Which pans to pick?

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Phantom of the Kitchen

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
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41
Location
Minnesota
Well I think this would be a really nice beginner thread and since I'm a beginner, I'll ask it.

What pots and pans and materials of pots and pans should your NEVER used to cook what?

Everyone says to cook up tomato sauce only in a non-reactive pan; why? Which ones are non-reactive? What should I never cook in my non-stick pan?

I'm just looking for things that I should avoid beyond all others in order to keep my pans in good shape and my food tasting decent.

I would ask what I should use to cook what in order to achieve best results but this is already a pretty broad question.

brad
 
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Other than acidic foods in a reactive pan, I think the better way to ask this question would be What pans are best used with which foods. The reason I say that is that with the exception of acidic foods with reactive pans any food can pretty much be cooked in any pan. Some will just provide better results.

For instance you can cook chicken breasts in a non stick pan. They will come out just fine. they will not brown as much as if you used a stainless steel pan or cast iron though and often times browning is what you want.

With acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus you need to be careful with reactive pans like cast iron. If you have a good seasoning on your pan then it is not as much of a concern, but if you don't have a good seasoning then you will have a metallic taste to your food. The longer the food is in contact with the pan the stronger that taste will be. A few short minutes probably won't matter much, but you would not want to make a slow cooking tomato sauce in cast iron probably.
 
Reactive pans are made of metal, period. That is, the cooking surface is metal. With the exception of gold, and titanium, all metals corrode. on steel and iron, its called rust. On alluminum, and copper, it's called oxidation. The point is that oxidation is caused by the ability of oxigen to combine with other elements. Acidic and base/alkalie ingredients (citric & ascorbic acids, strong cheeses, buttermixk, yogurt, etc, & baking soda for a base) encourage electron flow between these chemicals and oxegen, changing the base metal to an oxidized metal. In turn, some of the metal molecules are turned into free ions (unstable mollecules with either too many or to little electrons), that attach themselves to foods, and liquids, given them a an unwanted metalic flavor.

There are many factors that cause corrosion, dissimilar metals and an electrolyte such as walt water, the afore-mentioned acids and alkalies, heat, and reactive gasses. But for the purpose of cooking, bare metal reacts with food PH levels.

Plastic or ceramic coated metals (teflon, enamled cast-iron), glass, and stainless steel are inert. They don't react with acidic or alkalie foods. (Stainless steel is really stain-resistant steel. It will rust if abused sufficently.)

The reason we use metals is that they are malleable (can be bent and formed into the shapes we want), are good heat contuctors, and are durable. They also conduct electricity well (important if you own and induction stove as it is the eddy currents created by interaction between the metal and an electro-magnetic field generated by the stove "burners" that cause the metal to heat). Glass, ceramic, and plastic, as a rule, are insulators to heat and electricity, though there are exceptions. But they are not perfect insulators and so can absorb and retain heat, espcially the glas and ceramics. And once they are hot, they have substantial thermal mass and retain heat well. That is, as they transfer heat to the food, there is lots more stored in the material.

The problem with both glass and ceramics is that they are extremely rigid materials and will shatter due to expansion and shrinkage pressures caused by rapid temperature change (hot glass placed in cold ater).

This can also be a problem with cast iron, though it can withstand subtantially more drastic temerature changes than can glas and ceramic vessels.

The problem with plastics is that they degrade rapidly at any temperatures past 400 degrees. That is, they start to outgas and deteriorate. They are not good for hight-temperature cooking.

So there's a quick and not very scientific synopsis of the nature of various cooking vessels. Take this info, think about what you want the cooking vessel to do to the food, and what you want to use it for. After that, all becomes second nature.

And remember, there are other variables involved. A well seasoned piece of cast iron has a coating of something akin to carbon, that is not reactive, and encases the metal in a hard, slippery shell that is much like teflon in performance, except that you can't hurt it with high temperatures. But it can be scraped and washed away with strong emulsifying and alkalye agents such as good dish-soaps, especially automatic dishwasher soaps. (it is an oil-bases coating). With sufficient elbow greese, it can also be removed with steel wool, or other metalic cleaning pads.

Know and take care of your pans and they will take care of you.

Oh, and the least durable pans are pans coated with non-stick finishes, followed by ceramic coated (enamled) pans.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Phantom of the Kitchen said:
What should I never cook in my non-stick pan?
brad

Anything that requires the pan to be preheated to a high temperature should not be cooked in a nonstick pan. I have one stainless Kitchenaid saute pan that I use for that. Otherwise all my pots and pans (except my big stockpot) are nonstick, 4 years old, and still as good as new.:chef:
 
To simplify, unprotected cast iron, carbon steel and aluminum are reactive metals. Highly acidic ingredients shouldn't be used in them as a rule. If you don't have any of these, you have a lot less to think about when you cook.

Stainless steel and anodized aluminum, enameled cast iron and any pan with a non-stick coating are considered non-reactive.

As mentioned earlier, very hot temperatures are not good for non-stick.
 
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I think your best bet is to use stainless steel cookware.

It's non-reactive and performs very well. Especially with tomato-based sauces.


~Corey123.
 
If I were only going to use one type I would pick stainless steel, but I would rather have a variety. Non stick, stainless, cast iron, glass, clay, enamled cast iron, etc. all have a place in my kitchen.
 
Yeah, I forgot about the Visions cookware set, which I still have.

That is also good for cooking tomato sauces in. Especially in the large roomy
Dutch Oven, which I think holds a whopping 6 quarts!


Corey123.
 
I agree that SS is best but you really need to be mindful of temperature control. The more you get used to it the better you'll get, but there's no point in springing for All-Clad stuff until your cooking skills get better.

Non-Stick will give you a lot more leeway, and you should have always have a few pieces because it makes making stuff like omelettes and frittatas much easier. Also, if you're watching your fat intake then non-stick will be better for you than stainless.

A lot of it really depends on what you cook and what you cook most often and you should build your inventory from that.
 
Well, if you're going to get an SS cookware set, then you might as well get something that's worth while. Why buy crap just to be throwning it away soon? Doesn't make sense.

I was going to do that. But then, I thought to myself; "Why sould I deprive myself of quality?" You only live once. You gotta ask yourself; Quality or crap?


~Corey123.
 
Alright, now I have a better idea.

How am I supposed to know which foods are acidic and which aren't? I had no idea that tomatoes were acidic until I started cooking. Will this just come with experience?

I ran across this website a while ago...

http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00007.asp

Click on the "For every pot there's a purpose" after the third paragraph.

Since we're talking about getting name brand vs not, I was thinking this set-up would be pretty easy for an amateur chef to acquire instead of getting a whole set.

brad
 
Interesting article!

I read some of it, but I'll get back to it soon. And yes, stainless steel cookware IS one of the metals not affected by acid foods cooked in it.


~Corey123.
 
Weed, that was an excellent primer on cookware. If you don't mind, I'm going to make a copy for a new page in my children's cookbooks.
 
Corey123 said:
Well, if you're going to get an SS cookware set, then you might as well get something that's worth while. Why buy crap just to be throwning it away soon? Doesn't make sense.

I was going to do that. But then, I thought to myself; "Why sould I deprive myself of quality?" You only live once. You gotta ask yourself; Quality or crap?


~Corey123.

I never said get crap. I said don't get something like All-Clad which will cost you over $100 for one 12" skillet, especially for someone who is just starting off. Cuisinart, Emerill's (which is actually made by All-Clad), and Wolfgang Puck's makes good mid-range SS cookware.
 
ironchef said:
I agree that SS is best but you really need to be mindful of temperature control. The more you get used to it the better you'll get.....

I which you'ld elaborate on this Ironchef.

Upto a month ago I used a old 12" SS saute pan with a heavy aluminum bottom, for most of my cooking (chicken, steak, stir fry, braising, sauces etc.).

Used to be able to cook eggs on medium low with butter and never have a problem with sticking. At a notch above medium high, 3 minutes on each side, a 1 1/2 inch steak cooked to a perfect medium rare every time.

Since I got my All Clad cookware, it's like I've never cooked in my life. The same steak on medium high will be black in one minute flat and so will the pan.

In my old pan Scallops or chicken would sear, brown and then release. Now they just become part of the pan.
 
ironchef said:
I never said get crap. I said don't get something like All-Clad which will cost you over $100 for one 12" skillet, especially for someone who is just starting off. Cuisinart, Emerill's (which is actually made by All-Clad), and Wolfgang Puck's makes good mid-range SS cookware.



I never accused you of saying that.

Those were just my thoughts. At least that's how I thought when I decided to replace all of the old tired worn out cookware that I had.


~Corey123.
 
Crash said:
I which you'ld elaborate on this Ironchef.

Upto a month ago I used a old 12" SS saute pan with a heavy aluminum bottom, for most of my cooking (chicken, steak, stir fry, braising, sauces etc.).

Used to be able to cook eggs on medium low with butter and never have a problem with sticking. At a notch above medium high, 3 minutes on each side, a 1 1/2 inch steak cooked to a perfect medium rare every time.

Since I got my All Clad cookware, it's like I've never cooked in my life. The same steak on medium high will be black in one minute flat and so will the pan.

In my old pan Scallops or chicken would sear, brown and then release. Now they just become part of the pan.

One of the best things about All-Clad can be one of the most detrimental. All-Clad pans retain and transfer heat very, very well. Because of this, you can cook foods on a lower temp. than other pans and still get great results. However, you may need to add more oil than what you're used to in order to prevent the food from sticking. Because different stoves heat differently, there's no rule that one can really go by other than trial and error. In your case, it would probably be safe to cook your foods on medium--or a shade above medium but not medium high--and add 1 Tbsp. or so more of oil to the pan. If you're sauteeing properly, the oil will not saturate the food. The oil will just be used to aid in the cooking and heat transfer from the pan to whatever you're cooking.
 
Phantom of the Kitchen said:
So, would I be better off buying a SS set and just getting a few extra pieces to cover what the stainless can't?
Personally I like to buy pieces one at a time instead of buying a set. Same with knives. Chances are that you do not need everything that comes with the set. You may, but you may not.
 
It costs more that way, doesn't it?

I thought it was cheaper to buy a set, then add what you want at your leisure.


~Corey123.
 
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