How to choose a pan?

It is impossible to imagine a single kitchen without a frying pan. In this dish they fry and stew, and bake. It would be very difficult to create many culinary masterpieces if a pan were not invented. But improperly selected dishes can turn into a nightmare for the hostess, when the dishes are burnt, unevenly fried, or acquire an extraneous taste. That is why it is so important to know how to choose the right pan.

to contents ↑

What material to choose a pan from?

Now frying dishes are made from different materials and with a variety of coatings. In order not to get lost in this variety and choose exactly the pan that you need, let's carefully consider the pros and cons of each option.

Cast-iron pan

This is a classic of all time, which still does not lose its relevance. Everyone saw in their grandmother's kitchen a weighty fried pan for baking pancakes.

Advantages:

1. Heats up gradually and evenly, so it is perfect for dishes that require a long heat treatment of products.
2. It can be heated to high temperatures, while it does not produce harmful chemical elements and is not deformed.
3. Cast iron has a porous structure, due to which a natural non-stick layer is formed - food in such a pan practically does not burn.

Important! Immediately after buying utensils from cast iron, cooking something in it will not work. First, the cast iron skillet needs to be calcined. To do this, wash the dishes and dry thoroughly. Then grease and bake over low heat or in the oven for several hours.

4. You can use forks and metal blades for mixing.
5. Not afraid of acids. You can safely cook dishes with the addition of vinegar or citric acid.
6. The ribbed inner surface of the bottom, made in the form of a cage, allows you to cook meat on the grill.
7. Even if you overexposed the dish and it burned, removing food leftovers is very simple.

Disadvantages:

1. Pretty weighty. If you are looking for a pan that is better for baking pancakes, then pay attention to other options - frying a laced dessert on cast-iron utensils can turn into real physical exercises for pitching.

Important! Do not look for a light cast-iron skillet. The minimum bottom thickness should be 4 mm.

2. Despite its impressive appearance, cast iron is a rather fragile material. Such a pan may crack when dropped.
3. Food cannot be stored in cast iron products - after cooking it should be immediately transferred.

Operation Features:

1. Do not use special detergents to clean cast iron dishes - this will damage the natural non-stick layer. It is best to simply rinse such pans after use with warm water and wipe dry.
2. Moisture iron may rust, so do not leave dishes with water drops on the walls. And for storage, select a dark and dry place.

Stainless steel frying pan

Until recently, stainless steel cookware was the dream of almost all housewives - its presence in the kitchen was a sign of wealth. And there is an explanation for this, because such pans have a number of advantages.

Advantages:

1. Does not react with various ingredients. You can cook anything in such a pan.
2. You can store food in the same bowl in which it was prepared.
3. Does not rust.
4. Do not change the taste of the products. Many illustrious cooks have decided for themselves the question of which pan is best to choose, choosing molded stainless steel dishes as a favorite.
5. Not afraid of metal cutlery.
6. Durable material.

Disadvantages:

1. If you overheat the pan without food, then color stains may appear on it.
2. Food often burns.
3. Stainless steel does not conduct heat well, so the bottom of such a pan can warm up unevenly.

Important! Many manufacturers began to produce multi-layer pans. For this, a layer of aluminum or copper is sealed between two layers of steel. This allows you to improve the thermal conductivity of such dishes, but at the same time maintain the advantages of stainless steel.

Features of use:

1. First, heat the oil well in a stainless steel pan, and only then put the food.
2. Do not put a lot of food at the same time - the temperature of the dishes will drop sharply and the food will start to burn.
3. Stainless steel has an inert heating - consider this when cooking. To get a brownish crust on the meat, after turning it off, leave the pieces in the pan.

Aluminum pan

If you are thinking about which pan to choose for a picnic or camping trip, then light aluminum cookware may be right for you.

Advantages:

1. Light weight pan.
2. Heats up quickly.
3. Low cost.

Disadvantages:

1. Aluminum is highly susceptible to scratches from metal appliances and brushes.
2. It may become deformed when overheated.

Important! In order for the aluminum pan to serve you for a long time, you should buy cast dishes with a bottom thickness of at least 6 mm. Stamped products are generally best avoided.

3. Products very often burn.
4. It is difficult to choose the desired heating mode, since aluminum has a high thermal conductivity and is sensitive to minimal changes in the intensity of the fire.
5. Sensitive to acidic and alkaline environments.

Important! Given these nuances, such a pan is not very suitable for constant cooking of all preferred dishes at home. May be present only as an auxiliary - for specific purposes.

Important nuances:

1. If you decide to purchase aluminum Teflon-coated pan, pay particular attention to the quality and thickness of the metal. In case of deformation of the dishes from overheating, the inner layer will become unusable.
2. Do not use abrasive powders and brushes to clean aluminum dishes. In this case, vinegar or oxalic acid will come to the rescue.

Copper pan

A copper pan will certainly decorate any kitchen. Many chefs create their masterpieces in this yellow-red dish. If you think which pan is best for a gift, then take a closer look at the copper one. However, for such dishes have to pay a decent amount.

Advantages:

1. It allows you to regulate the temperature well, as copper heats up quickly and cools down.
2. Heat is distributed evenly.
3. Durability.
4. Beautiful appearance.
5. Food cooked in such a pan is stored longer, since copper has antibacterial properties.

Disadvantages:

1. To cook in such a pan, you need some skill.
2. Caring for the dishes is quite difficult, since in a humid environment, copper is oxidized.
3. You cannot cook acidic foods in a fully copper skillet, as they react with the metal and can be harmful to your health.

Important! To prevent the oxidation of copper, manufacturers often cover the inside of dishes with stainless steel or tin plated.

4. In a modern kitchen, a copper frying pan serves more as an ornament than utensils for daily cooking.
5. High price.

Operation Features:

1. In no case should you clean the copper pan with ordinary dishwashing detergents. In stores there are special tools for such material. But many users note that the old “grandmother's” funds do just as well, for example, you can use salt and lemon.
2. For cooking, use only wooden spatulas and spoons.
3. Do not pour boiling water into dry dishes.
4. Salt dishes cooked in a copper pan after boiling the liquid or already before serving.

to contents ↑

Frying pan coating: which one to choose?

The quality of cooking largely depends not only on the material of the product, but also on the internal coating. Therefore, going to the store for a new helper, it is important to know how to choose the right non-stick pan.

Teflon coating

In recent years, the largest number of pans is produced with Teflon. There are many myths and horror stories about this cover. Indeed, at the initial stage of production, Teflon had harmful components, which were then removed from the composition. Now this material is relatively safe, it can harm health only if the dishes with such a coating are used improperly.

Advantages:

1. High non-stick properties. Teflon coating is superior to cast iron.
2. You can fry with a minimum amount of fat.
3. Easy to care for.
4. As a rule, aluminum or steel pans cover Teflon, therefore such dishes are light.
5. Many pans have a thermospot, which signals the user that it is time to put products.
6. Resistance to acid and alkaline environments.
7. Low price.

Disadvantages:

1. When heated above 260 ° C or damaged Teflon coating, it vaporizes harmful substances.

Important! To cook meat, you need a temperature of 200 ° C and above, so for a long frying or stewing, it is preferable to choose a pan with a different coating.

2. Teflon is prone to self-evaporation. Therefore, even with the most careful handling, dishes with such a coating will become unusable in 2-3 years.
3. Afraid of metal and sharp instruments.

Features of the choice:

1. The thicker the Teflon coating layer, the better. The minimum layer should be 20 microns.
2. Teflon is applied to the pan by spraying or knurling. The first method provides greater durability.

Important! Many manufacturers now produce pans with a multilayer coating, which provides greater wear resistance.

Ceramic coating

If you are thinking how to choose a non-stick pan for frying meat or stewing vegetables, pay attention to the ceramic coating. This material is gaining more and more popularity among consumers.

Important! The ceramic layer in the pan does not appear at all as a result of clay burning, as it might seem, but is a nanocomposite polymer with sand nanoparticles.

Advantages:

1. It can be heated to 450 ° C, although this temperature is not reached during frying.
2. Does not emit harmful substances when heated.
3. Evenly warms up.
4. Simple care.
5. Scratch resistant.
6. Food on a ceramic coating may burn out, but will not stick.

Disadvantages:

1. Afraid of sudden changes in temperature. Do not fry non-thawed foods in a pan or place heated dishes under a cold stream of water.
2. Ceramics may crack if dropped.
3. Ceramic-coated pans are heavier than Teflon cookware.

Important nuances:

1. Ceramic coating is a fairly new material. Therefore, some negligent sellers try to “suck in” an inexperienced buyer cheap enamelled aluminum pans.
2. If food began to stick to your frying pan with ceramics, then most likely cracks have already formed on the coating.

Marble coating

One of the last words in modern technologies of internal coating is Teflon with the addition of marble chips. Before choosing a frying pan in the store, look at the option with “marble” - in a couple of years, investments in such dishes will pay off.

Advantages:

1. Durability. Manufacturers claim that with proper care, such a pan can last 20 years or more. But since the material is young, it is impossible to verify their words empirically.
2. It weighs lighter than iron.
3. Evenly and quickly heats up, but cools down quite slowly.
4. Less afraid of temperature changes and scratches than “ceramic” or Teflon.

Disadvantages:

1. The high price is perhaps the most important drawback so far.
2. Most models are sold without a cover. So before choosing a pan with a marble coating of a certain diameter, look for a suitable lid in advance.

Important nuances:

1. Marble pans can have two, three or five layers of coating. The more of them, the more durable the dishes.

Important! If the budget is not limited, then it is better to purchase a five-layer marble pan. At the same time, pay attention that the bottom thickness is at least 0.6 cm.

2. Lubricate the inside with oil periodically and then wipe with a cloth. It is not necessary to calcine the pan with a marble coating.

Titanium coating

Pans with this type of coating appeared on the market relatively recently. Titanium is a relative of cast iron, but unlike it, it is not prone to rust.

Important! If thinking about which pan is better to choose, you opted for titanium kitchen utensils, then do not hope to find products made of 100% titanium. Due to the nature of the technology, dishes are made with the addition of various alloys.

Advantages:

1. Not afraid of metal forks and knives.
2. It has good non-stick properties.
3. Does not react with products.
4. Durability.

Disadvantages:

1. High price.
2. When choosing a frying pan, you need to carefully look at additional alloys in the composition. For example, it may be nickel, which in turn oxidizes, reacts with products, and has a shorter service life.

to contents ↑

Each stove has its own pan.

When thinking about which pan is better to choose, do not forget to consider the type of stove on which you will cook:

• For a gas stove, you can safely use dishes from any materials.
• For an electric stove, you should choose dishes whose diameter corresponds to the diameter of the burners. Pressed aluminum pans and Teflon-coated pans are not suitable, as “electric pancakes” can be heated to very high temperatures.
• For glass ceramics, it is important to choose a pan with a flat bottom. For such a hob, it is also not worth taking dishes made of aluminum and copper, as it leaves “traces”.
• For induction cookers only stainless steel or cast iron pans are suitable. If you have dishes from other metals on your household - copper or aluminum, you can purchase special metal discs.

to contents ↑

Stock footage

Now you know which pan is better to choose so that it will please you and your loved ones with golden pancakes, rosy meat and fragrant stew. And so that such dishes retain their properties and non-stick coating for a long time, do not forget to follow the rules of use.