Stainless steel range - Kitchen utensils

Well my love with kitchen just keeps growing on me. It’s not that I am a great cook, but yes I am an avid food junkie! Talking about stainless steel range of kitchen utensils, one can’t just ignore the variety of models and shapes they come in for the variety of purposes they serve. To strike the conversation (between us of course) let us talk about why prefer stainless steel range of kitchen utensils over other others.

The “Steely” advantage…

The Chromium content in stainless steel makes it resistant to corrosion by creating a protective layer chromium oxide over the steel surface. Thus the stainless steel range kitchen utensils require minimum care and maintenance and yet loyally serve you for years.

The stainless steel range kitchen utensils have very “Hygienic” surface, as explained in my first post on stainless steel range. This makes it suitable for cooking and easy to clean.

The metal is highly inert in nature and it does not react with the food irrespective of its acidity or alkalinity at any temperature. It because of this that stainless steel range kitchen utensils are also recommended in hospitals.

It does not by any means contribute or spoil the taste of food that is being prepared in it and is absolutely safe to use.

Stainless steel range kitchen utensils are also dishwasher safe, however in case you are possessive about retaining the luster of your utensils, you should use hand wash either.

On the flip side of it…

Pure stainless steel range kitchen utensils tend to develop “Hotspots” due to non uniform distribution of heat. This can be avoided by having the base of utensil made of metals like aluminum and copper. This ensures uniform diffusion of heat throughout the surface of utensil.

Also at times due to overheating, the utensil surface develops a rainbow like coloration. However this can be taken care of by steel stainless steel cleaners.

And in case you have just been demotivated by these features on the flip side then take into consideration the fact that a properly handled stainless steel range kitchen utensils may have a life span lasting over 100 years!!! That’s huge right???

Steel is good but better be cautious about…

Now there are definitely some things that you should keep in mind to get the best out of your stainless steel goodies:

As said, a pure stainless steel range kitchen utensil tends to develop hot spots and that you can use metals like copper and aluminum as a workaround for this issue. Not only does it help in uniform diffusion of heat but also minimize sticking of food to base of utensils and help making food tastier by uniformly heating it.

One big “No No” with stainless steel range kitchen utensils is storing food in it. You may temporarily use it for storage purpose, however any long time food storage should be avoided.
And in case you are in love with your new stainless steel set that you have purchased this Christmas, then avoid using abrasives or just about anything harsh with your utensils. We’ll take the cleaning of stainless steel range products in greater detail soon. For now, just be careful while you wash off you utensils.

Before you set out for buying, take a note of…

Stainless steel range kitchen utensils come in different variants of shape, size, stainless steel composition, weight, appearance, etc. Now the one you are going to buy should not entirely depend on the purpose but also the medium and the environment that you are going to cook your food in. In case you cook most of your food in oven, then you can do with cheaper stainless steel stuff that may be heavy or may have the issue of developing hotspots. As inside the oven walls, uniform distribution of heat is taken care by the oven. In case you are using cook tops, the you definitely need to have the best in class 18/10 grade stainless steel range utensil with thick bottom made of copper or aluminum that can diffuse heat well.

One more factor that affects your purchase is the number of people that you are going to cater on a day to day basis. People who leave without families may not be so insistent on quick heating and ease of cleaning, but when you need to cook for a family of four or more on a daily basis, you definitely need to have these features in. For professional chefs… no comments, as they can best judge what they actually require.

For the health conscious ones…

Across the world, Stainless steel range kitchen utensils are hailed for their hygiene and inertness and thus they are the most preferred choice for healthy cooking.

Now taking one at a time, Hygiene factor is being taken care of by the tough stainless steel surface that is resistant to scratches. The problem with scratches are that they are home for microbes and unhealthy bacteria. As a user we can also do our bit by not cleaning the utensils with rough objects and abrasives or ammonia.

Coming to inertness, the Stainless steel range kitchen utensils are not all that inert. However we can take a look at following before we jump into any conclusions:

Iron: There is always some amount of Iron that dissolves in food while cooking. However, It is beneficial for our body as it helps in production of RBCs in our body. Also, it just constitutes for less than 20% of our daily iron intake and thus it’s totally harmless.

Chromium: It also beneficial in small quantities, i.e. somewhere around 50 to 200 micrograms per day. And guess what each meal prepared in a stainless steel pot gives somewhere around 40 to 45 micrograms of chromium and that is not at all a concern.

Nickel: It is the most poisonous metal, but once again it’s just too less in amount. However, people allergic to nickel should better avoid using stainless steel range kitchen utensils altogether.

While buying your utensils, you should be extremely careful of the fact that it’s the inner surface of the pot that matters and not the outer surface. When I said that Aluminum helps to diffuse heat better, I did not make a mention of the fact that it can be extremely dangerous to health as it accumulates cumulatively. So we should take care to make sure that it’s actually the steel base in the inner surface and not the aluminum.

Finally…

Nothing more!!! I am not left with anything else to talk about and I’ll switch off!!! But will definitely revert back soon with some more quality stuff on stainless steel range.