How to Choose the Best Stainless Steel Cookware

is the backbone of restaurants all over the world, so it’s no wonder why it is also the most trusted and popular type of cookware to have in your home kitchen. It’s durable, oven safe, and very hard to damage.

That said, not all Stainless Steel Cookware is created equal. In fact, there are key differences between different types of Stainless Steel pots and pans. Here’s how to determine you’re choosing the best type for your kitchen needs.

The best Stainless Steel Cookware is commonly referred to as

, which means that the pan is constructed from various layers of different metals. While also available in 3-ply and 7-ply, the best type of Cladded Cookware is

.

This means that there are five different layers of metal that make up the body of the pan. The different layers of metal ensure that the pan heats evenly and consistently, while also responding to changes in temperature quickly. This means nothing gets burnt and everything cooks at a consistent temperature.

Our Stainless Clad cookware features five layers of four different metals. The outer layers are stainless steel, ensuring that the bottom of the cookware is suitable for induction cooktops and that the top layer is safe to be in contact with food. The middle layers are aluminum, which helps conduct heat.

When shopping for Stainless Clad Cookware, you want to be sure that the 5-ply metal composition is consistent throughout the entire pan, not just the base. This helps your soups,

, chilis, and sauces cook evenly throughout, not just on the bottom.

Now that you know which kind of material your  Stainless Steel Cookware should be, here are some other key features to look out for.

A stay-cool handle is imperative to cooking comfortably. Sometimes recipes call for ingredients to simmer for a long time on the stovetop or for constant stirring over low heat. If the handle is hot, you have to use a towel as a barrier, which isn’t ideal.

A stay-cool handle is hollow on the inside, which disperses the heat throughout the handle and keeps it from concentrating in one area. Please note that the handle can still get hot if the pan is sitting over a high heat burner for an extended period of time, so exercise caution if this is the case.

If a Stainless Steel Pan can’t go in the oven, it is not worthy of being in your kitchen. Otherwise, you can kiss

and making frittatas or dutch babies goodbye.

Our

is oven safe up to 800F, meaning it is safe for any home oven, under any broiler, and even in a wood-burning oven.

Before you buy cookware, it’s important to think of your kitchen as a whole. You want pans designed to excel at specific tasks, not one pan that can do eight different tasks somewhat well.

The best Stainless Steel Cookware should come in curated sets that include

,

,

,

, and even more niche products like a

or a

.

Now that you have everything to shop for Stainless Steel Cookware, make sure you know

and

.