The invention relates to a method for regulating a cooking process using an item of cookware having inductive properties on a cooking area, wherein a coil is arranged as part of an LC resonant circuit in the region of the cooking area and the natural frequency of the LC resonant circuit is measured repeatedly or continuously. The invention also relates to a cooking apparatus having at least one cooking area, a temperature sensor, a power controller, an LC resonant circuit having a coil, which is arranged in, around or in the region of the cooking area, and a controller, which is connected to the temperature sensor and a unit for measuring the frequency of the LC resonant circuit and which is programmed to carry out method, wherein the controller has access to a memory for storing the mathematically determined parameter function or vector function.