Today on sale you can find various types of pans. Gone are the times of scarcity, now it’s hard to choose among the varieties of pans offered. Let's figure out what to look for when choosing pans and which company and coverage is better.
What types of pans are there?
In recent years, various brands in the domestic market have presented the consumer with a large assortment of cookware for various purposes. The most popular among them are Berghoff, Tefal, Gorenje, Bergner, Krauff, Rondell, Peterhoff.
Teflon pans Tefal and Rondell brands are the most popular on the kitchen cookware market. They are of high quality and have established themselves as standards for this type of product.
The German brand Krauff is a leader among tableware manufacturers. Its impeccable reputation and quality products have long won the sympathy of consumers in many countries. The main advantage of the products is the environmental friendliness of the materials used. The main materials used are stainless steel and porcelain.
Krauff Cookware Set
The German manufacturer Rondell has been manufacturing cookware for many years. This is the result of the work of a team of professional engineers and the best European cooks. At the heart of creation are true traditions of German quality.
Teflon pan Rondell
The famous brand Tefal has been popular with housewives for many years. Despite the high price of products, this brand has for many years remained a leader among manufacturers of kitchen utensils. It represents a wide range of pans: for different types of stoves (induction, gas, electric), with various coatings and purposes.
Teflon pan Tefal
The Berghoff brand has long been entrenched in the market of kitchen utensils and is popular with consumers. She presents a huge assortment of kitchen utensils for every taste. And the selection of diverse pans is also great. Among them are Chinese Wok pans, pancake pans, and grill ... Lids are made of glass and stainless steel. Non-stick coating - Teflon, ceramic and composite.
Grill pan from TM Berghoff
Feature and Features
So, the pans available for sale can be divided into the following categories:
- according to the material of which the body is made;
- by type of coating of the working surface;
- by appointment.
Utensil Material
Depending on the material from which the dishes are made, there are such types of pans:
- Cast iron. The main advantage of cast-iron cookware is the ability to heat well over the entire area, unlike other types, and retain heat for a long time. Due to this property, cast iron kitchen utensils are excellent for preparing dishes that require stewing or “stewing”. In such a pan, food does not burn in the cooking process - and this is a significant advantage in favor of cast-iron cookware. Such dishes can serve in the kitchen for decades.
In use, cast-iron frying pans are quite unpretentious: they can be cleaned and washed with various detergents; when cooking, they do not require the use of special shovels and other accessories.
The disadvantages include a tendency to rust, but if the dishes are well dried after washing, this phenomenon can be avoided.It is undesirable to store food in such dishes, so after cooking it is necessary to transfer it to a food container or in an enameled container.
Types of Cast Iron Pans
- Aluminum. Pans made of aluminumperhaps the most budget-friendly version of this type of cookware. They are very light, they heat up quickly enough. In such dishes, when cooking, the food quickly burns, so you need to cook on a small fire and at the same time stir the products to the bottom all the time. Use a wooden or silicone spatula for stirring, metal utensils will simply scratch such a pan. Aluminum cookware must not be cleaned with alkaline detergents. After cooking, food cannot be stored in such dishes, as the metal oxidizes and gives off harmful substances to the products.
- From stainless steel. The appearance of stainless steel dishes was just a gift for the hostesses. The walls of such pans warm up well and store heat for a long time. Such dishes make it possible to cook various dishes, ranging from simple potatoes and ending with stew, pilaf and sauté.
Stainless steel pans are resistant to mechanical damage and rust. When cooked in them, the metal does not emit harmful substances. You can use detergents to wash such dishes, but it is not recommended to use coarse abrasive materials for cleaning, since you can damage the surface.
Coating
Today there are pans with Teflon, ceramic, titanium and enamel coating. Each type of coating has its advantages and disadvantages, especially the maintenance and operation.
- Teflon or fluoroplast-4 is a plastic that has unique physical and chemical characteristics, which is why it is widely used in the manufacture of appliances and household products.
Multilayer Teflon system
With the advent of Teflon pans, every housewife dreamed of having such dishes in the kitchen. The advertisement assured that this masterpiece would help to cook food almost without oil, and at the same time the food does not burn at all. This is partly true. However, there are a number of features for Teflon dishes:
- When purchasing such a pan, pay attention to its weight: it should not be very light, otherwise the pan may become deformed during operation.
- Pay attention to the thickness of the bottom. So, for use on an electric stove, choose a pan with a thicker bottom, and for gas stoves it is suitable with a thin bottom. Otherwise, the operation of a thin-walled vessel in an electric furnace will lead to the deformation of the pan.
- The handle on the dishes can be either cast or bolted. The first is more durable, as the mount may just loose over time.
In order for the Teflon pan to last as long as possible, it is necessary to follow some rules of operation and maintenance of such dishes:
- For mixing during cooking, you need to use a wooden or plastic spatula. This will protect the surface from scratches and damage, thereby extending the life of the pan.
- When washing, do not use dry powders and abrasives, give preference to liquid detergent, as solid particles can scratch the coating, which makes the pan unsuitable for use.
- Use oil for cooking, despite promising ads - this will extend the “life” of your pan.
- Teflon coating does not like very strong heating. Therefore, using this type of cookware, avoid maximum temperatures on the stove.
- The disadvantages of this type of coating include a not very long period of such dishes - about 5 years.
- For many years, ceramic cookware has been very popular. Most often, ceramics cover aluminum products, sometimes from cast iron. Unlike Teflon, such a coating is particularly durable and resistant to mechanical stress.In such dishes, the walls warm evenly, and for a long time heat is maintained even after cooking is finished.
Ceramics (from Greek - clay) is a composite of clay and mineral additives, which is subjected to high temperatures and cooling. Such production technology allows to achieve high material strength.
Ceramic pans Peterhoff
When cooking, to mix the products in the pan, you can use either a metal spatula or spoon, or a wooden or silicone one.
Such utensils are not afraid of dry detergents in the form of a powder with small abrasive elements. The only feature of ceramic-coated pans is that they cannot be used for induction furnaces. With a careful attitude to such kitchen utensils, it will serve for more than a dozen years.
To enjoy the taste of the cooked dish, choose pans with a different type of coating. So that for cooking without oil, dishes with a non-stick Teflon layer are suitable. Fans of a crispy golden crust should prefer a ceramic-coated pan.
- Titanium coating. The main advantage of utensils with a titanium coating is its environmental friendliness and harmlessness to human health. All supporters of a healthy lifestyle choose this type of kitchen utensil. In such a pan you can cook your favorite dishes, knowing that such a cooking method will not cause any harm to health.
Titanium Coated Frying Pan
The surface of titanium has excellent characteristics. So, this ware is very resistant to mechanical stress. Does not require the use of special cooking blades. It can be used both for frying, stewing on a stove of any kind, and for baking in the oven.
Also, this coating allows cooking without oil. The price of such dishes is above average, but the fact that it will last for many years compensates for the high cost.
- Enamel. Enamel has been used for many years, it is harmless and worthy of the quality of the food cooked in it. Such a coating completely protects the metal that is in the base from oxidation when heated. A feature of such utensils is a careful attitude and protection against mechanical damage. In the event of various chips and dark spots on the enamel, such utensils become unusable.
Appointment of pans
Pans, which have different names, according to their purpose, are as follows:
- Brazier. This weighty cookware, made of high quality steel using special technology, is most often made of cast iron. A thick bottom protects products from burning. Heat during cooking is distributed evenly over the entire surface. You can cook in a roasting pan both on the stove and in the oven. This is ideal for baking meat, fish, vegetables, as well as for stewing and frying.
Cast iron roasting pan
- Grill. Such a pan can always be recognized by the ribbed bottom imitating traces of the lattice. Such dishes allow you to cook various dishes with virtually no oil. The bottom structure protects the products from being saturated with oil. This fact suggests that the cooked food in such a dish is not as harmful as after cooking in an ordinary frying pan.
Grill pan
- Frying pan wok. This miracle invention came from China. This is a cone-shaped dish, expanding upward, with a bottom of small diameter and high walls. The traditional wok has handles on two sides. Chinese Wok was originally intended for cooking on an open fire, without the use of a stove. Its walls are thin, so it warms up very quickly, and you need to often mix the ingredients during cooking so as not to burn.
Products for cooking in such a container must be cut very thinly. You can cook in it as soups, and fried vegetables, meat.Thanks to the thin walls, the fried crust forms very quickly on the products, while maintaining the juiciness inside and the maximum amount of vitamins. Modern manufacturers have a little modernized the classic version of the Wok pan, adapting it to modern stoves.
Wok Frying Pan
- Stewpan. Such dishes perform the function of both a frying pan and a pot. Thick walls and the bottom allow you to cook a variety of soups, borscht, sauces, as well as fries, pilaf and other dishes that require stewing or “languishing”. In such a container, the entire surface heats evenly and retains temperature for a long time. The bottom of the dishes has a certain relief, which protects the products from burning during cooking. You can use the stewpan both on the stove and in the oven.
Stewpan Rondell
- Pancake. This pan is easily recognizable by its low sides. The diameter of the bottom can be different. The pan is light in weight, as it has an aluminum body. Non-stick coating allows you to bake pancakes without oil. Often this type of cookware has a heating indicator.
Pancake frying pan of Tefal company with heating indicator
Frying pan for fish. such dishes are oval or rectangular so that it is convenient to place fish in it during frying.
Grill pan for fish Tefal
Summarize
So, how to choose the right pan? What should you pay attention to first of all?
- An indicator such as weight and thickness directly affects the quality of the food cooked in the dishes and the final taste of the dish. A sufficiently large weight ensures stability on the stove during cooking, and the speed and uniformity of heating depends on the thickness of the walls and bottom. Optimalier is considered to be 4-5 mm thick.
- Coating inside and out of the dishes. Almost all modern pans have a non-stick coating, which requires some care. The manufacturer indicates all recommendations for use on the packaging: how to wash, with which spatula to use, etc.
- On sale you can find pans of various diameters. When choosing, it is worth considering how much food and how many people you will cook in it. You must also take into account the size of the burners: on small burners, a very large pan will not evenly heat up.
- The type of stove used also affects the choice of the pan. So, for gas stoves, any kind is suitable, for electric stoves, dishes with a thick bottom are needed. If the kitchen has an induction cooker, then the use of any dishes is not allowed, you should choose special dishes with magnetic properties.
