Cookware and bakeware are types of food preparation containers commonly found in the kitchen. Cookware comprises cooking vessels, such as saucepans and frying pans, intended for use on a stove or range cooktop. Bakeware comprises cooking vessels intended for use inside an oven. Some utensils are both cookware and bakeware.
Cookware materials
Metal
Metal pots are made from a narrow range of metals because pots and pans need to conduct heat well, but also need to be chemically un-reactive so that they do not alter the flavor of the food. Most materials that are conductive enough to heat evenly are too reactive to use in food preparation. In some cases (copper pots, for example), a pot may be made out of a more reactive metal, and then tinned or clad with another.
Aluminium
An anodized aluminium sauté pan
Aluminium is a lightweight metal with very good thermal conductivity. It is resistant to many forms of corrosion. Aluminium is commonly available in sheet, cast, or anodized forms, and may be physically combined with other metals (see below).
Sheet aluminium is spun or stamped into form. Due to the softness of the metal it may be alloyed with magnesium, copper, or bronze to increase its strength. Sheet aluminium is commonly used for baking sheets, pie plates, and cake or muffin pans. Deep or shallow pots may be formed from sheet aluminium.
Cast aluminium can produce a thicker product than sheet aluminium, and is appropriate for irregular shapes and thicknesses. Due to the microscopic pores caused by the casting process, cast aluminium has a lower thermal conductivity than sheet aluminium, and is more expensive. Accordingly, cast aluminium cookware has become less common. It is used for Dutch ovens, heavyweight baking pans such as bundt pans, and wares such as ladles or handles where low thermal conductivity is desired.
Anodized aluminium has had the naturally occurring layer of aluminium oxide thickened by an electrolytic process to create a surface that is hard and non-reactive. It is used for sauté pans, stockpots, roasters, and Dutch ovens. Uncoated and un-anodized aluminium can react with acidic foods to change the taste of the food. Sauces containing egg yolks, or vegetables such as asparagus or artichokes may cause oxidation of non-anodized aluminium.
Aluminium exposure has been suggested as a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. The Rondeau, Commenges et al. article cited below states "These findings support the hypothesis that aluminium in drinking water is a risk factor for AD." (Alzheimer's disease)". The Alzheimer's Association states that "studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminium in causing Alzheimer's. Few believe that everyday sources of aluminium pose any threat." According to Dr. Morton Walker on page 98 of his 1994 book Toxic Metal Syndrome: How Metal Poisonings Can Affect Your Brain, the Alzhhimer's Association has accepted funding from major players in the aluminium industry.
Copper saucepans, Vaux-le-Vicomte castle.
Copper
In classical Western cooking, pots are formed with thick copper sheets with a thin inner layer of tin. The copper provides the best thermal conductivity of common metals and therefore results in even heating. Copper is reactive with acidic foods, discovered with the discovery of tomatoes in the new world and subsequent introduction to old world copper pots. The tin lining prevents the copper from reacting with acidic foods. The products resulting from the reaction causes copper toxicity. The lead-free and cadmium-free tin lining is susceptible to tin pest. In some cases unlined copper is desirable, for instance in the preparation of meringues and foams. Copper pots are expensive and require retinning, and when made with thick copper plates are heavy. With modern metallurgical techniques, such as cladding, copper is incorporated into the constructions of cookware, often as an enclosed heat spreading disk.
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** source: wikipedia.org
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