Whats the difference between cookware made of copper, aluminum, anodized aluminum and stainless steel?
Each material has some pros and cons. Copper is the best conductor of heat, but it’s expensive and difficult to clean. The next best choice for performance is aluminum, but since the metal can turn food gray, it’s almost always coated with a nonstick finish or made with anodized aluminum. (You need to hand-wash and dry most anodized aluminum.) Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat but very durable and attractive. But keeping the finish shiny requires some elbow grease. Q: So many pots and pans have glass lids. Won’t they break? A: In our tests at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute labs, the glass lids never broke, even when we dropped them from a standard countertop. Q: Should I buy a complete cookware set? A: Sets are very economical but only if you need every piece in them. If you have plenty of saucepans and just need skillets (or vice versa), you can buy them individually for a decent price. Q: The most expensive cookware on the market is often too heavy for me. Do I ne
Each material has some pros and cons. Copper is the best conductor of heat, but it’s expensive and difficult to clean. The next best choice for performance is aluminum, but since the metal can turn food gray, it’s almost always coated with a nonstick finish or made with anodized aluminum. (You need to hand-wash and dry most anodized aluminum.) Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat but very durable and attractive. But keeping the finish shiny requires some elbow grease. Q: So many pots and pans have glass lids. Won’t they break? A: In our tests at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute labs, the glass lids never broke, even when we dropped them from a standard countertop. Q: Should I buy a complete cookware set? A: Sets are very economical — but only if you need every piece in them. If you have plenty of saucepans and just need skillets (or vice versa), you can buy them individually for a decent price. Q: The most expensive cookware on the market is often too heavy for me. Do I