No material is without faults, and there are also some drawbacks to stainless steel compared with other cookware options. Disadvantages of stainless steel cookware Stainless steel is generally not coated (though you can find non stick stainless pots and pans), so there’s no risk of ingesting anything chemical with your dinner. Some people don’t like to use nonstick cookware because the coating may scratch off into their food. Many stainless steel pans have removable ergonomic handles that are extremely comfortable, but wouldn’t survive inside the oven. Usually oven-safeĪs long as the handle is aluminum or another oven-safe material, stainless steel can go straight from the stove top to the oven, even under the broiler. With stainless steel, however, that’s yet another thing you don’t have to worry about. This reaction can also cause acidic sauces, like tomato, to taste oddly metallic and unpleasant. If you’ve ever cooked garlic or leeks in a cast-iron skillet and seen the alliums take on a strange greenish tint, that’s a sign that your pan is reacting to the ingredients.

Some materials, including copper, cast-iron and aluminum, react with acidic foods – but not stainless steel! This is a fancy way of saying that you can cook anything in a stainless steel pot. You can pop these things right into the dishwasher without worrying about the pans falling apart over time. Unlike cast iron or other hand-wash-only materials, stainless steel is about as low-maintenance as it comes. And if you treat it well, it will be just as good when that happens as it was the day you bought it.

Yes, it’s pricier than other pans, but you may end up passing it down to the next generation. Highly durabilityĪ set of stainless steel cookware will last a lifetime, if not longer. Thanks to this, you won’t have hot and cold spots in your cookware, which can cause some of your food to burn while the rest stays raw. High-quality stainless steel heats evenly specifically because it is 'cladded:' while stainless steel itself is a poor conductor of heat, the aluminum or copper in the core will heat up (and radiate heat out) about the same in every part of the pan. So what makes stainless steel a great material for cooking? The pros of stainless cookware include: Even heating

Stainless steel cookware