Magnetic stainless steel and induction: what actually makes a pan work
Induction does not heat the hob. It heats the pan — and only if the pan is made of the right kind of steel.
Induction cooking is spreading through Indian commercial kitchens quickly, and it brings a requirement most cookware buyers have never had to think about before: the vessel itself has to be part of the electrical circuit.
How induction actually works
Under the glass of an induction hob is a coil of copper wire carrying a rapidly alternating current. That current generates a rapidly alternating magnetic field.
When you put a ferromagnetic vessel on top, that field induces swirling electrical currents — eddy currents — inside the base of the vessel itself. The metal's own resistance to those currents is what produces the heat.
The consequences are worth understanding:
- The hob does not get hot. The pan does, and the hob warms only from contact.
- No energy is wasted heating the air around the vessel.
- Control is immediate, because you are switching a field, not moving a flame.
- A non-magnetic vessel does nothing at all. No field coupling, no eddy currents, no heat.
Why grade matters
Stainless steels fall into families, and the two you meet in cookware behave differently here:
- Austenitic grades (the 300 series, such as 304) contain significant nickel, and their crystal structure is not magnetic. A 304 pan will often not work on induction at all unless a separate magnetic disc has been bonded to the base.
- Ferritic grades (the 400 series) have a crystal structure that is magnetic, and they are naturally induction-compatible through the whole body, not just a bonded disc.
Our range is Krome 16+, a ferritic grade. The whole vessel is magnetic — which is why you can check it yourself with nothing more than a fridge magnet.
If a magnet sticks firmly to the base of a pan, induction will work. If it slides off, it will not. It really is that simple a test.
Flatness is the other half
Magnetism gets you coupling. Contact gets you efficiency. Induction relies on the base sitting flat and close against the hob surface — a warped or convex base leaves an air gap, and the coupling drops off with distance.
This is why our induction kadai has a ground flat base rather than the gently rounded bottom a traditional kadai carries. It is made in 3 mm and produced to the size you specify.
A practical note on bonded-disc pans
A lot of "induction-compatible" cookware is austenitic steel with a magnetic disc welded or bonded to the bottom. It works, but it introduces exactly the kind of joint we design out of our own vessels: two dissimilar metals, bonded, repeatedly heated and cooled at different rates. Over years of commercial service, that bond is a place failure can start.
A body that is magnetic throughout has no such interface.
What to check before you buy
- Take a magnet. Test the base, and then test the side wall.
- Put the vessel on a flat surface and look for daylight underneath.
- Ask what grade the steel is, not just whether it is "induction-ready".
Specifying cookware for your kitchen?
Every product on this site publishes its full size chart — gauge, dimensions and weight for every size. If you would rather just describe the job, we will tell you what to order.
