| Stainless steel cookware sets and individual | | | | thickness is called gauge. Gauge can be hard |
| pots and pans purchased at the Bargain-Marts | | | | to understand. The measurement in gauge works |
| may or may not actually be bargains. Sure you | | | | the reverse of normal thinking. The larger |
| will know the price you paid for the product, | | | | the number of gauge the resulting material |
| and how that price compares to the other | | | | will be thinner. A 16 gauge material is 1.3 |
| Marts in town, but did you get a deal? The | | | | MM thick, an 8 gauge material is 3.25 MM |
| only way to know the value of your stainless | | | | thick and a 4 gauge material is 5.18 MM |
| steel cookware set purchase is to know the | | | | thick. |
| basics of cookware language. In this article | | | | |
| we will discuss material thickness and how | | | | We have now talked about all three |
| this translates to quality in the pot or pan. | | | | measurement systems, inches thick in |
| After you get the very basics of cookware | | | | thousandths, millimeters and in gauge we will |
| terms, you can then make better purchasing | | | | see where these units are used. If you are |
| choices. The information we will cover in | | | | buying aluminum cookware or cast aluminum |
| this article includes stainless steel | | | | cookware the thickness will be in gauge. Most |
| cookware, aluminum cookware and cast aluminum | | | | stamped aluminum cookware in the mass market |
| cookware whether purchased in sets or | | | | is 10 gauge on fry pans and a thinner 12 |
| individual pots. | | | | gauge on saucepans. Better quality aluminum |
| | | | cookware would use a heavier 8 gauge on fry |
| Sometimes the Marts due in fact have very | | | | pans and 10 gauge on other pieces. Cast |
| good deals on quality cookware products. This | | | | aluminum cookware is equivalent to 6 gauge. |
| may not always follow the brand name rules | | | | Consumers are moving up to more durable fry |
| that at first come to mind. Most brand name | | | | pans in recent years - either 6 gauge or a |
| products have different product lines, and | | | | very heavy 4 gauge. Bargain basement |
| these lines usually are of different level of | | | | lightweight fry pans with "generic" non-stick |
| quality. The good news is if you buy brand | | | | coatings are usually 12 gauge or 14 gauge. |
| name products, even the low cost lines, you | | | | This is too thin to provide any length of |
| will be getting a product that is normally | | | | time in service. The first time the heat is |
| much better quality that the better or the | | | | high under these fry pans the bottoms could |
| best of the non-brand name cookware. The | | | | warp, the contents burn or both. If you are |
| brand name producers do not want you to | | | | buying stainless steel cookware the |
| associate their name with low-quality | | | | measurement of thickness will be in |
| products. If this association happens you | | | | millimeters, (if the manufacturer is in the |
| will not be a repeat buyer of that brand. If | | | | USA it may be listed in thousandths of an |
| you go into a store or even a web site and | | | | inch). The standard for top of range |
| the manufacturer's name is not readily seen | | | | stainless steel cookware is 0.6 MM. Premium |
| or advertised, the buyer should be cautious. | | | | department store brands will have stainless |
| Manufacturers of quality products want the | | | | steel cookware in the range of 0.7 MM to 1.0 |
| consumer to know their name. | | | | MM thick. Low end stainless steel cookware is |
| | | | generally 0.5 MM thick. If you have the |
| Now let get started on some cookware terms | | | | choice between two pots one is 2.59 MM thick |
| and the very basic knowledge you will need to | | | | (0.102 inches or 10 gauge) and the second is |
| know. As I mentioned above, we will begin | | | | 5.18 MM thick (0.204 inches or 4 gauge) the |
| with thickness of a pot or pan and the terms | | | | best pot for even heat distribution is the |
| used. Metal thickness can be stated in inches | | | | 5.18 MM pot. |
| (thousandths), millimeters, or gauge. Since | | | | |
| many manufactures are now in Europe, they | | | | If you look at the bottom of your stainless |
| sell to Europe as well to the USA; those | | | | steel cookware or your aluminum cookware and |
| brands will be rated in MM or millimeters. Do | | | | you see discolored, almost black shaded areas |
| not let metric measurements scare you; 1.0 MM | | | | on the surface. If the pot does not set flat |
| is 0.0394 inches thick, a 0.5 MM is one half | | | | due to being warped, the likely cause is the |
| that thick or 0.0197 inches thick and 2.0 MM | | | | utensil has had too much heat applied for |
| is twice that thickness or 0.0787 inches | | | | its' thickness. Once the utensil is warped it |
| thick. The higher the MM rating the thicker | | | | will never be able to transfer heat |
| the utensil will be. The next term for | | | | uniformly. |