Aluminum and hard-anodized cookware
Aluminum is light and spreads heat well, but bare aluminum reacts with acidic food and won't heat on induction. Hard-anodized is harder and usually coated.
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Bare aluminum
Aluminum is light and spreads heat quickly and evenly, which is why it sits inside most clad stainless pans and under most nonstick coatings. On its own it is soft and dents easily, and Made In lists it among the metals that react with acidic food. It isn't magnetic, so a bare aluminum pot won't heat on induction. Restaurant stockpots, sheet pans and steamers are often bare aluminum; the Vollrath steamer below is one.
Hard-anodized aluminum
Hard anodizing treats the aluminum in an acid bath with an electric current, which grows a thick, hard oxide layer on the surface. Most hard-anodized pans also have a nonstick coating inside, and that coating is what wears out. All-Clad's HA1 adds a stainless steel base so it works on induction. For a coated pan, Made In suggests a hard-anodized or stainless body over plain aluminum, which warps more easily.
Looking after it
Wash bare aluminum by hand; dishwasher detergent dulls and darkens it. For a hard-anodized nonstick pan, follow its maker's care: All-Clad allows the dishwasher for HA1 but suggests washing by hand with a sponge to keep the coating working.
The table compares how each is made, which stoves it works on and how to wash it.
Compare them side by side
Scroll sideways for every column; tap a heading to sort. “Not stated” means the maker doesn’t publish it.
| Vollrath Wear-Ever 3-quart steamer with pot, tray and cover | Uncoated aluminum | 1 / 1 | Pot + steamer + lid | Doesn't work on induction | Not stated / Not stated | Maker doesn't say if it's dishwasher safe; handwashing recommended | Not stated |
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Questions before you choose
Does aluminum work on induction?
Not on its own. Aluminum isn't magnetic, so a bare or hard-anodized aluminum pan heats on induction only with a steel base bonded underneath, as on All-Clad's HA1.