# ISO help/advice on purchasing an induction wok



## MikeWazowski (May 29, 2020)

Hey! I've never ordered dishes from online shops and I need your feedback if you have such experience.
I want to purchase an induction wok. Any suggestions? 
Also, I'll be glad if you advise me on a good online shop for buying dishes. Thanks


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## WhateverYouWant (May 29, 2020)

While I have no experience with an induction wok, my experience with 120v induction cooktops is that they can't supply enough heat to keep high temps with a substantial amount of ingredients. There is just not enough current available. I suppose it might be ok with small amounts of ingredients.

As for dishes and stuff online, I like:

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (May 29, 2020)

Check this option - https://foodal.com/kitchen/pots-pots-skillets-guides-reviews/cast-and-carbon/whats-carbon-steel-skillets/

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## pepperhead212 (May 29, 2020)

The problem you are going to run into with using a wok on induction, or any electric surface, is that only that small area on the bottom is heating, and the heat is only slowly conducting up the sides.    You could try a cast iron wok, and pre-heat it a while - the cast iron will hold a lot more heat than the thin aluminum or carbon steel.  I use mine on the induction in the summer, but more for slower cooked dishes, not stir fries.


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## MikeWazowski (Jul 9, 2020)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Check this option - https://foodal.com/kitchen/pots-pots-skillets-guides-reviews/cast-and-carbon/whats-carbon-steel-skillets/
> 
> Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Hi Chief!
Thanks for the article I found this useful. There said that carbon steel woks are about the same weight as iron woks, but what if to purchase an aluminum one? I suppose it'll be lighter and cheaper, but what disadvantages are there? According to this:


pepperhead212 said:


> The problem you are going to run into with using a wok on induction, or any electric surface, is that only that small area on the bottom is heating, and the heat is only slowly conducting up the sides.    You could try a cast iron wok, and pre-heat it a while - the cast iron will hold a lot more heat than the thin aluminum or carbon steel.  I use mine on the induction in the summer, but more for slower cooked dishes, not stir fries.


I decided to choose a wok with a big heating surface and found this option. It's made of aluminum, but look reliable and has good responses on Amazon. Could you clarify this moment, please? I understand that there is a sense of making carbon steel woks, otherwise, there wouldn't be any of them. Thanks in advance!


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## larry_stewart (Jul 9, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> The problem you are going to run into with using a wok on induction, or any electric surface, is that only that small area on the bottom is heating, and the heat is only slowly conducting up the sides.    You could try a cast iron wok, and pre-heat it a while - the cast iron will hold a lot more heat than the thin aluminum or carbon steel.  I use mine on the induction in the summer, but more for slower cooked dishes, not stir fries.



I run into the same problem ( and did last night).  My only line of defense was letting the peanut oil heat up as much as I could before adding the ingredients, and not loading the ingredients up. Now that Im cooking for 2 ( instead of 4), I can make it work ( although not ideal).

Sometimes I just do my stir fry in a heavier based, broader bottom pot.  Just physically is more efficient .


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## larry_stewart (Jul 9, 2020)

That being said, ive found other cooking uses for it due to its size and shape, but when it comets stir frying, it just doesn't do what I want it to do on an electric cook top. I was thinking of getting one for my induction burner, but after reading what Pepper said above, ill save my money.  Ive been tempted to invest in one of those outdoor propane wok burners. never really looked into tor know if its worth it or a a step up.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jul 9, 2020)

Aluminum pans won't work with induction as aluminum is a great conductor of electricity.  The way an induction stove heats a cooking vessel is that there is a wire coil that sits just beneath the burner surface.  An alternating voltage is passed through the wire, causing electric current to flow through the wire.  Any time a current is fed through a conductor, it produces a magnetic force.  Alternately, any time a conductor passes through a magnetic field, it induces an electrical current.  In an induction stove, the alternating voltage causes magnetic lines of force to expand, and collapse in relation to the strength of the electric current.  This moving magnetic flux, as it is called, reacts with the metal cooking vessel, creating what is called eddy currents.  It is a function of conductors that the better they conduct, the more efficient they are at allowing current to flow through them without transforming that electrical energy into heat.   Metals such as iron and steel have a lot of resistance to electrical current flow, that is they are poor conductors.  As eddy currents are induced in iron and steel vessels by the magnetic force, that resistance causes the transformation of electrical energy into heat.  t
hat's why you can place your hand on an induction burner tuned on full blast, and not feel any heat.  Your hand is not a conductor at all, and so the magnetic field does nothing to you.  

Word of caution here, metal jewelry is made of conductive material, and so can get very hot, very fast, so it's best not to let them get close to an induction burner.

The take-away from all of this, pots and pans made from highly conductive metals such as copper, or aluminum won't generate heat.  Insulators such as ceramics, and glass, are completely unaffected by induction, and so, won't get hot.  Induction burners work with ferrous metals, i.e. metals that contain iron, like stainless steel, cast iron, high and carbon steel.  A wok made from aluminum will work great over a flame, or a radiant heat source, but not on an induction burner.

I hope this was helpful, and not confusing.

Seeeeeeya; Chief longwind of the North


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## WhateverYouWant (Jul 9, 2020)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Aluminum pans won't work with induction



To further muddy the water here… there "are" aluminum pans that work on induction (I have a couple of them and they work great).







I am not certain of the process here; some kind of bonding, but with a very interesting texture that does not look or feel bonded.

Just sayin'… you can't rule out all aluminum pans.


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## pepperhead212 (Jul 9, 2020)

*MikeWazowski*  When I mentioned the aluminum wok, I did mean the kind that you found, which has a disk on the bottom, to make them work with induction.  But none of those have very large disks, which is the problem.  That Dutch oven shown on the last post would probably be a better choice - that broad disk on the bottom would develop a lot more heat; in fact, a friend of mine, who moved from a kitchen with a gas range,  to an area with just electric, had to change his cooking methods a lot!  He did most of his stir-frying in sauté pans, from then on, but he also came up with another method - a broad bottomed cast iron Dutch oven - I think a 7 qt size - which he seasoned like his carbon steel woks.  He said that this worked much better than woks on the burners (not induction, but the same issues, with little contact area), though the emptying the food out of it was not as easy as dumping the food quickly from a wok!  And this was necessary, since the cast iron stays hot for a while.


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## larry_stewart (Jul 9, 2020)

pepperhead212 said:


> had to change his cooking methods a lot!  He did most of his stir-frying in sauté pans, from then on, but he also came up with another method - a broad bottomed cast iron Dutch oven .



thats basically my story
If you cant beat-em, join-em.  just had to find a board based cooking vessel that was thick, retained heat...  Its better than a bunch of ingredients sitting in a pool of oil that will never get back up to temp.


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