Stainless steel cookware scratches
Is it true that one should not use stainless steel utensils on a stainless steel pot or pan? I had to get rid of some old pots because my food started have a metallic taste to it. I always see on cooking shows, however, that chefs will often use stainless steel utensils (like a whisk) on a stainless steel pot.
What should I do to prevent this metallic leaching? And should I be cooking with, say, wooden utensils to prevent scratching my cookware?
Update: The metallic leaching was very distinct. It's sort of like the taste one gets from aluminum soda cans or stainless steel water bottles that were made back in the day. When I switched out the pots and pans to newer ones, the taste was no longer there. Switching back to the old ones again, the taste returned. I tried cooking different foods to make sure it wasn't something related to acidity or some sort of ingredient.
Best Answer
Of course stainless utensils can be used on stainless pots and pans; otherwise, the restaurant industry would come to halt.
The only time you need to use utensils of specific materials is pans with a non-stick coating that can be scratched, such as using plastic for PTFE.
As to your alleged "metallic leaching," that is not typical at all to stainless steel cookware. You would have to provide more information to get a good answer.
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Is it safe to use scratched stainless steel cookware?
Stainless steel cookware is durable and typically resists scratching, but stainless pots and pans can begin to release certain metal components if scratched or gouged. Despite this metallic release, cooking with scratched stainless steel cookware is generally safe.How do you get scratches out of stainless steel cookware?
Steps to Remove the Scratches:Are scratches on stainless steel normal?
The answer is yes. Stainless Steel will always scratch and because of the directional polishing marks on many models the scratching will show up quite dramatically initially.How Do I Remove Scratches From Stainless Steel Pots?
More answers regarding stainless steel cookware scratches
Answer 2
It is possible that either the cookware or the utensils being used are a metal other than stainless steel. Aluminum used to be a common household material until more recently. This does create a metallic taste to food, especially when there is an acidity in the ingredients like tomatoes or lemons.
Answer 3
Materials of equal hardness will abrade each other, so stainless-on-stainless scratching is possible, especially because the utensil might be made from an ever so slightly harder variant of stainless than the pan.
Aluminium could be identified by behaviour in a dishwasher, density (weight vs displacement), or scratch testing with other materials...
Cooking show hosts are likely not to care about wearing the cookware down quickly.
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