Features of pots with a thick bottom and their selection

Pots with a thick bottom are firmly in use and highly valued by the hostesses. The demand for such dishes is due to its excellent operational properties and long service life.

A thick-bottomed pan is a type of kitchen utensil used for cooking, stewing and stewing. It is ideal for all types of cookers, including induction type models. More often the bottom in such products is manufactured using advanced technologies by pressing the discs into one another without using the heating method. The adhesion of the elements is due to the viscosity of the alloy, which causes the compaction of the metal structure.

For the production of such a sandwich bottom, a combination of two metals is often used, each of which endows the structure with specific working properties. So, most pans have a three-layer bottom, consisting of an external steel and middle aluminum layer. As for the thickness of the "sole", then it, like the number of layers, can be any and range from 5 to 12 mm. but optimal for home use is considered a thickness of 6-8 mm, which does not make the overall weight of the dishes too heavy and does its job well.

Along with capsule technology, the thermal method is sometimes used in the production of thick-bottom pots. In this method, an aluminum disk is attached to a pan blank with a conventional thin bottom and covered with a steel blank having ferromagnetic properties on top of it.Further, under the influence of pressure of 700 kg / cm2 and very high temperatures, metal disks are pressed into one layer, forming a thermal burn of blue color.

Then the junction of the blanks is polished, and the pan becomes marketable. However, as a result of processing the joint seams on a lathe, the bottom is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pan. Moreover, its surface nature is clearly visible to the naked eye, and such a product is significantly more expensive.

As for the material for making pots with a thick bottom, it can be anything: aluminum, ceramics, steel and cast iron. Cast-iron roasters have the best performance, however, due to their excessive weight and high price, they are not as popular as, for example, stainless steel models. But no matter what material the pan is made of, it is obviously heavier than the model with the usual thin bottom. In this regard, the pens on such a product are made more massive and strong, which is dictated by the requirements of safety and ease of use of the product.

Pots with a bottom thickness of more than 3 mm belong to the category of utensils with a thick bottom. They are used for cooking soup and side dishes, stewing vegetables and baking various dishes. Due to uniform heating of the bottom and the ability to retain heat for a very long time such dishes are indispensable for the languishing of milk and other products requiring slow heat treatment.

Moreover, pans with a thick bottom are often used to prepare dishes of animal origin. with minimal oil and water. This becomes possible due to the ability of these products to secrete, under certain temperature conditions, a sufficient amount of liquid and fat, which are enough to cook dishes in their own juice.

Besides, the thick bottom allows you to passer vegetables before cooking the soup right in the pan, without using a pan. It should also be noted that when cooking in such a cookware, you can safely turn off the fire 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. The dish under the lid will perfectly reach readiness and will become more flavorful. This can be done with cereals, soups and stewed vegetables. Meat, of course, should be cooked over the fire until the end.

Of particular note are models with a thick bottom, operating on the principle of a water bath. Their hull and bottom consist of two layers, between which water is poured. The liquid goes to the bottom and, when heated, begins to perform work on the distribution of heat. Its temperature regime is kept in the range of 96-98 degrees, which eliminates the likelihood of "escaping" milk, the formation of foams and burning porridge. Such models are equipped with a hole for pouring water, a measuring scale on the outer surface of the pan, a whistle stopper, a steam vent cover and heat resistant handles.

Thick-bottomed pans have always been in high demand, due to a number of their undeniable advantages over conventional thin-bottom models.

• The use of dishes with a double or multi-layered bottom significantly reduces the cooking time, due to which there is a significant saving of gas or electricity.
• The thick bottom in comparison with the thin warms up more evenly, which almost completely eliminates the burning of food.
• Cookware with a thick bottom allows you to cook it in your own juice with a minimal addition of water and oil.This may be especially true for those who advocate a healthy diet and people on therapeutic diets.
• Thanks to the capsule structure of the bottom, most of the nutrients in the products are not destroyed and remain in sufficient volume. This is due to the fact that the food in them cooks much faster, and the necessary substances do not have time to collapse from prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Typically, the operating temperature inside such dishes ranges from 95 degrees and never reaches 100.
• Due to the fact that the multilayer bottom does not cause food burning, the care of such pots is very simple. To do this, it is enough to wash the product with an ordinary dishwashing detergent and monitor the cleanliness of the outer surface of the bottom.

The disadvantages of pots with a thick bottom are not so many. They include weight, which is slightly more than conventional thin-walled models, and cost, which is also slightly higher. However, these shortcomings can be reliably attributed to conditional ones, since the ease of use and energy saving during cooking quickly pay back the cost of the model.

Pots with a thick bottom are available in different shapes and sizes, which allows you to create a set of kitchen utensils according to your needs and discretion. However, it’s more advisable to purchase sets of pots, having the same design and color, differing only in volume.

Sets can include from two to 12 items and consist of pots, the volume of which starts from 0.9 l and ends with 8 l, stewpan with a volume of 1.5-6 l and ladles containing from 1.5 to 2 l. Thick-bottomed stewpan can be safely used for stewing fish and meat dishes, as well as for cooking casseroles in the oven and stewing milk. Ladles, as you know, have traditionally small volumes and are used for cooking sauces, pouring, boiling small portions of milk and warming ready-made food.

The modern market for kitchen utensils presents a wide assortment of thick-bottomed pots. Below are a number of manufacturers whose product reviews have the most positive ratings and are deservedly in high demand.

• Among foreign manufacturers, a company from Germany should be noted. Kaiserhoff, whose production facilities are located in China and Hong Kong. German pots are distinguished by a 5-layer capsule-type bottom and are famous for their laconic design and high quality.

• Danish company dishes Fissman It is also popular in our country and is characterized by the presence of additional accessories and devices. So, the set of pans with a thick bottom includes practical lattice-steamers and metal sieves for draining water, and the models themselves are made of food steel with nickel-chrome additives.

• Company Solingen from Germany is also well known throughout the world. She is engaged in the production of pots with a thickened single-layer bottom. Pan covers are equipped with a drain hole, and the bucket is necessarily included in the kit.

• Well-known global manufacturer Tefal also produces sets of quality pots with a thick bottom up to 5 mm, which are in high demand among the population.

• Among companies from Russia, the Gourman factory, also known as "VSMPO-Utensils." Quality pots with a bottom thickness of 6.5 mm and equipped with welded or riveted handles come off the assembly line. Models are suitable for any type of gas and electric stoves and can be used for baking food in the oven.

• Products of Ashinsky Metallurgical Plant Amet also well known to Russian housewives. The company launched the production of pots with a heat-distributing triple bottom sandwich with a volume of 1.5-40 liters.

• Russian company Taller With its head office in St. Petersburg and production facilities in China and Korea, it also manufactures thick-bottom models.Products are equipped with handles with silicone heat-resistant pads and have a bottom thickness of 5-7 mm. The pan has measuring notches, and the case itself is beautifully polished. The volume of the smallest model is only 1.6 liters, plus a bucket is produced in each series.

When choosing a pan with a thick bottom should be guided by the weight of the product. The heavier it is, the larger the layer of metal present in the bottom. Due to the rather large weight of the models, it is advisable to pay attention to the fastening of the handles to the body of the pan. It should be borne in mind that the screw joint can loosen over time, and through rivets are often oxidized from the inside of the pan.

Another point that you should pay attention to when buying is the fit of the lid to the pan: it should be as tight as possible, and the side rim of the body should not be less than 5 mm. And also need to watch so that the wall thickness of the pan is at least 1 mm, and the bottom is at least three. In addition, it should be remembered that the silicone coating of the pens is more preferable than Teflon or wooden, as the latter do not tolerate elevated temperatures and begin to deteriorate over time.

As for the displacement, it is selected taking into account the number of family members and the frequency of use of dishes. So, for a family of 4 people, it will be enough to purchase a set with a 4-liter saucepan for soup, a saucepan for a side dish with a capacity of 2.5-3 liters and a 2-liter bucket for porridges. A large 10-liter pan, which is perfect for cooking jam and preparing various preparations, will also be useful.

Browse Borner Premium brand pans in the video below.