Presently, there are many types of Cookware Materials available in the market. Shopping for cookware can be confusing. From what cookware material to use for searing, roasting, frying, braising, and more to which types of skillets, baking pans, and casserole dishes to buy. While you have so many options for cookware, choosing one of them might be confusing. So it is had to find out the best cookware material for healthy cooking. However, the truth is every kind of cookware material has its features and downside. This article is for those people who want to buy cookware but are confused to choose the right one. In this post, you will get to know almost everything in detail about various types of cookware materials. Let us check it out to get more beneficial information.
Types of Cookware Materials.
Here is a shortlist of various cookware materials for you. This information may help you to choose the right one for yourself.
Copper
Copper is the best metal for the conductor of heat. It is good if you are cooking on a stove where you have to control the heat. Copper can react with foods and can be harmful. Therefore, copper cookware is usually lined with another material, which is mostly stainless steel. The biggest downside of using copper cookware is maintenance. Copper cookware can discolour, so once in a while, you need to polish it to remove discolouration. Also, copper cookware is likely to dent and scratch easily.
Aluminium
Aluminium is probably the most common material in cookware. It is an excellent heat conductor and propagates heat evenly throughout the cookware. It better heat distribution is if aluminium is ticked off the cookware. Aluminium can be anodized to make the cookware surface harder. Hard-anodized pots and pans are harder than steel and are very durable. Also, it is dishwasher safe. Aluminium cookware is also very inexpensive compared to other materials. The downside of it is if the aluminium is not treated, it is more liable to staining and reacting with foods. For this reason, it is recommended to choose aluminium with a nonstick interior because it is much less likely to discolour or react with foods.
Ceramic
Ceramic cookware is a great insulator, it does not react quickly to heat. Ceramic cookware commonly includes one of two types of cookware; those that are fully made of ceramic, and those that have an aluminium body bound with a magnetic, silicon-based nonstick coating, this coating is called “ceramic” because the coating is made of sand.
Because ceramic is an insulator, it means ceramic cookware reacts slowly to heat and holds it well, it is ideal for slow, steady cooking at a constant temperature. Though, complete ceramic cookware usually includes casserole dishes and roasting pans that are designed only for oven use. Ceramic cookware is made of either porcelain, earthenware, or stoneware, and they are usually dishwasher-safe.
Ceramic nonstick cookware is meant to be used on the stovetop. Their aluminium interior permits for rapid, even heat distribution, while their nonstick exterior also withstands scratches and can get along well with all kinds of stovetops including induction. Ceramic nonstick cookware is safe in the dishwasher, but for them to last longer, hand washing is encouraged, as well as using only wooden or silicone utensils when cooking with them.
Cast Iron
Almost indestructible, the cast is an old-fashioned cooking material that is porous and delivers a lot of flavours when taken care of properly. Cast iron pots and pans hold heat well, making them perfect for boiling, frying, baking, stewing, and braising, and it keeps food warm after cooking is done. Cast iron cookware is very heavy, so it is not as easy to move on the stove or to take in and out of storage. Cast iron cookware can be either coated or uncoated, but both are safe for induction cooktops.
Uncoated cast iron cookware needs some certain care and cleaning, but many times it arrives pre-seasoned, so it can be used right away. Additional cooking and seasoning will make it even more nonstick over time. Uncoated cast iron usually should not be used with acidic foods like tomatoes, but completely seasoned pans can bear some acidic foods for short time. Uncoated cast iron cookware is almost not destroyable, and can typically be used on a cooktop, in the oven, on a grill, and perchance even over a campfire, but it is recommended to be washed by hand and may need re-seasoning from time to time.
Cast iron pots and pans, normally coated with layers of an enamelled material, do not need seasoning, and it is safe for cooking acidic foods. Some cast-iron cookware has a bright-coloured enamelled exterior with a rough dull interior that is like uncoated cast iron but it cannot be affected by acidic foods. Some coated cast iron pots and pans are dishwasher safe, but you should check with the producer to be sure since dishwasher detergent can cause harm the coating
Steel
Steel cookware sets are usually common as other materials for home cookware, carbon steel, and blue steel are occasionally used for woks and other specialized pans. The cookware needs to be seasoned before use and oiled after cooking to keep it from corrosion in storage. Enameled steel cookware is not usually as common today as it was in years past, but spotted enamelware can still be seen occasionally, particularly in big pots used for water bath heating. The enamelled coating prevents the steel from rusting, but if the coating gets scratched, rusting can occur. Steel cookware should get along with induction, but if the material is very thin, the induction might not recognize it accurately.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is a good all-around general-purpose cookware. It is lightweight, durable, and very easy to clean. It is, though, a poor conductor of heat so mostly many stainless steel pieces are made of the copper or aluminium disc in the bottom to help spread heat more evenly. Because of its smooth surface, stainless steel cookware is easy to clean and is dishwasher safe. If you observe some kind of discolouration, you can use stainless steel cleanser that recovers natural sparkle. You can use metal utensils on stainless steel or aluminium surface.
Nonstick
Nonstick cookware has a coating inside the pots and pans that makes it hard for food to stick to it. You cook healthy, non-fat foods with ease. Because food does not stick, it is very easy to clean. It can be found in combination with many metals that are used to manufacture cookware. The downside of this type of cookware is that it can be easily scratched. Stainless steel or other utensils can scratch the pan so it is recommended to use nylon silicone utensils.
Clad
Getting two types of cookware materials together to get all the advantages of both materials creates clad cookware. Most stainless steel is clad with aluminium. Aluminium gives you thickness and great heat conductivity and stainless steel keeps it from rusting and is easy to maintain. Clad cookware will last you a lifetime. The only disadvantage of this type of cookware is that is totally heavy and very expensive. If money is not an issue and you want the best of the best in your kitchen, we would recommend clad cookware.
Do you think there is another cookware material that we did not mention on our list? Let us know in the comment section.
