Buying Cookware is harder than buying Diamonds

2010-01-22T11:57:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone!

Let's skip the intro and get down to business. This will be one of those posts that you will read, re- read and reference over and over again. Why? because Buying cookware is harder than buying Diamonds!

Cookware is very much like diamonds, there's very inexpensive ones to very expensive ones depending on the type of quality and where it was made. For diamonds, it is quite hard to tell the level of quality by using the naked eye, but for cookware, the naked eye and the use of your hands maybe the best starting tools to finding good cookware. I've always used one rule of thumb when purchasing cookware ( or 90% of the stuff I buy).

- What you pay for is what you get!

If you ever see a piece of cookware at a extremely great deal and you just saw the same item but selling at 3 times the price for another brand, then guess what? it is NOT the same piece of cookware that you thought it was. A Majority of the time, for the first few months you will think to yourself, WOW I just got a great deal, "I knew I was smart"

ummmmmm,... no, Not really. Cause after that first few months, you will prob go online or go back to the website of where you bought it from and start to vent about how you got tricked, how you hate your cookware sticking and peeling on you, how the chemical fumes gave you nausea, How you can die from eating the peeled coating and how your food all taste like metal. The injustice that the company has bestowed upon you. Down with them! OK, I may have taken it a little too far, but sadly for those that experienced some of this, you know what I mean.

Enough Chit chatting and lets get down to the "Cookware crash course"

Stainless Steel Cookware

18/10, 18/8, Single Ply, Tri-Ply, 5-Ply, 7-Ply, 9-Ply are just some of the jargon that a shopper will hear or read about when purchasing S/S cookware. So what does this all mean in plain English? Well,.. it means alot. Information like this is very useful when deciding which type of S/S will best suit our cooking needs.

18/10 or 18/8: The first number refers to the percentage of Chromium and the second number refers to the percentage of Nickel that is present in the cookware. In order to be considered stainless steel at all, the Chromium must be at least 10.5%. The higher the number for both the better. Chromium has a chemical property that causes the steel to react with elements in the atmosphere, forming a protective layer over its surface. Chromium is what makes the cookware resistant to stains, rust, coloration and corrosion. Nickel is what helps the cookware become even more corrosion resistant by increasing the effectiveness of the protective layer..

Different Ply: Tri ply, 5 ply and etc, refers to the different layers of metal that the cookware consist of. The more ply, the thicker the cookware will be. The more ply also usually means more expensive but at the same time it usually is better. It heats up faster and holds the heat for a longer period of time. Usually multi ply cookware consist of 18/10 S/S, Aluminum, and Copper. For example 5 ply: 1st layer : 18/10 S/S, 2nd layer: Aluminum, 3rd layer: Copper, 4th layer: Aluminum, 5th layer: 18/10 S/S.

S/S Conclusion: Personally, multi ply S/S cookware is hands down my absolute favorite. I never have to worry about peeling or any chemicals that may leach onto my food or or any chemical fumes that i may breathe in when cooking on high heat. There is absolutely no peeling and if I ever burn something I wont have to worry about scrubbing the pan may damage it. Many think that a thick piece of cookware will take longer to heat but that is untrue. The copper and the Aluminum are excellent conductors of heat and retains heat relatively well. I recommend purchasing cookware that is at least tri ply.

Non Stick Coated Cookware:

Oh Boy where do I began. If y'all are reading this post it is mainly because you have purchased many non stick cookwares before and like many is trying to avoid purchasing any more. But have no idea what other type of cookware will be good for you. For those of you that are not familiar with the controversy about Non stick coating, Please do some search about the dangers of non stick coated cookware, particularly the most famous "Teflon" Non stick. Just go to your favorite search engine and type in "Dangers of Non stick (Teflon)" and you would be amazed with the tons of information and publications about this subject. It is so extensive and long that I have listed some links below for your reference: (just too much for me to get into)

Not only will it hurt you, it will hurt the environment as well as your pet birds.

http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/teflon4.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/is-teflon-dangerous.htm

http://www.naturalnews.com/026678_Teflon_iron_cookware.html

The list can go on and on,. Please take the time to research and see for yourself.

Conclusion: Stay away from all brands of Non Stick Cookware. There is so much better cookware out there that is virtually non stick, safer to use and a longer life span.

Now lets get back to some Happy news!

Hard Anodized Cookware:

Hard Anodized is a fairly new technology when it comes to cookware. In todays market there is many types of Hard anodized, there is Non stick coated hard anodized, Non coated hard anodized and Ceramic coated hard anodized ( I will get into more about Ceramic cookware later).

The Break down:

Non Coated Hard Anodized cookware: The electrochemical anodizing process locks in the cookwares' base metal, aluminum, so that it cant get into food. unlike non stick coating, hard anodized will not peel or chip and also non toxic. It can even resist heat up to 1,221 F. Many cooks today feel that hard anodized is a ideal non stick and scratch resistant cooking surface. Therefore it is very safe to use these types of cookware. But never use cookwares that is made on just Aluminum alone.

Coated Hard Anodized: Same great benefits as non coated anodized but with the negativity of Non stick coatings. Good chance of it chipping and peeling and because it has a non stick coating, it may or may not be oven proof. If it is oven proof, it can only withstand up to a certain amount of degree.

Conclusion: Hard Anodized cookware is a good choice of cookware but be aware that if you purchase a non stick coated hard anodized, the life span may be short. Personally I have only used non coated hard anodized. It is thick and somewhat heavy but it can take a beating. Super durable for many many years. The only thing is, I don't find it to be as good of a stick resistant cookware than multi ply S/S.

Cast Iron:

Cast Iron is what we call old school cookware. You may have heard that Cast iron is awesome and that some people have even passed down their cast iron cookware for decades. Cast iron is known for its durability and even heat distribution. Over the years it has even been said that Cast Iron can help ensure the eater will get the proper Iron contents. The iron will seep off the cookware and into the food in small amounts.

Drawbacks: Cast iron is often very very heavy and it must be seasoned. There are also thinner and lighter cast irons, but with these thinner and lighter ones, it can easily get chipped and cracked. Taking good care of Cast Iron is essential if you want great results.

Conclusion: Good cookware for those that love its even heat distribution and dont mind it being heavy or dont mind taking the time to season it properly.

Ceramic Cookware: Now this is a new generation of cookware. started to gain popularity very quickly. Ceramic coated cookware are non stick resistant meaning that it is NOT non stick but will stick very minimally to almost non stick, But it is very very safe to use. It can withstand up to 3 x the normal temperature of a typical non stick coating, so you can cook with it on high heat and usually ceramic coated last longer than a typical non stick coating.

Since ceramic has been known for thousands of years to be all natural. It offers you a ceramic non stick surface developed for the well being of our environment. It is Eco friendly and most important healthy. Unlike Teflon coatings, it does not release unhealthy chemical fumes, peel or containment your food. The ceramic powder that is used in the coating is all natural, which is a relief to consumers who are trying to reduce the unhealthy synthetic materials from their diets and do not want to add them through their cooking utensils.

Conclusion: As with any coated cookware, there is a chance that it will peel in the future, but ceramic does not peel as easily. Overall, I really do love ceramic cookware because of how natural it is and how it has such great stick resistant properties. I do alot of stir frying so pre heating the wok and cooking on high heat is a must for me and ceramic cookware does the job just fine.

I think thats it for right now, this post is tiring lol,. Thank you guys for reading this post, I know it is really long but it is vital and important for us cooks to understand the tools we use everyday. We must take care of ourselves aswell as the ones we cook for with non dangerous cookware. Peace!

Matthew Tsui

My First Blog

Buying Cookware is harder than buying Diamonds