Cooking vessel

1 . A cooking vessel, comprising:

a cooking surface; and

a lower portion positioned below the cooking surface, wherein the lower portion includes discrete portions made of a magnetic field-absorbing material, which includes a ferrite component, and discrete portions made of a ferromagnetic material, wherein the discrete portions made of the magnetic field-absorbing material are positioned side-by-side with the discrete portions made of the ferromagnetic material, and wherein the magnetic field-absorbing material and the ferromagnetic material are different materials.

2 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , wherein the discrete portions of the magnetic field-absorbing material each include an outer surface positioned within a first plane, and further wherein the discrete portions of the ferromagnetic material each include an outer surface positioned within a second plane that is outwardly spaced-apart from the first plane.

3 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field-absorbing material includes a silicon dioxide component.

4 . The cooking vessel of claim 3 , wherein the magnetic field-absorbing material includes about 75% of the ferrite component and about 25% of the silicon dioxide component.

5 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , wherein the cooking surface is comprised of a non-ferrous metal material.

6 . The cooking vessel of claim 5 , wherein the cooking surface is comprised of aluminum.

7 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , wherein the discrete portions of ferromagnetic material are spaced apart from each other and surrounded by the magnetic field-absorbing material.

8 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , wherein the ferromagnetic material is configured to be inductively heated upon exposure to an electromagnetic field.

9 . The cooking vessel of claim 8 , wherein the magnetic field-absorbing material includes a rubber-embedded ferrite material configured to increase in temperature upon absorption of electromagnetic radiation.

10 . A cooking vessel, comprising:

a cooking surface;

a lower portion positioned below the cooking surface;

a first material disposed within a first discrete zone of the lower portion and in thermal proximity to the cooking surface, wherein the first material increases in temperature upon absorption of electromagnetic radiation based on dielectric loss, and wherein the first material includes a rubber-embedded ferrite component; and

a second material disposed within a second discrete zone of the lower portion and in thermal proximity to the cooking surface, wherein an electrical current is induced in the second material upon exposure to an electromagnetic field, wherein the first discrete zone is surrounded by the second discrete zone, and wherein the first material and the second material are different materials.

11 . The cooking vessel of claim 10 , wherein the second discrete zone includes a plurality of columns within the lower portion and spaced around a center of the lower portion, wherein the second material is positioned in each of the plurality of columns, and further wherein the first material surrounds each column of the plurality of columns within the lower portion.

12 . The cooking vessel of claim 11 , wherein the first material is configured within the lower portion to define an outer surface of the first material, and further wherein each column of the plurality of columns includes an outer surface defining a support surface of the cooking vessel, and further wherein the support surface of the cooking vessel extends outwardly from the outer surface of the first material.

13 . The cooking vessel of claim 10 , wherein the first and second materials are disposed in a horizontally adjacent configuration within the lower portion.

14 . The cooking vessel of claim 1 , further comprising:

an upper side consisting of a highly thermally conductive third material.

15 . The cooking vessel of claim 10 , wherein the second discrete zone forms a continuous ring around at least a portion of the first discrete zone.

16 . The cooking vessel of claim 15 , wherein a portion of the first discrete zone forms a continuous ring around the second discrete zone.