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WHICH COATINGS ARE BEST FOR YOUR COOKWARE?
Saucepans, frying pans, and other cookware are made of various different materials (stainless steel, aluminum, steel, cast iron, etc.). Cookware can be sold in its raw form or with a special coating. Several coatings are available, including ceramic, enamel, and non-stick. Each coating has its own advantages.
Sitram offers several lines of coated cookware to meet the needs of all kinds of consumers and facilitate the cooking experience. Why choose coated cookware? What are the different types of coatings? And why choose Sitram cookware?
Why choose coated cookware?
Some cookware is sold in its raw, unfinished form: in other words, it is composed entirely of its main manufacturing material (e.g., 100% stainless steel). However, sometimes it is better that certain materials (such as aluminum) do not come into direct contact with foods and cooking mixtures. Cookware made of these materials must be equipped with a special coating. Generally speaking, all coatings make it easier to cook certain foods and clean and maintain cookware.
Strong points
- Cooking: a non-stick coating lets you cook with no (or very little) fat. It lets you cook all your everyday recipes over low or medium heat.
- Maintenance: coatings make cookware extremely easy to clean.
Weak points
- Cooking: in general, coated cookware cannot be used over high heat as the coating can become damaged. As a result, it can only be used to cook certain types of foods.
- Lifespan: even high-quality coatings deteriorate over time, especially if you cook with metal utensils or clean with abrasive sponges. Coated cookware must therefore be replaced regularly, on average after 3 to 5 years or once the coating becomes damaged.
The various types of inner coatings
Our cookware is made of a variety of different materials and sometimes coated on the outside: a non-stick coating for easy maintenance, an enamel coating for more radiance and shine, or a painted coating with a matte or glossy finish. However, when we speak of coatings, we’re usually talking about the inside of the cookware.
Non-stick coatings
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Ceramic
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Stainless steel
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Enamel
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A non-stick coating
Non-stick coatings are the best-known and most commonly used coatings. They go by the name of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or Teflon and offer many advantages. Non-stick coatings make cooking easy as food does not stick to the bottom of the cookware. You don’t have to add any fat (e.g., oil or butter), and delicate/fragile foods (which can disintegrate during cooking) are protected. A saucepan or frying pan with a non-stick coating is also easier to clean.
Certain precautions must be taken to preserve the coating and its non-stick properties. For example, you should never use metal utensils when cooking with coated cookware or cut your food directly inside the pan.
What's more, you should never heat cookware when it is empty as this can damage or deform the coating. It is also important that you wait until the cookware has cooled before you wash it. To optimize the lifespan of coated cookware, it is recommended that you wash it by hand. Dishwashers can cause the coating to deteriorate more quickly than usual and therefore reduce its non-stick properties.
At Sitram, we offer several types of cookware with non-stick coatings (in particular, saucepans and frying pans). All our coatings are guaranteed free of PFOA (a toxic solvent used to bind the PTFE to the cookware) and are therefore perfectly safe for your health. Our cookware may be equipped with one or more layers of coatings (i.e., multilayer coatings). The greater the number of layers (maximum of three), the more resistant and durable the cookware is over time.
A ceramic coating
Some cookware is equipped with a ceramic coating. This type of coating is robust, resistant to scratches & abrasion, and can withstand extremely high temperatures. "Stickier" than PTFE, it is perfect for searing and cooking food in its juices to enhance the flavor of recipes.
However, you'll have to add some fat (e.g., oil or butter) to this cookware to prevent your food from sticking. Ceramic coatings are ideal for searing naturally fatty foods (such as salmon) and making these foods brown and crispy.
When cooking with ceramic-coated cookware, use wooden or silicone utensils to make sure the coating stays intact. We recommend washing the cookware by hand (with a soft sponge and a little dishwashing liquid) to make sure it lasts for as long as possible. Repeated washes in the dishwasher can cause the coating to deteriorate more quickly than usual and damage or reduce the lifespan of your cookware. Always wait until your cookware has cooled down before washing it. Never heat your cookware when empty as you may burn the coating. Finally, always rinse the cookware with hot water.
An enamel coating
We use an enamel coating for our cast iron Dutch ovens. This coating is black or white and made from glass. As a result, it provides for an extremely smooth surface that is ideal for searing food and preparing traditional stews. Enamel also provides outstanding protection against rust (without this coating, moisture would cause steel and cast iron to rust). What's more, enamel coatings are easy to clean and protect against abrasion, acidic foods, and scratches.
On the other hand, enamel coatings offer little in the way of non-stick properties. In many cases, you'll have to add fat before you start cooking. In order to maximize the lifespan of your enamel-coated cookware, make sure you never heat it when empty as extreme differences in temperatures can severely damage the enamel. Whenever possible, wash the cookware by hand. If the cookware is still hot, wait for it to cool down before soaking in or rinsing with cold water.
Cookware without coatings
When we say cookware (pressure cooker, saucepan, frying pan, etc.) has a stainless steel or cast iron coating, this usually means it has no coating at all.
With its outstanding resistance to heat and high temperatures, stainless steel is perfect for searing. However, you will need to add fat (e.g., oil or butter) before cooking.
Meanwhile, cast iron stores heat and allows for slow, gradual, healthy cooking on all types of cooktops. Solid and resistant, cast iron takes longer to heat.
Lightweight and efficient, steel is a good conductor and distributor of heat.
Finally, copper cookware (in particular, saucepans) is mainly used by professional cooks. The tin coating on the bottom of the pans tends to deteriorate over time, and the cookware must be recoated regularly (which can be quite expensive).
Why choose Sitram coated cookware?
Sitram offers several lines of cookware with coatings that meet the cooking needs of all consumers.
Our cookware optimizes your cooking by providing for:
- Outstanding heat distribution: save on energy bills and improve the consistency of your food.
- Excellent heat-resistance: Extreme differences in temperatures can damage cookware and cause it to warp.
Some of our coated cookware is made with a triple-layer body or base to maximize your cooking results.
A triple-layer base is composed of three distinct layers, with one layer welded on the bottom of the body of the cookware. In addition to serving as a thermal buffer (and increasing the resistance to extreme differences in temperatures), this base improves the distribution of heat while cooking.
It contains a disk made of aluminum, a material known for its outstanding thermal conductivity. The triple-layer base is also made with a stainless steel coating which makes the cookware compatible with induction cooktops. The thicker the triple-layer base, the more resistant and durable your cookware will be over time.
Sometimes the entire body of the cookware is made with a triple layer. The entire surface of the cookware is equally thick to provide for even greater durability. This cookware is made with three layers of materials and offers outstanding resistance to extreme changes in temperatures and warping:
- Inside: a layer of professional quality stainless steel;
- In the middle: a layer of aluminum for improved conductivity and heat distribution across the entire body of the cookware;
- Outside: a layer of stainless steel to allow for use on induction cooktops.
You'll find our cookware in most retail shops, as well as general or specialized stores on the Internet!