subject: The Key Differences In Commercial Roasting Pan Material [print this page] Whether youre cooking chicken, turkey, or roast beef finding the right type of roasting pan to use can be just as important as locating the perfect recipe. Professional cooks know that half the battle when trying to make a memorable meal is finding the right cookware. But with all the new materials and kitchen tools being released yearly how can you tell what will work best for you? If youre specifically looking to buy a roasting pan there are three different types of pans that you will most commonly run across and that you should investigate further before you make your purchase: aluminum, copper, and stainless steel.
Aluminum roasting pans are fairly good heat conductors heating evenly and quickly once they are placed in a hot oven. This makes them especially good at heating whole birds like chicken or turkey. The thicker the pan the better it will be as a heat conductor, and the better your meal will be for it. A pans thickness is measured as gauge, and of course the bigger the gauge the heavier the pan is too. Unlike copper, aluminum is more cost efficient and many cooks that cant afford to use copper pans, opt for aluminum instead.
Copper is one of the best heat conducting metals that is used in cookware today. Using copper roasting pans when cooking meat allows it to heat quickly and thoroughly so that the top and sides of a slab of meat cook at the same time as the bottom. This is a problem many other types of pans have when cooking thick cuts of meat. Professional cooks love copper both for its looks and its cooking capabilities. However, because it is expensive copper is not as widely used as other cheaper materials. Like aluminum, the heavier the gauge the heavier the pan.
Stainless steel cookware is typically a poor heat conductor, but it is easier to care for than both aluminum and copper. Stainless steel roasting pans are dishwasher safe, dont scratch easily, and are strong enough to keep from denting and scratching easily. Stainless steel pans are also easy to find and come in a variety of lower price range which makes it one of the more common materials found in kitchens today. In addition, while some types of cooking material can rust if they arent dried right away, stainless steel is rust resistant. This type of cookware will last you a long time.
