Pots & Pans

Over the years I’ve owned lots of different pots and pans and as my knowledge of cooking grew so did my choice. What pans you own depends on what and how you cook however understanding how to use your tools can help you get more out of your food and your time. Also with the ever growing media concern over the potential poisoning from our old pans, maybe we should understand what we’re preparing our food in a little more.

In this post I’ll talk about the different types of pots and pans you can buy and use, but more importantly why. I’ll also look at the safety aspect of the all.

“I’m like Teflon…”

For a lot of people there are 2 types of pan; non-stick and standard, with non-stick being the go to prince of pans, because let’s face it, nobody likes washing up. But as usual, that ease of living still comes at a price and I don’t just mean from your wallet. 

For years we’ve loved throwing anything from eggs to meat into a pan swishing it round, serving it up, then with a gentle wipe in the sink it looks good as new. Teflon trademarked this ‘nothing sticks to me’ marvel and we never looked back. However over the last few years the non-stick wonder has been hitting the headlines in the same pages as ‘forever chemicals’ and are being investigated as a serious health risk.
In short, the PTFE [Polytetrafluoroethylene] coating (Teflon) used on the pans to give it the slippy finish, can degrade and be consumed with our cooking thus slowly poising us with some of chemicals used to make it. Being a father cooking for his kids, I’ve done a fair bit of research on this to better understand how and why. I always try to avoid additives and chemicals where I can so understanding this was important for me. 

My quick take, Teflon pans are great and really useful for certain things. If you’re buying a non-stick pan look for a PFOA free one (which is the most harmful chemical used in making the surface), but most importantly use it with care. These pans are deemed safe to use, it is only when damage occurs to the on stick surface does it start offer out chemicals. This means only really use if for things you need for non-stick, like eggs. Look after it and if it starts to show wear, replace it. I own non stick as it is obviously useful, but over the years I use it a lot less as with regular use they tend to only last a few years.
If you want to read a little more its easy to google info on it, here is a site that has a good brief breakdown on basics. 

There are alternatives to chemical non-stick so if this does concern you, read on.

Stainless Steel

The most common pan people have in their kitchens would have to be a Stainless Steel pan. These hardy cookware pieces are sometimes handed down through generations due to their durability a reliability. Though they’re not infallible on the health front, a good quality pan can last a good few lifetimes. More often used as a pot for boiling are making sauces, they come in all shapes and sizes and are the work horses of your kitchen cooking. Stainless Steel pans are great for being versatile and most will be safe for use on the hob and the oven, helping with combination cooking. They can also handle all types of food, from fish to sauces, nothing will tarnish or effect the surface.  

But is it just as simple as a non-stick pan and Stainless Steel pan?
Yes, if you want it to be. 

But if you do care to delve into what and why there are lots of different pans, then read on!

At the core

When you look at a pan, you might only care about the surface, as that is what your food is sitting on, that’s what’s heating your food right? Sometimes yes but mostly no, that’s only ½ right, or a 1/3 right, sometimes even only 1/5 right! What!?

A pan is made of a metal, which when heated conducts the heat to your food. What type of metal though makes a difference to cost and performance. There are a few options 

Stainless Steel – a great option thanks to its durability and longevity, in that it won’t rust. A basic Stainless Steel pan is what will heat your food, though on its own will work a bit slowly due to it not being the best at conducting heat.

Aluminium – Cheaper than Stainless Steel; aluminium is one of the best heat conductors when it comes to pans, alters its temperature quick and evenly too making it sound like a great surface to cook on. It’s downfall though, a lot of ingredients (especially acidic ones) react with the metal causing it to leach into your food. Nobody wants that! Which is why most pans that use aluminium are clad in something else, and this is usually Stainless Steel. This union works well as the Aluminium heats up quickly and evenly, dispersing it to the Steel surface which heats your food safely. 
Heath note… Depending on the quality/age of your pan, the steel can still become worn or damaged over time, if your pan has only a thin layer of stainless steel it has the potential to leek some of that aluminium into your food, so they still need a bit of care. There is no mass of evidence that Aluminium (in the quantities that you would get from cooking) is of great danger to you, but it is worth knowing.
You can still buy aluminium pans and they’re more cost effective and great to use, for the right ingredients.

Stainless Steel with an Aluminium base are the most popular make up of basic pans as it’s the most efficient and cost effective. However as with everything you can always level up. 

Plied With Information

Building on this marriage of metals, you can also buy better quality pans which often come in different bonds or plies. The 2 ply as mentioned above (Alum + Steel) is often built on to make 3 ply or tri-ply (Steel + Alum + Steel). Invited in the 70’s, 3 ply gives the pan better durability, its more attractive as it has the shinier steel finish all over, it’s easier to keep clean and it will work with newer induction hobs due to the steel base. For me this would be the minimum level of a pan you would want and fortunately it is what you mostly come across in shops. 

Then you can start plying up. 5 ply is pretty much the limit and this is often done to add more conductivity of heat throughout the pan, with aluminium it would be (Steel + Alum + Alum Alloy + Alum + Steel). 5 ply pans are obviously more expensive and used in more professional kitchens but are just as accessible to anyone.

Copper

Copper pans have been around for thousands of years, why, because it conducts energy amazingly well, better than Aluminium, which is why it’s used in electronics and sends power to our lights. Because of this it is more expensive. So why copper pans? They look lovely for a start, a stand out in any kitchen, but more so because as I mentioned they’re very responsive, heating and cooling fast, making it great for cooking delicate foods you don’t want to overcook with any residual heat. Not everyone needs or wants this degree of control over their cooking so the investment in these pans aren’t always a worthwhile one. Also, like Aluminium, Copper is reactive to those acidic ingredients, meaning the surface will be coated to protect your food, which again needs to be looked after. 

The price of copper pans and the all-round use of them for me make them more of a style choice outside of specialist cooking. However, you can add some advantages of copper to your pans in a more subtle way. Some companies offer copper core pans which add in a layer of copper in the ply, (Steel + Alum + Copper + Alum + Steel) or sometimes (Copper + Steel + Alum + Steel) if you want the look. The copper helps to spread that heat evenly around the pan making it a solid choice if you want to invest in some great cookware, though again the price will be greater.

Non-Stick Alternatives

Ceramic

Whilst we’re covering layers, another choice when it comes to a non-stick option that doesn’t carry any health warnings is a ceramic pan. Coming in all shapes, sizes and make ups as mentioned above, the pan is coated in a ceramic top rather than a chemical one. You’ll probably recognise this on the well known le Creuset brand of cookware. Ceramic is not quite as hardy a Teflon coated surface but from the off does work well if used correctly. I would argue that ceramic coatings are great as they offer easy cleaning after use but don’t offer that failsafe slick surface for everything and definitely not after a length of usage.

Granite

I’ve put this as a separate type of pan, however they are pretty much the same as a non-stick PTFE pan with a slight difference on durability. Their base or core is usually made up of aluminium, They are then covered in their non-stick surface which is a chemical coating that has been infused with ‘minerals’, which gives them their granite look, they’re not actually made from granite or stone as such. They say they are inert and non-porous, meaning nothing can leach into your food and most are made PFOA free and sold as a safe alternative. They will still suffer the same fate as non-stick pans in terms of being damaged and compromised safety wise if not looked after, but they do seem a little hardier. Some Teflon coated pans can often chip or the surface peel off over time, because of the ‘minerals’ bonded to the chemical non-stick in these pans, it does make them a bit more durable and will not peel off like a coated one. Most now have a conductive metal base on the bottom too, so they work with induction hobs.

I find these to be an effective and safer alternative to a Teflon coated pan, because of the chipping and peeling and have used one for a while. The biggest draw back on these pans though, useful as they can be, is that they’re terrible at conducting heat, they are very slow to heat up due to their makeup. 

Carbon Steel

Personally, if you want the best and safest non-stick pan, look no further than Carbon Steel. Not the most popular of pans and not as easy to buy but for me worth the investment. Stronger and harder, yet thinner and lighter than stainless-steel it conducts heat a lot better, more evenly and retains that heat for a lot longer making it a great option for frying meats at high temperatures but can also handle more delicate cooking at low temperatures.

As in life though nothing truly good is ever easy. A Carbon Steel pan comes as a raw pan, in that it is made of a purely Carbon Steel (Carbon & Iron), no layering. Unlike Stainless Steel, Carbon Steel will rust over time, so needs to be maintained. On arrival your pan is not actually non-stick either*.

So you’re now asking why would anyone want one. 

The care and attention to make your carbon steel pan super isn’t actually all that time consuming, all it takes is a little cooking oil (your choice), which protects the pan from rusting and naturally creates its non-stick surface. This oiling is called seasoning and it is the process of adding a thin layer of oil to your pan with a dry paper towel, heating the pan until the smoke point of the oil (when the oil starts to smoke), wiping off any excess oil, cooling it down, then repeating. After a few times you will have built up a small base layer or non-stick surface. This is a natural process called polymerisation, where the oils heat up and create a hard surface that bonds to the pan. Every time you cook with the pan you’re seasoning it and making it more non-stick.

A well maintained and seasoned Carbon Steel pan is as good as a Teflon non-stick pan, even at cooking eggs and has no health risks when it comes to chemicals leaching into your food. Best part is you can use them on the stove or in the oven making them great for combination cooking.

_{*You can buy Carbon Steel pans pre seasoned, which I don’t like as I don’t think it is durable as your own build up.}

Unlike stainless steel pans though there are a few don’ts when it comes to using them. Like all non-stick pans acidic foods like tomatoes for example can breakdown the non-stick surface so it isn’t recommended as a pan for throwing your whole dinner in. Also unlike a Teflon coated pan, the seasoned surface will take on any strong flavours used to cook; this is especially true of fish. So whilst a cast iron pan can be perfect for fish, I would suggest having a separate one specifically for fish if you wanted to use that. 

To maintain your super polymer layer on your pan and look after it, simply wipe with a bit of oil after you have cleaned it. If you don’t use it a lot, heat and cool to seal it. This pan can withstand a lot it can be stripped back and re-seasoned if needed and can last you several lifetimes. 

Cast Iron

Cast iron is the heavier more sluggish brother of carbon steel. They are very similar in their make up (Iron and Carbon) and again unlike Stainless Steel doesn’t contain the alloys to stop it rusting so like the Carbon Steel pan, it needs to be seasoned. Cast iron pans are often thicker as they are made by pouring the iron into a mould, which is what gives them their weight and durability. Being thicker doesn’t always work in its favour though and thus takes a longer time for the pan to heat up and cool down, this makes it a less responsive pan. To top it off, it is also not always that even when it comes to heat distribution. But also like the Carbon Steel it can last forever.

So why a Cast Iron pan? Aside from being a solid weapon, like all activites, the right tool for the job comes in to play. Having a slower response to heat makes it great at retaining that heat once it gets there, which means when you slap your steak in the pan straight out of the fridge because you forgot to let it sit for a while, the pan doesn’t instantly lose all of its heat and in turn lets you sear that steak quicker and constantly, not over cooking it whilst you get your pan back up to temperature. Also with its ability to retain heat it makes it a great pan for slow cooking and roasting. They offer similar results to a Carbon Steel pan but are a lot cheaper to purchase.

People swear by their Cast Iron pans as being a reliable indestructible pan, when it comes to cooking meat, you don’t want that drop in temperature when you put it in the pan, you want that steady flow and these provide that. They’re not for everyone though. Good thing is you can get them pre seasoned most of the time and I’d advise that more on these pans as you might not use it as much.

Stainless Steel

WHAT!?? Now although we can’t make our Stainless Steel pans non-stick like the Carbon pans above, we can apply a little bit of that polymerisation knowledge to our everyday cooking. Before using your Stainless Steel pan, seasoning it just once before cooking will give you a temporary layer to help things not to stick as much to your pan, especially great for cooking meat and fish. You will still need a bit of oil and it will never be quite as good as I t will not bond with your pan, but it will help with cooking things a lot. Understanding what your putting in the pan though and how it cooks will also help when it comes to things not sticking.  

Want to know more about seasoning? I’ll be doing a post on the exact how to, ins and outs of it soon. 

Clay/Stonewaree

End of the line in pans we have stoneware pans. Not quite as popular for everyday cooking but still of use. Most will recognise a traditional tagine pot as stoneware and usually most pots/pans made of this material will have some sort of lid. This is because it is similar to Cast Iron in terms of long and slow cooking. Now they will always have a ceramic coating on to stop food absorbing into the porous material that is stone. Rarely suited for induction hobs this cookware is lovely to use in certain slow cooked dishes. 

Conclusion

As I mentioned before, the right tools for the right job. A good Stainless-steel set of pans can be all you need as they cover all ranges of food, however knowing how to use them for different cooking can save you from frustration and often the need for purchasing non-stick alternatives. Understanding your ingredients and how to cook them is just as important as what pan to use.

Quick tips

– Cook meat on a high heat, ideally turning only once.
– Heat your pan a little first before adding oil, this close up the microscopic pores of the pan so the oil and food can glide over the surface.
– Unless you’re flash frying/stir frying, start low and slow with fresh food and vegetables. Burning isn’t great for your health or your pans.
– Caramelising onions in a Stainless Steel pan is better than a non-stick pan.
– Cook your sauces and acidic foods in a Stainless Steel pan.
– Don’t use Carbon Pans for strong flavoured food it can flavour your future food with it.
– Don’t deep fry or over heat Teflon coated pans, high temperatures break down the coating.
– Meat is better cooked in Stainless Steel or Carbon pan, high and constant.
– Putting cold liquid or even large cuts of cold meat in a hot pan can make the metal contract and warp your pan.

Cooking with the right pan is covered in some of my experiences. If you’d like more information or help with pans, please email or leave a comment.