This is the first of a series of articles with which I want to enlighten the consumer on the most important criteria that should help them when deciding which frying pan to buy. I already mentioned that the final decision must be established by each of you based on the importance you give to the queen kitchen tool in our country: the frying pan.

When you enter a pan line you can see a large number of options at various prices. If you don't have help from someone to recommend you, what makes you decide for one or the other? Surely the size, the price, the weight and how it feels in your hand. But very often you don't know which material is better, if the weight is relative to the quality, or if the non-stick is going to prevent the food from sticking or not...

When buying in a specialist store, the seller has more and more knowledge of what he is offering; many times it is the retailer himself who has personally tested each model he proposes for sale. Their recommendation is generally quite good and is also based on the experience of their customers' comments.

Our friends at Bylecook have made a comparison of pans: Teflon, ceramic, cast iron and stainless steel; It's really interesting. They recommend which one is ideal for each type of person, highlighting the properties of each one.

1.- THE BASE MATERIAL OF THE BODY OF THE PAN AND THE THICKNESSES.

In this first article we will talk about the materials. The most widespread are aluminum, iron, stainless steel and to a lesser extent, due to its high price, copper.

Aluminum

Aluminum is the lightest material of all. It is not a very expensive material and this makes it ideal for making pans. However, we can find pans with such different prices that they can range from €5 to more than €80. Because? Undoubtedly the manufacturing system of the body of the pan, its thickness, its finishes, the handle and the non-stick coating are what mark these disparities.

We must be able to distinguish the varieties of aluminum pans according to the production system:

Pressed aluminum:

The body is manufactured from a flat aluminum disc. The thickness of this disk already

generates part of the benefits. The thickness of most discs normally ranges between 2 and 3 millimeters. All metals have “memory”. This means that when heated they have a tendency to recover their original shape. If the pan is made with a very thin disc, when heated and cooled many times, the pan will tend to return to its original flat shape, generating bulges that do not allow a balanced distribution of the oil. Before shaping the disc, the non-stick coating is applied using a roller system. After applying the non-stick agent, the body is formed using a press that gives it its final shape. These processes make their production very fast and economical. Pans stamped with roller-applied nonstick can be distinguished because the edge of the pan is shiny showing the metal and is not painted or has no nonstick applied. They are economical pans, but short-lived and low-performing.

Forged Aluminum:

Production also starts with discs, but in this case the discs have more consistent thicknesses: between 3 and 4, and even 5 millimeters.

The forging or embossing system is not based on a single stroke of the press, but rather the pan is formed in a similar way to how clay is molded. Pressure is maintained at the base and the walls are pushed upward by pressure. This system allows you to give different thicknesses to the body of the pan. With this we obtain a base of the maximum thickness of the disc, thinner walls and an edge that can again be thicker.

This system prevents deformation of the pan, unless it is exposed to abnormal temperatures or strong shocks. The non-stick can be applied to the disc by the roller technique, or more commonly by applying the layers by spraying with paint guns. These pans are distinguished by the different thicknesses of the body, a greater consistency and weight than the stamped ones, and if the non-stick is applied by spray, the edge of the pan is painted. These forged aluminum pans provide an ideal balance between cost and performance, depending on the quality of the non-stick coating, which we will talk about in another article.

El aluminio fundido:

Este proceso es el más lento de producción, pero el que da un resultado óptimo en cuanto a prestaciones. Se fabrican a partir de fundir lingotes de aluminio e inyectarlo en moldes. El proceso de inyección y de enfriamiento es mucho más lento que la estampación o el forjado. Esta característica evita el efecto memoria del aluminio, ya que su forma inicial tras fundir el material es ya la forma de la sartén. El proceso de fundido o inyectado permite crear grosores muy distintos en cada parte de la sartén, e incluso permite el formado en el cuerpo del soporte donde el mango se podrá acoplar. No tiene por lo tanto ni soldaduras ni remaches.

Production with this technique does not allow the application of the non-stick coating by means of a roller, so the layers are always applied by spray. Normally the price of these pans is higher due to the production cost, but if the nonstick is of quality, the durability and performance of these pans are very high. We can precisely distinguish these pans by the packaging of their body and by the insertion of the handle in the body of the pan.

The iron

It is the material of a lifetime, that of the pans that our grandmothers used.

It is a cheap, heavy metal and requires more energy than aluminum to reach cooking temperatures. These pans generally do not have any type of nonstick. There are some brands that market it with a beeswax coating that acts as a non-stick coating, this provides an image of an ecological and sustainable product, but the maintenance of this layer must be carried out frequently. If this is not done, food will easily stick to the base of the pan.

Steel and stainless steel.

It is a heavier material than aluminum, but not as heavy as iron. There are basically two qualities:

Enameled steel.

It is a steel frying pan made from steel discs that are enamelled on the outside to facilitate cleaning and the edge is surrounded with a steel ring to hide and beautify the rough cut of the steel.

It is a steel frying pan made from steel discs that are enamelled on the outside to facilitate cleaning and the edge is surrounded with a steel ring to hide and beautify the rough cut of the steel.

Stainless Steel.

Here again we have several grades of stainless steel, 18/0, 18/10 are the most common. They are manufactured by high temperature stamping and a base is applied to the body that almost always has an aluminum disc inside the stainless steel to improve thermal conductivity. There are models on the market with and without non-stick for the consumer who prefers to avoid them. Depending on the quality, their sales prices are more expensive than most aluminum ones. The quality of the external and internal polishing also influences the price.

prestige stainless steel frying pan There are so-called “sandwich” pans made of three or five layers of metal. This means that the body is made with the outer layers of stainless steel and the inner layer of aluminum or copper to facilitate thermal conductivity. These sandwich pans are rare in Spain due to their high price.

Copper.

It is the most expensive material from which pans are generally made. It is light, extremely conductive and its prices are quite high.

Some chefs use them for certain cooking. Its care is delicate. They are only found in very specialist stores.

The thermal conductivity of metals based on copper:

Thermal conductivity works both ways. I mean that since copper heats up the fastest, it is also the one that cools down the fastest. Stainless steel depends on its quality and alloy, but it takes the longest to heat up. Once hot it also takes longer to cool and if the pan is not removed from the heat it may tend to burn. Therefore, iron and steel pans should be removed from the heat before aluminum or copper ones. Each person must learn how to use the hob's heat regulator and how to turn it off depending on what is being cooked and each person's taste.

We have already seen that materials offer different characteristics, benefits and durability. But the material is not the only factor that should affect the purchasing decision. In subsequent articles we will analyze non-stick, the bases of the pans, the handles and the types of pans and their shapes.