Choosing Pots And Pans

So your housemate has moved out and taken the pans that you used to use with him because he's an idiot, or you're fed up of your cheap budget pots and pans that never seem to cook properly and are your sole excuse for your bad cooking.

You're in the market for new pots and pans, but you don't have a clue which is which, what is better than what, which brands to go for, where to get them. Well, ok. There are a heap of different pan material types. More often then not, you'll get them in a set which'd usually compromise of a bunch of pans and a milk pan or some other shit like that.

But all this stuff about Anodized Aluminium and Clad Copper is making things 10 times worse.

WELL! Off we go to be gay at Pan Materials Land!

Types of Pots & Pans

Okay, with pans, you generally tend to have metallic pans and metallic composite pans. The metallic ones, are ones which are purely made out of metal (usually the handles can be made out of plastic), whereas the others are composite or coated.

The ones you'll most likely come across will be:

• Aluminium
• Cast Iron
• Stainless Steel
• Copper
• Carbon Steel
• All Clad
• Non-stick

So, without further ado, lets get explaining what these are~

Aluminium

These usually tend to be the cheapest. They have good heat conductivity, and don't rust or corrode easily.

Usually with aluminium pans, you're looking for anodized aluminium. This is because aluminium that is not anodized can react with acidic or alkaline foods, tarnishing the taste. With anodized aluminium pans, there is an oxide layer which prevents this from happening. The only bad thing is that this coating is pretty sensitive, so be careful when washing it. You should gently handwash it as opposed to throwing it in the dishwasher.

Stainless Steel

These tend to be my favourite. These pans are, as the name implies, made out of stainless steel. Stainless steel doesn't react with foods and doesn't rust, and you can go at it with the scouring pad all you like. Stainless-steel pans are also very good at creating a fond (caramelized bits at the bottom) while cooking, making them ideal for making pan sauces. You may get the occasional thing burnt on the bottom, but that's nothing a quick soak and a go at it with the scouring pad won't solve.

The only drawback to these is that stainless steel tends to have a bad heat conducitivity. However, stainless steel pans often have a disc of a more conductive metal, i.e. copper or aluminium on the bottom. The best ones to go for are stainless steel pans with thick and encapsulated bases. A thicker base means it will conduct and hold heat better, and an encapsulated base is built into the actual base of the pan, thus providing better heat as opposed to just being stuck on the bottom like with most budget stainless steel pans.

Stainless steel pans are the most common in restaurants, due to their versatility, durability, price, and light weight.

Multi-ply

Multi-ply pans go beyond stainless-steel pans with an encapsulated base. They have a copper or aluminum core completely surrounded with stainless steel and reaching along all sides of the pan, so you get some of the pluses of copper or aluminium, but with the ease and non-reactivity of stainless steel.

A well-known brand is All-Clad. You may see these as "clad aluminium" or "clad copper" pans.

Copper

Copper pans behave much like stainless-steel pans, but have the best heat conductivity and even heating, allowing them to heat faster on lower flames. They are usually coated with tin or steel to stop them reacting with foods; however, this coating will wear off with use, requiring retinning.

They are the most expensive type of pan, and will also cost you in upkeep due to the need for retinning.

Due to their cost, copper pans are usually found only in high-end restaurants.

Cast Iron

These are those heavy pans you've most likely seen and picked up and gone "jeez these are heavy" and swung about and then knocked everything over and got sent out of the shop. Due to their heavy weight, they take a while to warm up, once they're warm, they hold the heat very well. Due to their even heat distribution, they are good for frying, and due to their high heat retention, they're good for frying, searing, or other high-heat cooking methods.

Cast iron pans are seasoned with oil or fat before use. This creates an extremely non-stick cooking surface. However, if not stored or seasoned properly, they tend to rust, corrode, tarnish, become damaged etc. quite easily and can be a bitch to clean. If necessary, it can be cleaned with paper towels and salt, and then given a light coat of oil; washing with soap will remove the seasoning. Cooking fatty foods such as bacon will help season and maintain your cast iron. Eventually you'll build up that wonderful layer of burnt oil and carbon that is better than any artificial non-stick surface.

They tend to be around the cheap level of aluminium pans, but a bit more expensive. However, cast iron pans have a very long lifespan, and you may be able to get one cheaply from a thrift store or a family member. Pans that are rusted or dirty can be scoured with steel wool, then thoroughly washed with soap and water to bring the pan to its original, unseasoned state.

Carbon Steel

Carbon steel tends to have high strength and heat resistance, and is often used for high heating. They do not have even heat distribution or good heat retention, which is why paella pans and Chinese woks are often made of carbon steel; this allows rapid heating and cooling in localized areas.

Carbon steel pans also need regular seasoning. They are cheaper than most other types of cookware.

Non-Stick

You'll have seen these in the shops, the ones with the special teflon coating. The non-stick surface makes cooking and cleaning easy, and theoretically, it also allows you to use a smaller amount of oil.

The quality of non-stick pans varies with price, but all non-stick pans have a number of limitations. The non-stick coating will degrade with use, and metal utensils can mar the surface - if you get something burnt on them, you can't even consider using the rough end of a scouring pad on them or you will fuck them up something chronic. They are also not suited to high-heat cooking. Leaving the pan over a flame empty will eventually cause it to break down and release fumes. At normal kitchen temperatures, these fumes have little effect on humans, but can be fatal to pet birds.

Cheap brands of non-stick cookware are much more likely to suffer from these shortcomings, so invest in a good-quality one.

The bottom line

Personally, you're probably not out for spending masses, but if I must reccommend a decent all-rounder as far as pan materials go, I personally go for Stainless Steel. Good for all-round cooking, cleans well, doesn't screw with the food and isn't as massively expensive. Make sure you go for a decent quality set though, with a decent thick bottom, usually encapsulated. I personally have a set of Judge pans (with a Mayer skillet) which I managed to get from ebay (for £2.99 not including shipping, bwa ha ha ha ha) and they work pretty damn decent on my house's shitty oven.