How to choose pots for the kitchen: the pros and cons of various materials

The content of the article

• What material is better to buy pots
• Aluminum
• Cast iron pots
• Ceramic pots
• Glass
• Enameled
• Copper cookware
• Non-stick
• Stainless Steel Pans
• Titanium Cookware
• Organic Modern Pans

It is important to consider not only the food for which you take the dishes, but also the place of cooking (at home or outside the city), harmlessness, price. Hurrying up with a purchase means throwing money away, ruining dishes and, possibly, even a stove. In addition, you need to take care of different materials, otherwise they will not last long.

What material is better to buy pots

Stainless steel products are “workhorses” in any kitchen, and a non-stick pan is an excellent option for fried eggs and other delicate dishes. If you need to serve a festive table, there is nothing better than glass and ceramics. When a long trip to nature is ahead, then you can not do without cast iron, aluminum or even titanium. Particular attention to acidic and alkaline products – not every material is suitable for them.

Aluminum

Such pans are stamped, cast, with anode coating.

Than the last look is good:

• Heats up quickly, evenly (thermal conductivity is higher than that of stainless steel).
• Inert (does not react with acids, alkali).
• Durable, resistant to dents, scratches, rust.
• Durable.
• Easy.
• Suitable for both stove and oven. Some models are even suitable for induction panels (they are specially marked).

Two other types of aluminum differ for the worse:

• Both react to acidic, alkaline components..
• Stamped aluminum is also soft, so it is easy to wrinkle, scratch.
• Food may lose color, get a metallic touch.

Cast iron pots

This is one of the strongest, unpretentious materials on which you can cook almost any dish.

Advantages of cast iron:

• Keeps warm for a long time.
• Almost non-stick surface, but only with proper care.
• It can be used on a stove, grill, oven, roasting pan or even on a fire.
• Durability, Scratch and Rust Resistance.
• Durability.
• Affordable price.

About the disadvantages:

• Slow, uneven heating.
• Requires maintenance. The dishes should be wiped with linseed or peanut butter, then heated in the oven and cooled. Well-groomed cast iron burns and even rusts more and more.
• Heavy weight.
• Chemical activity. The less seasoned cast iron, the more it discolours alkaline and acid products, spoils their smells.
• Not easy to clean. Do not wash it with soap – so the slippery layer from oil disappears, which protects the material from burning, chemical reactions.
• It is not recommended to heat this cookware on induction panels..

Ceramic pots

They are universal, harmless and beautiful. This cookware is similar to non-stick pans, but only without chemical coating.

Its advantages:

• Inertness (does not respond to acidic, alkaline products).
• It withstands the temperature under which even stainless steel melts. Therefore, she is not afraid of the oven and microwave, unlike metal utensils.
• There are no pores. Material does not leach metals into food.
• Ceramic forms with food can be stored in the refrigerator, freezer.
• Suitable for serving directly on the table.
• It is easy to clean, and you can even use soft brushes, sponges, chemistry – the gloss will not disappear, the appearance will not suffer. In addition, most of the ceramics can be loaded into the dishwasher.

There is an ambiguous feature:

• Smooth heating, cooling. There will be no precise, fine control over cooking, but it will also help to avoid excessive frying.

In addition to culinary and aesthetic qualities, ceramics have obvious disadvantages:

• Food can stick after a month or two..
• Tangible weight.
• Low strength.
• Old pottery and stone dishes may contain lead.

Glass

Suitable option for baking, frying.

What is good glassware:

• Heats up quickly, holds heat longer than metal.
• Inertia.
• Smooth, pore-free surface.
• Convenient control over cooking (food is visible through clear glass).
• Can be served directly on the table.
• Availability (cheaper than ceramics).

Glass pans are not universal due to their shortcomings:

• Uneven heating (at some points the material is hotter, at others – colder).
• Food sticks to the surface.
• Heavy weight.
• Fragility, breaks when dropped to the floor.
• Temperature Sensitivity.
• The material is not recommended for use on ceramic glass hobs..
• Old dishes may contain lead.

Enameled

This is the same metal utensil made of cast iron, aluminum or steel, only enameled.

Such dishes have additional advantages:

• No reaction to acid, alkali.
• Quality enameled dishes do not burn.
• Smooth, pore-free surface that protects food from metal ions.
• It is allowed to use on gas, electric and ceramic stoves.
• Suitable for cooking, food storage, table setting.
• Easy to wash by hand, can be loaded into the dishwasher.
• Affordable price.

Features:

• Thermal conductivity depends on the metal of which the dishes are made..
• Weight is also determined by the base material. Cast iron models, for example, will be heavy, and aluminum pots will be significantly lighter.

Two disadvantages of enameled dishes:

• Chips and corrosion are ensured if you scratch or knock on it with metal appliances.
• Brushes and coarse abrasive powders spoil the appearance of the coating.

Copper cookware

Particularly sensitive to changes in heating temperature. Precise control is important for making sauces, complex desserts, stews and browns.

Advantages of copper cookware:

• Fast, uniform heating (best thermal conductivity among metal pans).
• Cooked food is made with a special taste..
• Food doesn’t burn.
• Expensive appearance.

There is one feature:

• Copper coated with tin or stainless steel does not react with acids, alkalis. Without this layering, it is chemically active..

Minuses:

• High price.
• The softness of the material, which makes it easy to bend or mash.
• Copper pots can not be heated on stoves with ceramic glass.
• Frequent polishing is required to preserve the pristine sheen of dishes. Re-tinning may be necessary every few years..

Non-stick

This is the best cookware for preparing simple, delicate and maximum fat-free dishes. Its base is metal coated with a special non-stick layer (often Teflon).

What does it give:

• Slippery surface allows cooking without oil.
• Delicate dishes (fish, scrambled eggs, pancakes) do not burn, do not break into pieces.
• Inertness to acids, alkalis.
• Pores excluded.
• Light weight.
• Easy to wash, even with soap or in a dishwasher (only without highly concentrated products).

Controversial nuances:

• The thermal conductivity of non-stick cookware depends on the base material..
• Teflon coating breaks when heated from 260 °, exhaling harmful gas.

Disadvantages:

• The non-stick surface is easily damaged by metal appliances..
• Teflon exfoliates with prolonged intensive use. As food becomes more saturated with toxic components.
• Deformations due to heat stroke (overheating of an empty pan, contact of hot dishes with cold, etc.).
• Short service life. These pans should be changed every 2–4 years to avoid personal injury..

Stainless Steel Pans

These are pots for gas stoves, an oven and direct fire (bonfire), which differ:

• Resistance to alkalis, acids.
• Pore-free surface.
• Durable, scratch and corrosion resistant.
• Durability (stainless steel cookware has been around for decades).
• Light weight.
• Easy to clean (can even be put in the dishwasher).
• Reasonable price, especially compared to copper.

Ambiguous points:

• Slow heating with steel core model.
• Only magnetic grades of stainless steel are suitable for induction cookers. The rest are not.

This dish is made of an alloy of metals, which affects its disadvantages:

• Cheap pans – soft, easy to burn.
• The more severely damaged stainless steel, the more abundant it releases chrome and nickel in food.

Titanium Cookware

It is in great demand among tourists due to its properties:

• Inertness to alkaline, acidic foods.
• Food does not stick to the coating (can be cooked without oil).
• Oven, open fire safe for titanium.
• This cookware does not heat up under high temperatures. Convenient in nature: for example, mugs do not heat up from boiling water, do not burn lips.
• Non-porous surface.
• Extreme durability, resistance to dents, scratches, rust.
• Durability.
• A light weight.
• Easy care.

Titanium also has controversial points, because of which such a choice of pots for the kitchen is not an ideal solution:

• Long uneven heating. If cooking just takes more time, then frying the meat will already be problematic..
• Cheap titanium alloys are brittle, can crack when hit hard.

The obvious lack of material:

• High price (more expensive than aluminum, stainless steel).

Organic Modern Pans

This is the same non-stick cookware, only with a ceramic base and a more environmentally friendly, safe coating..

Cons inherited from the “grandparents”:

• Tangible weight.
• The new non-stick coating also peels off over time, and the food will start to stick more.
• Metal kitchen appliances can leave chips, scratches.