Are Aluminum Pans Dishwasher Safe?

Commercial cast iron griddles

Maintenance and Care:

Carbon steel cookware boasts the naturally non stick properties and great heat retention of cast iron, combined with the cooking speed and heat control of stainless steel. We’d recommend reaching for carbon steel when cooking steaks, cornbread, or anything else cooked over high heat—though it’s versatile enough to use for low-heat cooking as well.

Repairing Chipped Enamel Cookware Way

    On the other hand, small enamel pots with lids are great for cooking smaller portions or reheating leftovers.  Small Enamel Pots With Lids were also great for making sauces, poaching eggs, or cooking grains.  The enameled cast iron lid helps retain heat and flavor, making it a practical option for everyday cooking tasks.

It can also be used to brown food before braising but not for the rest of the procedure. The reduced weight also allows for more maneuverability when shaking and flipping food.

Best for: Almost any food that needs frying, browning, or searing. Because it’s ovenproof, stainless is also a good choice for foods that you start on the stovetop and then move to the oven to finish, like thick pork chops.

The details: Nitahara says that 95 percent of the pans used in the CIA’s teaching kitchens are stainless steel because they can take a lot of punishment. “The only time we don’t use them is on egg day, when we use nonstick,” he says. He adds that the shiny surface of a stainless pan makes it easy to see whether your food is browning.

In CR’s tests of stainless steel pans, we measure heating evenness by cooking pancakes, and we gauge how evenly a pan sautés by cooking potatoes until they’re tender. We also conduct a cleaning test to see how easy it is to remove cooked-on food. You’d think that all stainless pans would be about the same to clean, but our tests show that some require a lot more scrubbing than others.

Here are two recommended stainless steel pans from CR’s tests.

Can You Use Metal Utensils on Carbon Steel Pans?

Frypans and skillets have different shapes and intended uses, but both are incredibly versatile. It all comes down to the kind of versatility you want.