Cookware

Cookware is a group of kitchen vessels used to cook food. This group includes pots, pans and other stove top cooking containers.

Fast Facts

1. Price range: $10 to over $1,000
2. Don't use nonstick cooking spray on stove top pans
3. Vinegar and baking soda great of cleaning stainless steel

Buying Guide

There are a variety of materials used to make cookware. Common cookware materials include copper, aluminum, cast iron, nonstick and stainless steel.

Copper is one of the best conductors of heat, distributing heat quickly and evenly. Copper is hard to clean, scratching and tarnishing easily. Also cooking on copper surfaces will cause some copper to get into the food causing a flavor and might cause a person to take in too much copper. Copper is also expensive. Because of its efficient heat distribution copper is often sandwiched within a piece of cookware. This practice eliminates all the disadvantages yet allows the benefits of cooking with copper.

Aluminum is another great heat conductor and is also very inexpensive, although it can be more expensive if anodized or coated with some other metal. Non-anodized aluminum can corrode when cooking acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and cause aluminum to leech into the food causing a funny flavor. Anodized aluminum does not have this reactivity to acids. Aluminum scratches easily and may warp with heat.

Cast iron is the oldest material used for cooking. Needs to be seasoned and dried well. When used iron leaches into the food which is good for iron intake. May be coated with enamel which is great for use in the oven and also a great insulating material.

Nonstick do not stick and do not require much oil when cooking. Metal utensils should not be used with nonstick pans because scratch easily. Instead use plastic or wooden utensils. Also clean gently with a non-scouring tool like a sponge.

Stainless steel is not very heat conductive, but very easy to clean and non reactive so it can be used to cook any type of food. When buying a stainless steel pan look for disks of copper or aluminum on the bottom of the pan. These will help distribute the heat.

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