Stainless Steel Pans selection
Stainless steel pans - what's hot!
We are offering a wide variety of stainless steel pots and pans from a range of good quality retailers. We believe that stainless steel pans are the best option in the modern kitchen. They are easy to use, durable, good-looking and they will continue to look attractive for many years.
Buying new cookware can be a complicated and expensive business. It isn’t so long ago that we saw a beautiful set of anodised aluminium pans have their appearance completely ruined by using a dishwasher and these pans were labelled dishwasher safe.
Cooking pans need to be good conductors of heat but must also be durable, strong and unreactive. It comes as no surprise that stainless steel is the choice of material used by many professionals because of these very qualities. Good quality stainless steel pans are a delight to own and will enhance the look and feel of any kitchen.
What are the choices?
Copper - If we stick to the basic metals first then copper has been around for a very long time. Copper pans are great heat conductors and are very unreactive. However, they are expensive and also damaged quite easily since copper is one of the softer metals. They also tarnish easily and may dull over time with oxidation with the air.
Aluminium - This is a good conductor and the material is relatively cheap if you stick to straightforward thin aluminium pans. They are also strong and durable and make superb pots for cooking unreactive foods, such as boiling water for pasta due to their excellent thermal properties. But - and it’s a big but - they are quite reactive with acidic foods and this will be detected by a change in taste of the food. A non-stick coating inside will prevent these reactions.
Anodised aluminium - This a good step forward - they cost more and are unreactive but don’t expect them to last more than a few rounds with your dishwasher before they come out looking scratched with the lovely grey outer surface rubbed right through.
Carbon steel - This is commonly used in woks and fry pans but beware of uneven heating and hotspots. The purchase cost is usually low but the pans tend to be quite thin and easily damaged. It’s the hotspots though that make us steer away from them for regular use, although a carbon steel wok which is correctly seasoned is a great pan to have in the kitchen. If they are not seasoned well they can get rusty after reacting with air and moisture.
Stainless steel - Stainless steel is not the best conductor - copper and aluminium are both better, but as in all things the best solution is often a compromise. Stainless steel pans are corrosion resistant and easy to clean. Generally they can be used in dishwashers - their looks won’t be ruined like anodised aluminium will, but some surface scuffing may occur. When you have a fine set of stainless steel pans then it will generally be best to hand clean without abrasives. Good quality stainless steel pans have a thicker base which has a core of aluminium or copper. The addition of these extra layers enhances the pans’ thermal properties and allows the heat to be transferred through in a more even manner.
Not only will stainless steel pans be great practical pans to cook with but they will also retain their sparkling good looks after many years of service in the kitchen.