Ultimate Guide to Cookware
Best Cookware for Beginner, Intermediate, or Advance
Breakdown of Common Cookware Materials
(The Pros and the Cons)
A reliable cookware for its durability and low maintenance, as well as great searing, and safe to cook with acidic food. It's oven and broiler safe, working with both stovetops and induction. However, it takes a while to conduct heat and tends to stick easily if the pan is not hot and/or not enough oil. But the downsides are still a good all-purpose cookware.
Stainless Steel
Aluminum
100% aluminum pans are not great—although lightweight, affordable, and have excellent heat conduction—they deeply lack the quality for good cooking: they react to acidity which changes the flavor and color of foods, and they damaged easily from scratches and dents, and not compatible with induction.
Tri-ply or Laminated
Tri-ply are layer stainless steel, aluminum, and stainless steel creating a better cookware. They have all the benefits of stainless steel but heat up faster and distribute and retain better heat thanks to the aluminum between the stainless steel. However, Tri-ply is generally a tad more expensive than stainless steel and still has the same downside as stainless steel. But are worth it as it gives better and faster searing, frying, simmering than stainless steel, and with proper caring, it lasts a lifetime.
Cast Iron
A mixture of elements mainly iron and silicon. That has excellent heat retention—making it sear better than tri-ply or stainless steel—it lasts a lifetime, and is versatile for baking bread, braising meats, and deep frying various foods. However, depending on the type of cast iron: traditional or enameled it has different drawbacks.
Traditional type cast iron requires maintenance and knowledge to be properly cared for, such as needing to build a nonstick layer called a season. I won’t get into the details but video from MinuteFood Simple Rules for Cast Iron break down the details nicely and manageable.
Enameled cast iron does not need to build a season, is dishwasher-safe, and can safely use acid but is generally more expensive and can chip by fluctuating temperature.
I recommend buying a traditional cast-iron skillet for tasks such as searing, and an enameled cast-iron skillet for braising, baking, and deep-frying.
Carbon Steel
is a step further from stainless steel, tri-ply, or cast iron pan for searing. Similar to cast iron but internally has less carbon. Carbon steel pans are lighter, have a faster heat response, and offer the same benefits as cast iron pans. But just like traditional cast iron, a carbon steel pan needs the same care as cast iron and shares similar drawbacks. But in return offer the best you can get for a pan.
Non-stick or Ceramic
Nonstick pans are great for cooking any food in low heat without much oil like eggs and pancakes. There are two kinds of nonstick pans: teflon or anodized aluminum-coated pans.
Teflon is a chemical coating that is sprayed on top of the pan. It is safe, provided the pan doesn’t exceed 500°F. If it does, the Teflon burns and the nonstick properties drawback.
While the anodized aluminum has a ceramic-like coating that acts as a nonstick-like surface, it’s great for people who don’t want to use Teflon pans, however, they’re more expensive.
Copper
Copper is the best of the best in terms of heat conductivity (heats up quickly and distributes heat evenly) with a beautiful striking appearance. However, it's very expensive, with high maintenance, that can react with acidic or alkaline foods (bare copper), and easily damage. There are also different types of copper: bare copper, tin-lined, and stainless-lined.
Bare copper: used for sweets like candy or ham; not for general cooking
Tin-lined: Cookware where the copper top is lined with tin. It add some safety to acidic food (but is limited) and has nonstick property, however, it wears over time and needs to be polished. But with care it is great for searing, sautéing, and making delicate sauces.
Stainless-Lined: Like tin, but instead lined with stainless steel which is fully safe from acidic food, more durable than tin. But share the same tendency as stainless sticking to food and more expensive than tin-lined.