Last Updated on February 16, 2023 by Mitch Rezman

Virginia L. has a query about stainless cookware,

I have a question about conure-safe cooking. I know not to use non-stick pans.

I recently purchased a Frigidaire electric range with a glass cooktop.

I believe Induction heating is involved.

I boarded Hedwig for a few days while I de-fumed the oven (per delivery instructions) and learned about cleaning the cooktop, including cleaning it with Weiman’s cooktop cleaner to provide a protective coating before initial use.

Microwavable comfort food for your birds.

Now when I bake, I open the kitchen window and run the ceiling exhaust fan, as well as turn the furnace blower to run manually.

Same after I have used more Weiman’s, once a week or so, when cooking on the stovetop soon after. 

Hedwig’s home base is a bird play station in the living room. It is around the corner from a thick wall shared with the kitchen on the other side. Hedwig does not spend time in the kitchen.

My QUESTION has to do with cookware materials.

Manufacturer instructions say to use stainless steel that is magnetic.

Bird-safe cookware alternatives – Video

A video they sent shows a person testing a skillet with a magnet.

The stainless I have used for years is not magnetic by this test.

Nor should I use it, for it has a ring of carbon buildup from use on electric coil and gas burner cooking that can compromise the cooktop.

So I am on the market for a stainless skillet/sauté pan with straight-up edges that is magnetic.

Web search results are complex (and they are dominated by non-stick products).

There seem to be numerous ways of manufacturing stainless, including applying copper layers.

I am wondering whether you and other readers have found stainless cookware that is safe for both birds and glass stovetops.

Thank you.

Best wishes,

Let us get the stainless/magnetic issue cleared up (full transparency) with highlighted words directly below, I copied, pasted, and collated from the web for the sake of expediency.

Magnets will stick to black stainless steel if the steel at its core is ferromagnetic. 

All stainless steel metals are a type of steel.

That means their chemical composition contains iron. 

In most cases, stainless steel varieties with iron in their composition are magnetic. If the alloy has an austenitic crystal structure, then it’s not magnetic.

Most austenitic stainless steel is non-magnetic due to the greater presence of austenite. Even though stainless steel grades such as 304 and 316 stainless steel have high amounts of iron in their chemical composition, austenite renders them non-ferromagnetic.

Austenitic stainless steel is one of the five classes of stainless steel by crystalline structure (along with ferritic, martensitic, duplex and precipitation hardened]). Its primary crystalline structure is austenite (face-centered cubic) and it prevents steels from being hardenable by heat treatment and makes them essentially non-magnetic.

This structure is achieved by adding enough austenite-stabilizing elements such as nickel, manganese, and nitrogen.[citation needed] The Incoloy family of alloys belongs to the category of super austenitic stainless steels.

What you are seeking Virginia, is

Cookware for induction cooking, general specifications can be found here.

Before pushing forward as I’m being divebombed by America’s newest Blue Angels (see video below),

Is anyone out there curious about why it was so important to get boiling and above temperatures on a heated surface meeting NSF guidelines, in seconds?

Glad you asked.

In a prior lifetime, I was a factory representative for Dinex, now Carlisle, the leader in induction heating for healthcare food transport.

My representation of these new-fangled systems at the end of the 20th century significantly impacted sales.

Eventually, the concept percolated into the retail market which brings us back to on of your questions. 

Which is where can I find Induction Centric stainless cookware? ~ just click here

The BIG ISSUE ~ You are in Search of Resolving ~ Bird safety?

I also asked the newest smartest AI bot on the block ChatGPT 

Is stainless steel cookware safe for pet birds?

Her/His/They/There/Non-binaries(???) response,

Stainless steel cookware is generally considered safe for pet birds.

It is a non-toxic material that does not contain any harmful chemicals that could leach into food.

However, it is important to ensure that the cookware does not have any non-stainless steel parts, such as aluminum or copper, as these materials can be toxic to birds. 

Additionally, it is important to make sure that the cookware is not overheated, as this can also be, although remote, harmful to birds.

The only injury a bird could suffer from stainless cookware is contact triggering a burn ~ which is unlikely.

You are on the righteous path, grasshopper.

I also went through our own collection of bird-safe mid-20th-century stainless cookware from the likes of Revere and Farberware.

 

None was magnetic so none would be suitable for induction cooking.

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Mitch Rezman

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