What Are the Pros and Cons of Different Types of Cooking?

The range of metal materials used to make cookware is very narrow. Because the pot needs good thermal conductivity and stable chemical properties, otherwise the taste of the food in the cooker will change. Many metals have good thermal conductivity, but are too chemically unstable, so they are not suitable for cooking food. But in some cases, the pot can be made of a very unstable metal material and then coated with a layer of other stable material. There are five common cookware metals on the market, namely aluminum, copper, stainless steel, cast iron and carbon steel. In this article, I will introduce them one by one, show some examples, and discuss the pros and cons of each.

 

Whether you are looking for high-quality cookware or multi-function cookware, such as stackable cookware set, removable handle cookware, die cast aluminum cookware, etc., you have to consider the following important factors. These factors mainly include heat distribution, heat capacity, induction compatibility and reactivity.

 

Aluminum

 

Aluminum is one of the most popular frying pan materials today. Aluminum is a metal with excellent thermal conductivity. It will not rust and is resistant to many forms of corrosion. Aluminum cans will change the taste of food if they come into contact with some sour foods. Aluminum generally exists in the form of stretched, die-cast or anodized. Stretched aluminum is formed by rotary stamping. Due to the soft nature of this metal, it is generally made of aluminum alloy with magnesium, copper or bronze to increase its strength. Stretched aluminum is widely used in baking plates, juice plates, cake muffin pans, soup pots, steam pots, pasta pots and even woks.

 

Die-casted ones are often thicker than stretched ones, making them more suitable for soup pots, Dutch pots, and heavy baking pans. Because die cast aluminum pan produces microscopically visible performance pores in the die-casting process, its thermal conductivity is lower than that of stretched aluminum pan.

 

Anodized aluminum naturally has a layer of aluminum oxide, which is hard and difficult to react with other substances. This technique is often used to make juice pots, chowder pots, baking pots and Dutch baking pots.

 

There are many types of aluminum pots, including aluminum non-stick stackable cookware, press aluminum detachable cookware, die cast aluminum detachable cookware and forged aluminum cookware.

 

Aluminum is light in texture, good in heat dissipation and inexpensive. The disadvantage is that its thermal insulation is not good, and the metal is soft and easy to scratch and dent.

 

With the increasing popularity of induction cookers, cookware manufacturers use stainless steel baking pans on the bottom of the pan. Since steel contains iron, aluminum pans with discs can be used for induction cooking.

 

Copper

 

Although copper is excellent at dissipating heat, it is heavy and expensive. Compared with aluminum, copper has a very high density, which is also an important reason for the durability of copper cookware. The disadvantages of copper are significant. It cannot be used in the sensing range and will react with acidic foods.

 

Cast Iron

 

Cast iron cookware heats slowly, but once the temperature rises, it can withstand the high temperature. So it is an ideal pot for heating at hot temperatures. As a reactive material, it is prone to chemical reactions with certain foods. In addition, some foods such as spinach will turn black when cooked on red cast iron. Cast iron pan is a porous material that is easy to rust.

 

Carbon Steel

 

In recent years, carbon steel, as a lightweight alternative to cast iron, has attracted some attention. Carbon steel cookware is thinner and easier to handle. The disadvantage is that the heat preservation is reduced and the thermal conductivity is not very good, which will cause some foods to cook unevenly.

 

Stainless Steel

 

The advantage of stainless steel is that it is resistant to corrosion and is not easily scratched or dented. The disadvantage of using stainless steel for cooking is that the heat conduction is quite poor. Therefore, stainless steel pots usually conduct heat with copper or aluminum on the bottom.