What pans are made of: basic materials

The basic materials used to make dishes for different cooking surfaces are metals and alloys with good thermal conductivity. These are aluminium, stainless steel, cast iron and copper.

  • Aluminium. One of the most popular and inexpensive materials for frying pans. In descending order of quality properties, models made of cast, forged and stamped aluminium are distinguished. Cast models distribute heat more evenly over the entire surface. They are usually more expensive than forged and stamped products, and the price difference is justified by their long service life.
  • Stainless steel. Affordable and practical material, products from which do not deform during operation and retain a presentable appearance. For steel pans, the thickness of the metal and especially the bottom is very important. If it is a frying pan with a single-layer bottom, then the high temperature leads to the appearance of coloured streaks on its surface, and the dishes will burn. The obvious advantage of stainless steel cookware is high corrosion resistance.
  • Cast iron. Perhaps the most ancient material used to make dishes for frying. All cast iron products do not need additional coating, because during operation a natural non-stick layer forms on the inner surface. Cast iron cookware conducts well, retains heat for a long time and can be heated to high temperatures. She is not afraid of scratches and mechanical damage. The main disadvantage of a cast—iron frying pan is its heavy weight, and one of the most important advantages is an unlimited service life.
  • Copper. Metal stands out among all the best thermal conductivity. This explains that the best coffee makers for making a Turkish drink are made of copper. But a frying pan is something else entirely. If there is no coating on the inner surface, then the products that are prepared there will be oxidized. Anyway, a real copper frying pan has a lot of weight, is very expensive and is available in limited quantities for enthusiasts of cooking.

When "full bottom" is good

The quality of the frying pan is often determined by the thickness and execution of the bottom. A decent model will never be too light, even if it is made of aluminium alloy. The best products have not just a thickened base, but a multi-layered bottom structure consisting of several dissimilar metals or an integrated capsule. For example, the bottom of the product is made of 2 outer layers of stainless steel, between which an aluminium capsule is pressed.


This technology is called a "sandwich" due to its resemblance to a well-known dish in which the filling is enclosed between 2 slices of bread. Such pans are more expensive, but due to the different physical properties of each layer, they distribute heat better and faster over the entire surface, reducing the cooking time. Depending on the number of layers, which can reach up to 6, the thickness of the bottom can be from 5 to 12 mm. At the same time, the larger it is, the better the time-saving effect is manifested. When working with multilayer (capsule) dishes, the heating should be turned off 15 minutes before the end of the process, and the magical ability to keep warm for a long time will bring the dish to full readiness. So with the advent of such dishes in the home kitchen, you will immediately feel the difference in the comfort of cooking compared to a conventional frying pan.

Multi-layer bottom pans

Compatible with different kitchen stoves

The appearance of stoves with different heating technologies influenced the separation of dishes according to the criterion of suitability for use with one or another type of kitchen equipment.

  • Gas stove. You can use any frying pan to work with it, but it is better to take models with a multilayer bottom with a diameter of 16 to 26 cm;
  • Electric stove (conventional, with cast-iron burners and High-Ligt). It is preferable to use frying pans with a thick, durable bottom, and its diameter should coincide with the diameter of the electric burner;

  • Induction cooker. Together with such plates, pans made of metal with magnetic properties (stainless steel, cast iron) are suitable for use. Rapid heating of the glass-ceramic surface requires a multilayer bottom with a thickness of at least 5 mm. For such a surface, it is preferable to choose dishes with a flat or slightly concave bottom, which flattens during thermal expansion;
  • Halogen stove. Inferior in heating power to induction, but can work with non-magnetic cookware;
  • Open fire. It is best suited for grill and wok type pans;
  • Oven (any). The product must have short cast or removable handles.
Induction pans

A more detailed analysis deserves the choice of suitable cookware for induction cookers that have special requirements. In an induction cooker, electric current flows to the winding of a copper coil hidden under the glass of the working surface. The coil creates eddy currents with the ferromagnetic material of the frying pan, instantly heating the products loaded into it. Such a stove itself does not heat up without dishes, and the mandatory conditions for its operation is the presence of metal with magnetic properties in the pan.


Therefore, products made of copper or ordinary aluminium alloy are not suitable for working with an induction cooker. The best option for an induction hob will be a frying pan made of cast iron or stainless steel. In order to expand the use of aluminium cookware with such plates, the bottom of these products began to be made multi-layered with a built-in iron-containing plate in the lower part.



Another important condition for the successful operation of dishes with a stove is its absolutely flat bottom, required for proper interaction with the inductor. In order to clearly know whether a frying pan is suitable for an induction furnace, you should check its properties with the seller or look at the bottom of the product, where the world's leading manufacturers mark with symbols or direct text the possibility of working with different types of plates. And the easiest way to find out if it will be possible to use a frying pan with an induction cooker is to check with an ordinary magnet from the refrigerator. If it is kept at the bottom, then the dishes are suitable for working with an induction cooker.


There is another generally accepted way to "cheat" a stove with induction heating using a conventional non-magnetic frying pan. It is enough to purchase an adapter for an induction cooker, which is a steel disc stand with a handle on which the dishes are installed.

Types of non-stick coatings, their pros and cons

For a long time, cooking utensils were dispensed with without any coatings. Until now, manufacturers produce frying pans that do not have internal and external coatings, although they do not dominate the market. These are almost all cast iron products, dishes made of aluminium alloys, as well as a sufficient number of stainless steel models. The absolute advantage of such pans is a simpler manufacturing process and, accordingly, a low price. And they are also unpretentious when working with metal cook accessories, because in this case we are not afraid to damage the delicate and thin layer of non-stick.

For the first time, serious thought was given to coating metal dishes in France at the end of the XVIII century, and enameling technology went to the masses only half a century later. This was the first effective way to protect the inner surface of kitchen utensils from chemical reactions. In those years, cast iron and steel dishes were most often covered with enamel, and the legendary enameled mugs are still produced here. With the beginning of aluminium production, and most importantly, the cheaper process of obtaining this metal, an easy alternative to massive steel and cast iron products appeared. And over time, scientists have found a way to apply a coating on an aluminium surface.

Non-stick frying pans

But the main revolution in this field occurred in 1949, when the American chemical company DuPont became the owner of a patent for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which became world-famous under the commercial name Teflon. The rare physico-chemical properties of this polymer allowed it to be widely used in engineering and in everyday life. And one of the main successes of Teflon was its use as a non-stick coating for dishes. Currently, Teflon and its analogues have become the most common type of coating for frying pans.

The modern industry offers many options for coatings with chemical inertia, which will allow you to heat-treat and preserve dishes for a long time. At the same time, the neutral surface of the coating does not affect the taste and quality of the finished food in any way. The non-stick layer is resistant to high temperatures, acids and alkalis. Dishes with such coatings do not cause difficulties in use and maintenance, and also do not require additional preparation for the first application. It needs minimal oil addition and is easy to clean with a regular soft sponge.

In addition to Teflon, the tableware industry offers several other types of coatings. Pans with different types of non-stick coatings have their pros and cons. We propose to consider all the advantages and disadvantages inherent in the most common types of non-stick coatings, which will further help in choosing a suitable product.


Teflon coated pans

  • Teflon or PTFE. Has excellent non-stick properties, and aluminium pans with such a coating are light in weight. When it comes to the multilayer design of the frying pan, Teflon becomes the outer layer, which covers the outer and inner surface of the dishes. To eliminate the burning of dishes, the bottom of the pan is provided with a relief pattern that reduces the area of contact of food with the bottom. Therefore, branded non-stick coating usually has a slightly rough surface, and the products of unknown manufacturers are more often smooth. The Teflon frying pan is easy to use and it needs almost no oil for cooking. A serious disadvantage of the coating is the need for careful handling of a thin layer of the surface, which is easily scratched by metal spoons and shovels. Therefore, manufacturers suggest using kitchen accessories made of wood, plastic or with a soft silicone coating during cooking, and do not use abrasive powders for cleaning. The disadvantages of Teflon include the possibility of releasing carcinogenic substances when the coating is damaged, and due to the limited heating temperature (200 °C), it is better not to use products with electric stoves that give a high heat (up to 300 °C). The presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the composition, which has been abandoned by leading manufacturers in recent years, can also harm health. The best Teflon-coated products are made by Tefal, and the models offered vary greatly in durability and price. The quality and service life of the cover layer is determined by its thickness. For entry—level models, it is 25 microns, and for premium products — up to 45 microns. Models with the best Teflon Platinum Plus coating can withstand up to 30,000 cycles of processing with a dish sponge, while a regular layer of Teflon Classic will not tolerate more than 400 procedures. The service life of a Teflon frying pan is from 1 to 5 years, depending on the quality of the product. After this time, it is recommended to replace the dishes to eliminate the negative impact on health;

Ceramic coated pans

  • Ceramics. The advantage of ceramic coating is the safety of the material and its 100% environmental friendliness, due to the presence of natural components — clay and sand. Shiny ceramics looks very presentable, which will satisfy the needs of aesthetes. There are no pores on the smooth surface of ceramics, so that dishes in such a frying pan do not burn, and food can be obtained with a crispy golden crust. Ceramic pans can be heated up to 400-500 °C without any problems, so they can be used with the "hottest" cooking surfaces. Ceramics are quite resistant to mechanical damage, so you can mix the products with a metal spoon or a spatula. The quality of the ceramic coating largely depends on the method of application. So, cheaper products are obtained by rolling, and spraying provides greater durability. However, such a coating also has its drawbacks. Ceramics do not like shock loads, as a result of which chips may appear. And a hot frying pan should be cooled before washing so that microcracks do not form under the influence of temperature differences. A high-quality frying pan with a good ceramic coating will not be cheap, but with proper care it will last longer than Teflon;

Enamel-coated pans

  • Enamel. A rare type of coating today. Despite some similarities with ceramics, it is inferior to it in non-stick properties due to a more porous structure that consumes a lot of oil for cooking. Enamel is not afraid of scratches from metals, but it is quite fragile and prone to chipping. At the same time, the advantage of an enameled frying pan is that this coating does not oxidize, so here the food is preserved for a long time;

Titanium coated pans

  • Titan. Titanium is a durable and lightweight metal that is resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. When it comes to a titanium frying pan, this does not mean that it is completely made of this metal. Because, firstly, it is too expensive, and secondly, the barrier for all-metal products is the low thermal conductivity of the material. A fully titanium frying pan would heat up so slowly that it would negate all other advantages. But the titanium coating applied to the base metal gives the product excellent non-stick properties and wear resistance, and cooked food in such dishes keeps heat for a long time. Titanium pans do not emit substances harmful to humans during heating and are not subject to thermal deformation, and heat resistance allows them to be used in the oven for baking. Among the disadvantages, it should be noted the high cost of products and the fact that dishes of this type without a magnetic layer are not suitable for working with an induction cooker. Despite the high strength of the coating, it is very thin, so it is better not to use metal objects to extend the service life during cooking;

Marble-coated pans

  • Stone (granite and marble). The stone coatings of the frying pan include polymer composites consisting of stone chips and a binder. In general, it is very similar to kitchen sinks with a stone coating, which outwardly stands out with a colour background interspersed with dots of granite or marble chips, as well as other minerals, including artificial origin. The bonding base may consist of a special epoxy resin or Teflon, which is already familiar to us, which enhances the non-stick properties. The thickness of the stone coating is much greater than that of Teflon or titanium, because it is applied in several layers. This is an expensive technology, so the disadvantage of models with stone chips is their high price. When using a stone-coated frying pan, metal blades should be avoided, and when cleaning, abrasive materials and hard metal brushes should be discarded. A positive bonus of dishes with a "heart of stone" was the possibility of simple washing in the dishwasher;

  • Diamond. Another heavy-duty type of nanocomposite spraying, which allows frying in a frying pan without oil. The coating is characterized by high hardness and heat resistance, and high-quality frying pans of the Swiss company Swiss Diamond belong to the premium segment and cost a lot of money.

As can be seen from the evaluation of dishes with different types of non-stick coating, each option requires special care. But it is possible to establish a general rule: the absence of high temperatures and sudden temperature changes. Any cooking process should start with medium heat, which should be reduced as soon as it is ready. To increase the service life of non-stick coated products, it is recommended to use silicone, wooden or plastic blades. This is a guarantee that you will not damage the coating, and the frying pan will serve its allotted time.

Features of non-stick coatings of different brands

Each cookware manufacturer can have different commercial names for non-stick coating. This is especially true for products with Teflon protected by a patent. And only those manufacturers who have purchased a license from DuPont can call the coating by its original name. Other companies use more affordable non-stick coatings based on PTFE with their own name. Most often these are coatings developed by the chemical concern Whitford, which specializes in non-stick protection. For example, Rondell and Bergner companies use Xylan/Xylan Plus 2-layer photopolymer coatings with a thickness of 18-35 microns in their dishes, and their Scandia analogue with similar characteristics, which is used for stamped dishes, is popular with east european manufacturers. Unlike Xylan coatings, which are applied by rolling, Scandia is performed exclusively by spraying and last a little longer. Dishes with entry-level coatings are recommended for periodic use, so that the protective layer lasts longer.

A higher class of protection is provided by 2 – 3-layer coatings Quantum 2 and Quantum Titan, which have reinforcement in the form of inclusions of composite and titanium, respectively. The thickness of such layers is 25-35 microns, so it is suitable for everyday use. And such brands of protective coatings as HALO, Eclipse and Excalibur already belong to the premium segment with a thickness of multilayer protection of 35 microns or more, but with an emphasis on different properties. So, HALO is famous for its high thermal conductivity, thanks to which a frying pan with such a coating heats up faster and more evenly. Excalibur is best suited for application on stainless steel surfaces, and Eclipse resists scratches perfectly. Another top Eterna coating found in extra-class frying pans is characterized by improved non-stick properties that remain unchanged during long-term operation. Premium class coatings withstand long-term intensive use without loss of non-stick properties for several years.

Tefal uses PowerGlide, Titanium Force and Titanium Pro non-stick coatings in its mass products, which are gradually beginning to be replaced by more modern developments. So the new Titanium Mineralia+ coating is designed to last twice as long as Titanium Force, and the coating with a high-quality titanium layer of Titanium Excellence has become three times more durable than it.

The pans of the Swiss company Swiss Diamond, whose products can cost several hundred dollars, are famous for the high quality of coatings. The best coating with artificial diamond inclusions, withstanding up to 12K cycles of abrasive cleaning, is considered to be a 3-layer Swiss Diamond XD. The coating is applied to a base made by plasma deposition, which forms a strong adhesive bond of aluminium housing with non-stick protection. In the second place in terms of durability, you can put the Swiss Diamond HD coating with 8.5 cycles of abrasive surface treatment. Due to the high price of Swiss Diamond tableware, it is more recommended for professional use, but if the low-cost allows you, then you will not be disappointed: such a frying pan will last for decades.

Of the brands of ceramic coatings, the most famous in the east european market was the brand FernoGreen from BergHOFF, which replaced the previous development of FernoCeramic. It is a multi-layer coating with good non-stick properties, as well as resistance to friction, wear and scratching. A ceramic coating of the Sol-Gel type (sol-gel), called Greblon, has also proven itself well. This proprietary non-stick coating, created in the laboratories of the German company Weilburger Coatings, is now used by a dozen manufacturers of tableware. And the South Korean coating of the 7th generation Thermolon, developed in the company of the same name, is used in the pans of the oldest German tableware brand Zwilling J. A. Henckels and in popular products of the Belgian company GreenPan. The ceramic protective layer of the Fusion brand, which is also found on the market, has very ambiguous characteristics. This coating has a high level of antifreeze at the beginning of operation, which is significantly lost over time. At the same time, Fusion stands out for its increased resistance to wear, allowing the use of metal accessories.

Manufacturers of ultra-low-cost tableware often do not indicate the trademark of the coating, referring simply to its type. This allows them not to adhere strictly to coating technologies, and the actual thickness of the protective layers of dishes often does not correspond to the claimed one. Buying such a frying pan does not justify itself even at the lowest price, because the non-stick coating in it is erased very quickly.

Conclusions: which frying pan is better to choose?

The practice of home cooking shows the need to have in your arsenal a set of several frying pans of different purposes, type and size. The presence of a non-stick coating on the dishes is desirable, but not necessary. It is more dictated by the conditions of culinary processes.


Cookware with non-stick coating will reduce the consumption of oil, reduce the time standing at the stove and simplify washing after cooking. When choosing such products, it is worth paying special attention to the mechanical strength, thickness and durability of the coating. A good frying pan has a thickness of protective layers of at least 20 microns (the value must be indicated on the package). And the most high-quality models have at least 3 layers consisting of the main coating, a thermal layer and a fastener. Most of all on the market are dishes with Teflon coating, which has the best non-stick properties, and dishes with a protective layer based on enamel, ceramics, marble or granite show themselves better in wear. Whatever the coating is, it is vulnerable to mechanical damage. Through an accidental scratch, grease, alkalis and acids penetrate to the metal of the frying pan and eventually lead to peeling of the protection. Therefore, such dishes require careful treatment. If you used to cook in a frying pan without a coating and the hand itself reaches for a steel spoon, then you will have to get used to the delicate handling of the surface and force yourself to handle a wooden or plastic spatula. In addition to heavy and almost eternal cast iron products, all frying pans with a non-stick layer have a limited service life associated with the natural destruction of the coating. In the case of Teflon, further use of dishes will be unsafe, and other types of coating over time simply lose their non-stick properties, which causes dishes to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Today, the choice of dishes for cooking is quite extensive, but it varies greatly in quality and price. A really good product will be a well-known brand that meets the stated properties. The list of the best manufacturers of frying pans includes French Tefal (Teflon) and De Buyer (stainless steel), American Lodge (cast iron), Belgian BergHOFF, Italian TVS, Ballarini and Risoli, German AMT Gastroguss (titanium), Gipfel, Woll, Krauff and Rondell, Czech Nadoba, Swiss Swiss Diamond (diamond, marble), as well as east european Biol, Siton (both cast iron) and .