What To Look For When Buying Non-Stick Cookware? [6 Best Tips]

When we think about good and healthy food, we only consider quality food but we should also consider good quality non-stick cookware. Because healthy and non-reactive cookware produces healthy food.

When we are searching for any non-stick cookware, if it looks amazing, we don’t consider anything and buy them immediately. But, there are certain things to look for when buying Non-Stick cookware.

What to look for when buying non-stick cookware?

So, the question arises:

Table of Contents

What to look for when buying Non-Stick Cookware set?

Below are the requirements, when you are purchasing non-stick cookware:

PFOA free.
Build Quality (Construction).
Surface Coating.
Safety.
Durability.
Value for Money.

Now we will discuss briefly the topics which are listed above.

PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) Free Cookware

When you are going to buy any new non-stick cookware always check its PFOA free. If they don’t mention its PFOA free then do not consider it at all.

But, nowadays, most of the cookware comes with PFOA free as they don’t want to lose customers.

Why it is important for the cookware to be PFOA free?

PFOA is a man-made chemical that is designed to prevent sticking, heat, water, etc.

This chemical can be exposed if you are cooking at high heat and exposure to this chemical may lead to harmful diseases including cancer.

That’s why it is very important for the cookware to be PFOA free.

Build Quality (Construction)

The quality of the cookware totally depends on the type of materials and processes used during manufacturing.

You often see 5-ply, 3-ply cladding when you are searching for cookware. What does this mean?

“Ply” means layers of metals that are present inside your non-stick cookware. These are usually sandwiched between stainless steel or different metals.

Non-stick Cookware layers for coating — Non-stick Cookware Layers

Tri-Ply or (3-Ply) – Here three layers of metals like copper or aluminum are sandwiched between stainless steel.
5-Ply – It contains five layers of metals where two interior layers are heat conductive.
7-Ply – It contains seven layers of metals where four interior layers are heat conductive.

“Cladding” usually a method of fabrication of metals. Here different types of metals are bonded to a single one. In the exterior, it has the non-reactive metal followed by the conductive metal in the interior to distribute the heat properly.

So, when you are searching for any non-stick cookware then try to purchase at least 5-Ply metal cladding. Because you will love cooking due to its better heat distribution and smoothness.

But, this simply does not mean that a higher ply will have higher quality. The overall quality, metal distribution, thickness and of course the price will decide the cookware’s quality.

Surface Coating

The coating of the cookware is extremely important as this will increase the overall quality and experience of the cookware.

Earlier or maybe some company today also puts PFOA coating which is very harmful as I have discussed earlier.

But, nowadays, the most popular coating is PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) which is commonly known as Teflon. It is a man-made synthetic coating that resists water and sticking.

The other common type of coating is Ceramic which is a silica-based gel.

Both of the coatings work very well to prevent any food from sticking or in the cleaning of the cookware.

You can choose any one of them as both works fine but one thing Teflon coated lasts longer and Ceramic produces more healthy food.

Safety

The first and foremost thing is your safety. No matter what you are cooking, your cookware must be safe to operate.

The first thing is, as usual, it must be PFOA free. If it is not then, the harmful chemical will mix up with the food and your health will be compromised.

Second thing is that your cookware should not be so thin because in thin pans heat distribution is not that good. It may burn your food or may catch fire during cooking. That’s according to science or even experts also tell us to use thick cookware.

Durability

The durability of the pots and pans is extremely important as if you are spending 200 to 300 bucks on good quality cookware then it should last longer.

When you are searching for new pots and pan, check their construction (at least 5-Ply), materials used and scratch proof or not.

If all these check-boxes are marked and the brand is also good then definitely go for it. This type of pots and pans should last for a decade.

Value For Money

You have checked all criteria for buying a new set of pots and pans. Now the last thing comes to your mind that how much it will cost?

If you are thinking that good quality cookware will cost you a lot of money then you are wrong.

You cannot consider good quality cookware is a waste of money, it’s an investment because you can make healthy food every day.

Quality pots and pans will easily cost you around $200 to $300 depending on the type of brand or from where you are purchasing.

But you should not consider non-stick cookware above $500 unless you are going for any copper or stainless steel or enameled cast iron cookware.

You can check for our top picks

Conclusion

I think now you have understood, what to look for when buying non-stick cookware. After purchasing a new set it is also important to take care of it.

By taking care means, while cooking doesn’t use any metal utensils. Use any wooden or silicone utensils. Also, try to avoid dishwasher, instead, wash by your hands.

And also, don’t cook food frequently on the oven, as above 500 degrees the cookware may release some harmful chemicals.

So, if this article, what to look for when buying non-stick cookware helps you to decide to purchase your new set of non-stick cookware, then please share with your friends and family.