Stainless Steel Cookware

It is important to know the material of your cooking utensils since it will have a direct contact with the food you are preparing for your family.

In this blog, I only discuss about cookware with metal as the basic material. Can we use all metals and turn it into cookware? Of course not. The metal must have the ability to deliver heat evenly and not having a chemical reaction at the same time.

Is the material of cookware affecting the food quality? Well, some cooks I met believe the material you choose for your cookware can make a very big difference since every material conducts heat differently. The rate at which a material conducts heat determines how long it will take to cook your food. While the length of time you need to cook will affect how the food will actually taste.

Stainless steel cookware is easy to care for, long-lasting and most popular cookware these days.

Stainless steel is an iron alloy containing a minimum of 11.5% chromium. Blends containing 18% chromium with 8% nickel for 18/8 type or with 10% nickel for the type of 18/10, which are commonly used for kitchen equipment.

Let's talk a little bit about the metals inside the stainless steel. Iron is essential to produce red blood cells. Large amounts can be poisonous. Nickel is also not poisonous in small quantities but it can provoke a reaction in people allergic to nickel. Small doses of chromium like iron are good for your health, but as the other two metals, they can be harmful in higher amounts.

However, please don't worry about it. The Stainless steel cookware is well within safe levels.

Stainless steel cookware is moderately priced. It is the most versatile material. It keeps its bright shine and has good tensile strength, preventing it from denting easily. Also it does not corrode and does not react with alkaline or acidic materials.

In fact, It is very attractive and requires minimal care since it won't chip or easily rust and it takes little seasoning.

Problems to stainless steel are that it is a poor conductor of heat and does not distribute heat evenly. The solution is to have heavy bottoms with a core of copper or aluminum sandwiched between layers of steel to help conduct heat more evenly and make the pan more responsive to heat.