STAINLESS STEEL COOKWARE

Stainless steel is among the most used materials for cookware. In some ways it is almost perfect for pots and pans. It will not rust, tarnish and is impervious to pitting from acids such as tomatoes and lemon. It is also easy to clean, and I believe is dishwasher safe.

However, there is one problem with stainless steel. It does not heat well or evenly, making it a poor choice for cooking.
Enter science. The problem of uneven and slow heat transfer was solved by sandwiching a thick disk of aluminum in between two layers of stainless steel. Copper can also be used, but because of it's expense aluminum is usually used. These two metals, aluminum and copper are known for their fast and even conduction of heat. So now we have cookware that has both the advantages of the durability of stainless steel and excellent, even heat conduction.

This I am sure is where the name “All Clad” came into being; a thick base of aluminum, with a thinner layer going up the sides of the pan, clad in stainless steel.

This kind of cookware construction has now taken on many variations within brand names, as well as chef's cookware. Some have non stick interiors with stainless steel exteriors, and others have the copper showing on the bottom of the outside of the pan and partially up the side.

The lesson to be learned from the last paragraph is to search all of the lines of cookware made by a brand name company you may be interested in before making up your mind what to buy.