A healthy lifestyle involves not only the use of foods rich in nutrients, but also compliance with all the rules of their heat treatment during cooking. To do this, it is important to purchase high-quality dishes. Today it is presented on the market in a huge assortment and differs both in the material of manufacture, and in design, and in price.
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What material is better?
Kitchen utensils are an important accessory that no cooking can do without. It is made from various materials, each of which can have both advantages and disadvantages. Popular type which is common these days is chinaware. Most often, cooking utensils are purchased from several traditional materials.
Aluminum
It is characterized by low practicality, but is resistant to sudden changes in temperature and does not burn. In addition, aluminum cookware is light in weight and can be washed by any method. However, at the moment on the market you can come across low-quality products that are cheap, but they cannot be used for cooking. Since such dishes are produced mainly from secondary aluminum alloys containing arsenic, lead and other elements, they are harmful to health. It is forbidden to cook vegetables and fruits in such containers; under the influence of organic acids and table salt, they emit substances hazardous to human health.
Stainless steel
Dishes made of this material are considered the most versatile and practical to use, since absolutely everything can be cooked in it. Stainless steel products can be heated to any temperature and cleaned with any detergent. Safe and recommended for the kitchen utensils should consist of “ordinary” stainless steel, that is, include an alloy of chromium (18%), nickel (10%). It is marked “18/10” on the bottom.
Porcelain and earthenware
Despite the fact that these dishes are good, their coating in the form of glaze may contain harmful elements, the most dangerous of which is considered to be lead. Therefore, if you plan to cook healthy food, it is better to refuse this type of product. Yes, and the price for them can be quite high, it all depends on the size and design.
Cast iron
This material is able to keep warm for a long time, the food does not burn. Cast iron pans are ideal for pancakes, pancakes, vegetables, stews and vegetarian pilaf. The main advantage of cast iron is that it heats up evenly (though slowly). But this type of cookware is unsuitable for everyday use: after damage to the black protective film that covers its surface, food begins to acquire a metallic taste during cooking and turns into dark spots.
Heat resistant glass
It has an aesthetic appearance, food neutrality, retains heat for a long time and heats up quickly. As for the service life, such dishes are short-lived. During frying, it “strives” to burst, quickly burns. In addition, heat-resistant glass products are afraid of sudden temperature changes – if a frying pan that is hot on fire is immediately poured with cold water from the tap, it will simply burst.
If the appearance of the dishes is important for the hostess, and she prefers glass products, it is necessary to pay attention to their consumer properties: they should not have scratches, air bubbles inside and chips.
