Unlike cast iron and other cookware materials, stainless steel and non-stick pans seem to be the most popular. So which one do you choose? You certainly cannot just dismiss one over the other.
Discover Stainless steel and non-stick cookwares for what they are good at. You will instinctively realize what suits your cooking better. Personal preferences and food habits are of course central to the kind of cookware a cook may choose. Well, let’s weigh the pros and cons for either case.
Primary Concerns
Usually called non-toxic cookware materials, stainless steel cookwares are a little more pricey compared to non-stick ones. On the other hand, non-stick cookwares known as Teflon as much as they occur to make cooking more convenient, it does come with safety concerns at the same time.
The non-stick material as a big hazard for our health, not just from scraping its surface but the bigger exposure to the chemical comes in its fumes when heated at high temperature.
Therefore, it is safest not to heat non-stick cookwares at high temperatures. In fact it is not advisable to even use stainless cookwares at high temperature; it darkens the color on the bottom, which in fact damages the material. But of course you need not worry about chipping the coating as in non-stick cookwares.
However when it comes to frying food that tend to stick, non-stick cookwares are probably more convenient. Talking of which, a smart way to fry in a stainless steel cookware without getting your food stuck is to heat the cookware just well enough before adding oil and the food items.
Well, good cooking is all about the technique and learning experience. Though it may take time to learn and care for, steel cookwares are one healthy choice that will last you through your extended lifetime.
Popular Convention
Although not particularly favoring any one, most home cooks like to keep non-stick cookwares just for breakfast or the likes of fast cooking. Otherwise stainless steel makes most of the cookwares.
Non-stick work great especially while frying eggs because stainless steel ones are a little more unmanageable with dry cooking or frying. Even so, one practical suggestion when cooking in a non-stick pan would be to use non-metallic stirring spoons or whisks to reduce getting metallic elements getting mixed into food.
Using forks to whisk like most of us usually do at home is one absolute no with non-stick pan, it is as detrimental as scrubbing out the toxic surface with steel wool and worse, mixing it up with your sauce or cake mix. Stainless steel is a safer option for these types of recipes.
But if you really find the choice between the two too limiting, you can always go for Anodized Aluminium or All Clad cookwares. They are equally good options.
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