How to Protect Your Pans
Every home has cookware of some kind, and it's essential to keep that cookware looking good. Improper care can harm your cookware and unintentionally shorten its lifespan or create worse cooking conditions. This can cause food to start sticking, cook unevenly, or make the pot harder to clean.
While many types of pots and pans can take some hard handling, there's a limit to what any cooking pot or pan can handle. That's why it's important to be proactive when it comes to caring for them. Today we're going to talk about how to ensure you aren't making any of the common kitchenware care mistakes.
Never Use Knives in a Pan
Many people will cut off a serving of chicken or meatloaf while it's in the pan. This is a great way to scratch a nonstick, copper, or even aluminum pan and create more sticking and a shorter lifespan. If you need to cut something while it's in the pan, try using silicone spatulas to divide the meal and take it out of the pan as soon as possible to cut further.
Don't Use Metal
As mentioned, you should never use knives in when cooking in your pots and pans. However, that tip goes further. It's important never to use any metal when cooking in a nonstick or coated pot or pan. Using wood, soft plastic, and silicone will ensure that you mix everything well while ensuring that your container doesn't get small cuts and scrapes that will make the pan stick worse over time.
Store Pans Safely
We've all been guilty of the pan drawer that looks like a pile of metal. However, this is a great way to harm your pots and pans. It's important to make sure your pans aren't getting tossed into a drawer or stacked on top of each other without any thought. TO fix this issue, you can either hang them up or stack them with a napkin or towel in between each pan.
Let the Pan Cool
Every-time you cook, it's important to let the pan cool a bit before cleaning. This will help to make sure that your pan doesn't warp when cleaning. Many people want to get their pan clean right away and will put a hot pan into cool dishwater. If this happens, sever warping can occur and cause the pan not to spread heat evenly, causing a lower quality meal in the future.
Throw Away the Care Instructions Without Reading
This last tip is perhaps the most useful. If you are looking to cook with a pot or pan, you might buy one and throw away all the papers and boxes that came with it thinking, "I know how to cook, why would I read the manual." However, that's not why the manual is important. Reading the manual that comes with your pot will ensure that you know and can keep the proper care instructions so that you pan will last a lifetime.