Very interesting question that I received from a viewer. It’s surprising how we ignore the basics when we purchase and end up making a wrong purchase - even for something as simple as stainless steel!
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There are a few key things to look for when selecting stainless steel vessels:
Is the stainless steel corrosion resistant?
Corrosion resistance determines if there is damage due to oxidation like rust. In general, the grade of the stainless steel determines the corrosion resistance.
The best one and most common ones for utensils is 304 and 430 - the difference being the amount of nickel used. When nickel is used - it offers more strength and corrosion resistance.
For 304 - you will see numbers like 18-10, 18-8 and so on. This determines the percentage of chromium and nickel.
In 430, there is no nickel and is slightly more vulnerable to corrosion compared to 304 in acidic environments i.e., when cooking with lemon, tomatoes etc - over a period of time. For 430, you will see numbers like 18-0 - which shows no nickel.
Since 430 does not have nickel, these vessels are cheaper.
So you can choose to select 430 stainless steel for vessels for cooking of non-acidic items - like milk, coffee, tea etc while your kadais should preferably be 304 stainless steel.
How many ply is it?
You may see 3-ply, 5 ply, 7 ply when you are researching stainless steel vessels. If nothing is written, it is no ply.
Stainless steel is not a great conductor of heat and stainless steel vessels have a tendency to develop hot spots, resulting in unevenly cooked food. To get your food evenly cooked, you have to constantly rotate the pan or keep mixing the food to avoid hot spots.
To bring in additional heat conductivity and make vessels induction stove compatible - we have started seeing multiple ply for vessels
In general - a 3 ply will have an aluminium layer sandwiched between stainless steel vessels. Copper is also used sometimes. A 5 ply will have outer layers of stainless steel and middle 3 layers of heat conductive metals like aluminium or copper. For example - a 5 ply kadai could be 304 stainless steel, aluminium, copper, aluminium and 430 stainless steel
In general - the inner stainless steel layer will be made of 304 stainless steel and the outer layer will be made of 430 stainless steel to keep the costs lower.
For most of home cooking - a 3 ply is sufficient. For heat intensive cooking - like deep or shallow fry or for faster cooking, you can consider a 5 ply. Typically in the indian household - useful for kadai’s. But 3 ply could be sufficient.
A 5 ply will be heavier and more expensive.
I’ve linked to a few of my favorite 3 ply and 4 ply stainless steel utensils below.
All clad vs disc bottom?
Not many all clad options in India are available I believe. All clad means that the 3 / 5/ 7 ply is not only for the base but also for the sides. Again useful for faster and intensive cooking
Induction base
If you plan to use the stainless steel on an induction stove too, consider buying one with an induction base or in other words a flat base that can be used for induction stoves. Also requires a minimum of 3 ply as the induction stove can heat up fairly quick.
Size - to determine the right size, a good estimate is to measure how many cups of liquid equivalent you will be cooking. This table on the screen shows a good guide. But 1 liter is approximately 4 cups of water. So more the quantity, larger the vessel size you will need to purchase
Handles - screwed in handles are prone to rusting and breakages. When handles are required, I prefer a riveted handle that gives the most durability and corrosion resistance.
So what is my recommendation:
I’ve given the best recommendation for most commonly used types of vessels and equipment in the description below. It is based on the criteria I have mentioned above. I think 3 ply is sufficient for most usecases - so that’s my common recommendation.
Some brands that I recommend and use are Bergner, Borosil, Hawkins - bit expensive but quality products.
It may not make sense for me to call it out in the video directly - but I’ve linked to kadais, pots, pans, casseroles, handis that can be really great in the indian household.
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