Is there ever an advantage to using a light-bottomed pan?
I have seen many recipes where cooking with a heavy-bottomed pan is advised, as the heat is distributed more evenly and avoids "hot spots".
With that in mind, is there ever a situation where it would not be beneficial, or even be a hinderance, to use a heavy-bottomed pan? If not, why do light-bottomed pans exist?
Best Answer
Firstly, light-bottomed pans exist partly because they save cost and weight (the latter being relevant for, say, taking a pan when hiking). However, there are applications for which a light-bottomed pan can be preferable. These are when you need responsiveness to external heat more than heat retention and evenness. Taking a light pan off the stove will more quickly halt cooking, because it has a lower thermal mass. The pan will also heat up more quickly, but this is less relevant when compared to a properly preheated, thicker pan.
This article goes into some detail on considerations for pan selection. Crucially:
For sautéing and other cooking that calls for quick temperature changes, a pan should be responsive. This means that the pan is doing what the heat source tells it to, and pronto. For example, if you sauté garlic just until fragrant and then turn down the flame, the pan should cool down quickly so the garlic doesn’t burn. Responsiveness isn’t as crucial for boiling, steaming, or the long, slow cooking that stocks and stews undergo.
Additionally, as mentioned by @Blargant in a comment, while responsiveness is less relevant in situations where a relatively large amount of water is used, the positive properties of a thicker pan are also less useful in those cases. Thus, cost becomes a concern, which is why commercial stock pots and the like tend to be thin.
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Quick Answer about "Is there ever an advantage to using a light-bottomed pan?"
However, there are applications for which a light-bottomed pan can be preferable. These are when you need responsiveness to external heat more than heat retention and evenness. Taking a light pan off the stove will more quickly halt cooking, because it has a lower thermal mass.Why should your pots and pans have thick bottoms?
A thicker pan has more distance between the cooking surface and the heat source. By the time the heat flows to the cooking surface, it will have spread out evenly, because heat diffuses as it flows.What type of pan conducts heat the best?
Copper conducts heat extremely well, better than any other metal used for cookware. That means it heats up very fast and distributes heat very evenly around its surface, minimizing hot and cold spots.Why use a heavy based pan?
The base is made from a metal that has excellent heat conductivity. This allows it to hold the heat really well and distribute it around the pan evenly. A heavy-based pan does take a while to heat up compared to a frying pan with a thinner base. However, it holds the heat extremely well.Are heavy pans good?
A heavy frying pan is better than a light one on almost any day. The denser and thicker the metal, the better it is at retaining heat and distributing it evenly to your food, improving your cooking.4 Types of Toxic Cookware to Avoid and 4 Safe Alternatives
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