Choosing the right frying pan can be an overwhelming experience. The abundance of low-quality pans in the market has made it tough for us customers to choose the right pan. So, how to choose the correct pan for your kitchen?
Well, the answer is very easy. It totally depends on what you want to cook on your pan. To help you make the best choice, here are few guidelines that you need to consider while buying a pan for your kitchen.
Cooking with non-stick
Non-stick pan is a kitchen-friendly product. It is easy to clean and makes daily cooking a breeze. The nonstick surface is made from a variety of non-reactive substances, which makes them a great choice.
When buying a non-stick, keep in mind what you will be cooking on your pan. For example, if you are going to use your pan for cooking sticky items like eggs, then non-stick is a perfect choice.
Non-stick reacts badly to high heat. To ensure the long life of your non-stick pan, use it on mid to low heat. Also, remember to use only plastic, nylon, or wooden utensils for stirring the food. This prevents scratching the surface.
To choose the best pan, it is best to buy Non-stick set that comes with pans of different sizes.
Stainless Steel
Professional cooks love to use stainless steel pans. They are long-lasting, light in weight, and non-reactive to many acidic substances like wine or lemon juice. If you want to brown your meat, stir fry your vegetable, or use metal utensils, then stainless steel pans are your friend. These pans also allow you to make perfect and tasty sauces.
If you are someone who cooks a lot of food, you need to buy heavier pans. Heavy stainless-steel pans have a core of high core conductive metal like aluminum, which is sandwiched between the stainless steel. This conduct heat evenly all over the pan, cooks food evenly
If you are worried about cleaning a stainless-steel pan, then don’t worry. The trick to cleaning a stainless pan is to heat the pan on high heat, turn down the temperature and drop a couple of oil into the pan. Leave it for a minute to cool off. This allows the heat and oil to close the pores in the pan, which prevents food from sticking to the pan. This should be done every time you use stainless steel pan for cooking.
Cast iron
Looking for a good sear? Then look no further than the cast iron pan. This pan transfers heat evenly and efficiently, therefore making it great for cooking steaks. Cast iron is heavy compared to other pans. The best thing about cast iron is that it holds heat for a long period, which gives a good sear to the meat. The cast-iron pan doesn’t react to acids like wine or lime juice.
Copper Pan
Copper pans look elegant and cook food beautifully. A copper pan conducts heat evenly and cools down fast compared to other pans. Another benefit to using a copper pan is that you don’t have to preheat the pan before cooking.
Copper contains no harsh chemicals, which makes it safe for cooking. Although there are many pros of using a copper pan, the price isn’t very attractive.
Ceramic Pans
Ceramic pans come with non-stick coating, which makes them for cooking bacon, eggs, pork chops, and more. The best thing about using a ceramic pan is that it doesn’t get pitted like other frying pans when used for cooking acidic things like tomatoes. Another benefit is that you can store food in the fridge and put it directly in the oven to heat up.
Ceramic pans are easy to clean and they are also dishwasher safe. The only con to using this pan is that they crack easily compared to metal pans. They have a short life because you can use them on high heat.
Glass Pan
Glass pans are cheap compared to stainless steel or cast iron. You can use this pan on both the cooktop and oven. The benefit of using a glass pan is that you can store your food in it and it is also dishwasher safe. The disadvantage of using this pan is that you need to cool the pan completely before storing it in a fridge or put it under cold water. You cannot use an abrasive cleaner and it takes a while to clean this pan. Another con to using this pan is that they are only available in large sizes.
There you have it, different types of frying pans and their uses. Now, that you understand the purpose of each pan, the task of choosing the right pan will become easy.
You may also like : Become an Excellent Cook with These Tips
