once you get the hang of it,it will become second nature. With practice I believe you’ll find that you have better control of the heat and cooking process with electric. You can achieve higher high heat and lower, better controlled low heats.

Eddie

 

[polkanut]

I found a new set of vintage West Bend Aristo Craft cookware at an estate sale in 2015 that I gifted to my parents when they moved to an apartment in January of last year. This is the first time my mom has ever had an electric stove, and she says this cookware is performing flawlessly for her. 

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks for all the tips and info.   I rigged the cooktop up again to test out the new Farberware pots.  They work better than many of my others although they do have a small raised bit in the centre, which doesn't make contact.  They're still pretty good though.  I think the best ones I have are the Queen 7-ply frying pan and a Queen 2½-quart saucepan.  

 

I only use high heat for bringing water to the boil for pasta etc.  And this is something I do very regularly.

 

I'm very impressed by the performance of this cooktop.  I expected it to be much slower to respond and a bit of a nightmare to control the heat (this is what I've always heard all my life).  But it seems good to me once you get used to the settings and just think ahead slightly.   It also cools down so much faster than I was expecting.  As soon as I've finished eating, the elements are cool to the touch and I can clean it no problem.  Whereas the gas cooktop's burners and iron supports stay hot for much longer and I can't touch them during post-meal clean-up.  Now I just need to get it properly installed!