Whenever you cook for your loved ones, you make sure that you choose the best possible ingredients, cooking medium, vegetables, spices and everything that would make food more nutritious and yummy. However, how often do we pay heed to the utensils that we cook in? Well, if until now you have not been paying heed to, it is important to know that the cookware that uses for cooking also has a great positive or negative impact on the food being cooked in it. In this article, we shall discuss some best utensils that you should use for cooking and also talk about the ones you should avoid!
What Kind of Utensils are Ideal for Cooking?
There can be many health threats lurking if you do not pay heed to the cookware that you use to cook meals for your family. Here are some of our healthy cooking cookware recommendations or some best utensils for cooking:
1. Stainless Steel
One of the most readily available and best vessels for cooking that you should consider is stainless steel. You can not only cook wide varieties of dishes in it, but it also retains approximately 60 to 70 per cent nutrient content of the food. However, refrain from buying the stainless steel utensil that is polished with chromium or nickel as they may cause health threats.
2. Cast Iron
One of the long-lasting and sturdy metals that can be used for cooking food is cast iron. Small amounts of iron leach from the cookware when you cook food in a utensil made of cast iron, however, that is healthy for us. But if you are battling with an overload of iron in the body, avoid cooking food in such utensils. The modern-day cast iron utensils come with a safe coating to reduce leaching of iron; such utensils are more durable and easy to care too.
3. Glass
Undoubtedly one of the safest kitchen utensils that you can use for cooking is glassware. Glass is a non-reactive material, which means it neither release harmful elements into the food being cooked nor does it absorbs any nutrition from the food. The only limitation that is associated with it is that it is mostly used for microwave cooking.
4. Brass
Brass is a great material when it comes to cooking food because the food prepared in such utensils retain as much as 90 per cent of its nutritional content. Brass utensils are great for preserving the optimum way to keep most nutrients intact in the food that is being cooked. The only drawback or downside of using such utensils is cleaning them because extra care needs to be put in when you wash such utensils. Also, do not cook food in such utensils if the food is too acidic in nature.
5. Bronze
Bronze is another very healthy medium of cooking food but this material tends to keep approximately 97 percent of the nutritional quotient of the food intact. However, be aware of any tin or nickel that may be added to these utensils as it may lead to health hazards. Buying for a known or reliable source is a better way of buying some authentic bronze utensils.
6. Clay Pots
Clay heats up slowly and thus helps in retaining moisture and nutrients of the food intact. The biggest drawback associated with clay pots is that it takes longer to cook in comparison to other materials. Also, make sure that you buy unglazed pots rather than picking up the glazed ones because the latter may use harmful chemicals that may release during the process of cooking.