Just how do people choose the right cookware? Whether buying cookware online or in the store, the number of choices can be overwhelming. One major question people often wrestle with is which is better, non stick pans or stainless steel?
Well, that depends. A few factors to consider:
What kind of cooking are you doing? If you mostly plan on frying eggs or making stir fry, non stick pans are clearly better. We've all spent too much time trying to scrape eggs out of a frying pan. The secret to stir fry is to keep everything moving around, so you don't want your vegetables sticking to the pan. If, on the other hand, you are more into creating complex sauces, stainless steel is a better choice. For these, you want to some carmelizing and scorching to create the foundation of your flavors. The rule of thumb here is match the tools to the job, so match the cookware to what you'll be cooking.
How important is easy clean up to you? Some people enjoy washing dishes, and if you are one of them, then the convenience of non stick pans is probably not important to you. As for me, I'd rather spend time eating then scrubbing my cookware, so the non-stick coating is a definite plus.
Are you concerned about the composition of the non stick coating? If you heat your non stick pans on too high of a heat without anything in them, the coating can give off potentially toxic fumes. This can be avoided by following the practice of not over preheating the pan. For most people, this is not much of a concern.
If you were to look through my kitchen cupboards, most my cookware consists of non stick pans. This is because most of my cooking is of the fast and easy variety. They also don't take my husband long to clean them up, so I get no complaints from him about the mess I leave in the kitchen. For most jobs, non stick pans are the way to go.
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