Oops - just read a similar post below from saltimbocca about non stick for induction - and his/her post said 'Oops, this belongs in the Cookware forum.' There's a forum just for Cookware? My apologies! So I'll go post over there. But after reading the responses to saltimbocca's post, I realize how much I agree with the poster who said LeCreuset and a little oil or butter is as good as non-stick, with none of the chemicals or flaking and Le Creuset lasts forever. They really ARE the best. Of all my replacement cookware - from Demeyere to All-Clad to Emeril - my mother's old orange flame Le Crueset frying pans are the best! Now I'll go over and post all this again on Cookware. Thanks, guys!

Two weeks ago, I bought a $65 8 inch LeCrueset nonstick frypan for morning eggs, at the LeCrueset outlet store. That's big bucks for cheapo me. It does not compare to the $9 frypan I got a year ago at T.J. Marshall's. LeCrueset doesn't clean as well and has a 10 year 'limited' warranty. Other pans have 'limited' lifetime warranties. I love, love my other stuff and it's performance on my Bosch induction. Get something cheaper at T. J.'s, or Ikea, or Macy's. I do prefer Farberware Millenium, or Circulon Infinite, or T-fal ultimate, or Macy's tools of the trade-for your induction cooker. All of these go in the dishwasher, but I dare not put the LC in. phooey. overrated and overpriced So, I am not a LeCrueset believer. This is not the cast iron baby, just an ordinary, but LeC, nonstick pan. Cast iron is way too heavy for me. And l.c. is overpriced. The saleswoman at the L.C. outlet told me all the things I should not do with LC, no metal utensils, careful no scratch storage, no dishwasher (despite the attached brochure) etc. Primadonna cookware!

I love cooking with cast iron and the majority of my cooking is done with it. Depending on how and what you cook, it may not be a one size fits all type of thing. I find I like certain materials and pots for differing purposes. One advantage to using cast iron is I can cook over lower heat, and even turn the oven off ahead of time and let the dish finish cooking with residual heat, saving energy costs (and allowing for a nice glass of wine before serving dinner).Yes, you have to be a little patient while the piece heast up completely, but on my gas range it is not an issue. I use Lodge "regular" cast iron for many many, thing including eggs (which will not stick if a little butter is used). I love the stuff. For acidic foods, or for slowly warming milk to make cheese or yogurt I use Le Crueset. It is gentler than stainless. Staub is nice for slow cooking a meal that you want to retain moisture in, because of the dimples on the lid. Lodge also has the dimples so I use that as well. For making stocks, boiling pasta, and boiling large batches of corn I usually use a good stainless stockpot though certainly enameled cast iron could be used. the stainless will be easier to manage when draing things that need to be boiled. For everything else (chili, and spagehetti sauces) I much prefer the cast iron. Enameled should be use if making acidic sauces and foods unless you happen to have a very old cast iron piece that is so seasoned nothing could remove it. I use a very small Le Creuset dutch oven for cooking whole grain brown rice over very low heat and it comes out perfect. I preheat my Lodge cast iron griddles in my oven at 375, pull them out for cooking perfect pancakes on the stovetop....it takes a little practice figuring out which burner setting works to maintain the correct temp, but once you do the results are awesome. I gave away my non stick electric griddle Hted it and had concerns about chemicals. My cast iron became non stick very quickly with use. I feel a good Le Creuset dutch oven is well worth the investment. So is Lodge. A Lodge dutch oven makes wonderful popcorn too. (I don't buy their enameled since I don't want any Chinese kitchenware).

Put your Lodge pan on to boil an inch or two of water. It should boil before the pan is fully heated, so you can see the shape of the inductors. My Gaggenau has wide rings. Donuts. When the pan is fully heated, the bubbles should be distributed. I always had more of a heat ring issue with gas than I have with induction. That's one of the knocks people used to have--there isn't a cold outside of the pot to shove more done bits into. Lodge is heavier than Le Creuset. Thicker. I don't know if that means it suits you better. You don't have to love cast iron! Using the Lodge regularly will put enough iron into your food that you shouldn't get anemic. :) NOTHING is going to top Demeyere for evenness of heat distribution. I'd believe that another very fine multiply could equal it, but not surpass. :) OTOH, thin carbon steel will heat up a lot faster. Comparing Le Creuset to Demeyere, I'm not surprised that Demeyere wins. :) It's okay. I love my Le Creuset, but wouldn't kick John Pawson out of my kitchen. :) I don't know about the different DeBuyer lines. Mine were described as "carbon steel" only, and the pans themselves just say the name/date/France. I'm guessing that was the same as "Carbonne", but can't say for sure. I found a Chowhound thread on the topic, which isn't all that clear. Scroll down to the middle where there's a big graphic for the post about what De Buyer said. Mine are about 1.5 mm thick at the edge (just under 1/16" by my Stanley tape). I wouldn't go much thinner! Do be sure that you're looking at the crepe pans in both. There are thicker frying pans. I have three and the blini pan. I call them small, two egg, and three egg. That's omelette size. For a taller omelette, I actually will do three eggs in the two egg size, but it's a bit too small for comfort for three sunnyside up. OTOH, if you want an egg for a sandwich on bun or muffin the blini pan is perfect. :) The low sides make turning very easy. :) These do need seasoning. I've done cast iron with oil, but I really recommend butter for these. One of the science wonks here years ago described why butter polymerizes better, but it's a bit over my head. In experience, I can say that it does a better job on my carbon steel. There are all kinds of different ways to make crepes, so it's kind of hard to make recommendations. I think it's the shape of the pan that I like, but I grew up making poured ones. The mode, nowadays, is to use a slightly convex pan and a pusher to spread the batter. The reason the thin steel is so good for crepes, I'm guessing, is that it has such good recovery time. The same is true for carbon steel woks. Short and the long of it: Cast iron is great because, while it's slow to heat, it retains its heat very well. Thin carbon steel is great because, while it's not as great a conductor as copper, the thinness allows it to fully heat very fast, and after cooling from the ingredients, it heats back up fast.