Why is stainless steel considered the best all-around material for cooking pots, pans and utensils?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “best cooking utensils for stainless steel cookware“
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Why is stainless steel considered the best all-around material for cooking pots, pans and utensils?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “best cooking utensils for stainless steel cookware“
About truongthanhtung93
The Old Metallurgical Engineer and Steelmaker says:
Not just ANY stainless steel, but stainless steel labelled 18/8 or 304, which is a food-grade stainless steel with 18% chromium and 8% nickel.
This steel has good thermal conductivity ~45W/m-K.
There will be no transfer of chromium or nickel (or any of the elements in this alloy) to the food.
It does not oxidize of otherwise corrode.
Non-Stick Cookware Set, Pots and Pans – 8-Piece Set
Why is stainless steel considered such a good material for cookware?
First of all, it is easy to form, fairly inexpensive, resistant to corrosion from acids and rusting, easy to get a high gloss polish and keep it looking good, and as long as you don’t warp or bend them, almost indestructible.
While stainless steel is not very good at heat retention or heat conduction, those things can be easily mitigated.
All of the higher quality stainless cookware is actually made of multiple layers of metal, and the interior layers are generally aluminum, or in some cases copper. These internal layers substantially improve heat conduction so you don’t just get hot spots on the bottom, and no heat up the sides of the pan.
Many manufacturers of stainless cookware add a thick layer or “puck” of Aluminum on the bottom of the pan. This helps dramatically to even out the heat on the bottom of the pan, but not so much on the sides.
So very good stainless cookware is made up of layers where each layer is optimized for its main job.
The inside layer is food grade stainless, probably 304 or similar. This is resistant to acids (tomatoes, etc.) and is good to above 800 degrees F.
The middle layers are typically Alloy 1100: This grade is commercially pure aluminum . It is soft and ductile and has excellent workability, making it ideal for applications with difficult forming.
The external layer is magnetic stainless. Ferritic steels are high chromium, magnetic stainless steels that have a low carbon content. Known for their good ductility, resistance to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking, ferritic steels are commonly used in cookware applications. One of the reasons for this is so that the cookware can be used on induction stoves and cooktops.
Properly maintained, stainless cookware will last forever. Even if you manage to burn food onto the stainless steel, you can use steel wool or a steel brush to get rid of the cooked on gook. Just don’t gouge it with a screwdriver or something like that.
10 Pcs Non Stick Cooking Set w/ Frying Pans & Saucepans