Kitchen equipment is something that gets a lot of use. Pots and pans are essential for the kitchen, and when it comes to choosing the right cooking equipment for your kitchen, it is a big decision, and you want to ensure that you are choosing wisely! The first thing to take into consideration when you are looking for the perfect saucepan or frying pan is actually the type of hob that you have. Different hobs are different to cook on, and this will help you to choose the right material for your new cookware.
Gas hobs are suitable for most types of pans, whereas ceramic hobs can damage either the hob or the pan if the wrong material of pan is used, so care must be taken when you are choosing. Once you have identified the type of hob that you have at home, then you may be able to rule out some types of pan straight away.
The next thing that you need to look into are the various types of metals that are used for each frying pan. There are a range of metals that are available for saucepans and frying pans. Cast iron, stainless steel, copper and aluminium are all different materials that have various positives to them, and they are suited for different things. For example, go for cast iron if you want a pan that heats up slowly but evenly – if you want cooking that is done quickly and the heat is evenly dispersed go for copper, and for a strong and durable pan, go for stainless steel.
As well as the material of the pans themselves, you also need to consider additional things, such as whether the pan is non-stick or not. A non-stick pan will likely have a coating like this PTFE coating www.poeton.co.uk/standard-treatments/electroless-nickel-plating , however, a newer technology is a ceramic pan. The jury is out on which is the best, and both have various pros and cons, so again this is down to what you tend to cook, as well as your personal choices.
With all pans, it is also worth looking into the type of care that you need to put into them to ensure that you get plenty of use out of them. A well made pan that is well cared for can actually last a lifetime!
