Nowadays, oven-safe pots are extremely popular because most cookware manufacturers ensure that the cookware they make is oven safe. But the other truth is, not all cooking pots are oven safe.
Before you start using your pot in an oven, you need to first determine if it's oven safe. But the problem is, how do you determine if your cooking pot is oven safe?
Using the right pot in an oven is very crucial because if you use the wrong pot, you might end up damaging your oven, your cooking pot, and even cause an accident. That's why it is important to determine if your cooking pot is oven-safe or get an oven-safe pot before dealing with an oven.
In this article, I'm going to give you all the information you need on oven-safe cooking pots. From examples of oven-safe pots, pots you should avoid to safety tips. Let's get started.
What is an Oven-Safe Pot?
That is actually an advantage if you are preparing a meal (like Dutch babies, chicken parmesan) that starts at the cooktop or stove and finishes in an oven. This way, you don't need to use two pots (or dirty multiple pots), as one pot can serve the purpose.
Micheal Johnson, a UK-based private chef, also mentioned that oven-safe pots are pots that can withstand high heat, which an oven produces, for an extended period of time without causing any damage like melting, fume emission, or damaging any cookware.
It is worth noting that the capacity of a pot to be oven-safe depends on the type of material it is made of, the type of coating of the pot, and design elements like the handles and lids.
For instance, if a pot is oven safe on its own but the handles or lids are made of plastic or wood, that pot is unsuitable to go into an oven.
What are the Best Oven-Safe Cooking Pot Materials?
1. Stainless Steel:
Stainless steel is the most popular cooking pot material out there, and there are reasons why that is the case.
Stainless steel is oven safe up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. This means it can withstand a very high amount of heat (as 800 degrees Fahrenheit is a really high temperature).
The executive editor of America's Test Kitchen, Lisa McManus, attested to the fact that stainless steel has high heat resistance and can last long.
You should also note that the suitability of stainless steel pots for an oven also depends on other features like the material the handles or lid are made of. If the handles or lid are not oven friendly, then the stainless steel pot is not oven safe.
Check out Article: Copper Vs Stainless Steel Pots: Pros and Cons
2. Cast Iron:
There is one thing cast iron is well known for, which is being almost indestructible. Cast iron is oven safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recipe developer Kyrie Like of Healthfully Rooted Home confirmed that cast iron pots distribute heat evenly across the pot while cooking and last long.
But cast iron pots are always quite heavy. A cast iron pot full of food can be heavy to carry in and out of the oven. So, make sure you use your two hands and be careful when carrying your pot.
3. Carbon Steel:
Carbon steel is the hybrid of cast iron and stainless steel, which means it contains the benefits of both cast iron and stainless cooking pots.
Carbon steel has the highest heat tolerance, as it is oven safe up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit.
A chef and barbecue master, Brian Andrada of The Golden, confirmed that carbon steel pots can be used the same way cast iron pots are used. The additional advantage is that carbon steel pots are lighter, making it easy to move them in and out of the oven.
He also mentioned that carbon steel pots are the best pots for stove-to-oven transitions.
Check out Article: Can You Put Pots In A Dishwasher?
What Cooking Pot Materials are not Oven Safe
1. Some Ceramics:
Most ceramic cooking pots that are manufactured recently are really eye-catching. You might have seen some beautiful ceramic pots making waves on social media. Some manufacturers and advertisers also make promises of ceramic pots replacing other cooking pot material. Well, that might seem true because ceramic pots are fantastic.
But the kind of pots ceramic pots can't replace are oven-safe cooking pots.
Most ceramic pots are not oven safe because of the chemicals used to produce their coating. It shouldn't be exposed to a high temperature; else it can cause breaking, fume emission, or chemicals leaching into your food.
That's why the care instructions of most ceramic pots do contain a temperature limit of medium to low.
2. Some Non-Stick Pots:
Non-stick pots are not suitable to be used in an oven because they can only handle temperatures up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. An oven-safe pot should be able to handle more than 350 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably 500 degrees Fahrenheit and above.
Also, non-stick pots are made of chemicals that can leach into your food if you expose them to a high temperature for an extensive period of time. So, if you want to avoid food poisoning, avoid using nonstick pots in the oven.
3. Cookware with Plastic Features
Just like I've mentioned earlier, any pot that contains a plastic feature, like a plastic handle or lid, is not oven safe. Even if the body of the pot is oven safe.
To prevent melting plastic in your oven and the difficulty of removing the burnt plastic, check and ensure that the pot you're planning to put in the oven doesn't have any plastic feature.
Check out Article: Are Cooking Pots Recyclable? Disposal and Recycling Tips
Tips When Using Oven-Safe Pots
1. Don't put an Oven-Safe Pot in a Preheating Oven
You might want to throw in my face a question like, "Why shouldn't I use an oven-safe pot in a preheating oven? You mentioned earlier that oven-safe pots are suitable for an oven".
Yes, oven-safe pots are suitable for an oven, but when an oven is in the preheating phase, an oven-safe pot might not be suitable for the oven yet.
The founder and food educator Brigite Gemme of Vegan Family Kitchen confirmed that during the preheating phase of an oven, most ovens heat up to a very high temperature, way higher than the temperature that was set for it. For instance, if an oven is set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, during the preheating phase, the oven might heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
The high temperature can damage even the quality oven-safe pots. So, you should avoid putting a pot in an oven during its preheating phase. Give the oven a little time after turning it on. When it's at the set temperature, you can then put your oven-safe pot in the oven.
2. Use Heat-Safe Utensils
As you already know, the temperature from an oven is always very high. So, use utensils that are heat-safe to stir your meal in the oven. If your utensil is not heat-safe and you go ahead with using it to stir your meal in the oven, you might end up melting the utensil in your almost ready meal. I'm sure that's not what you want after all the effort you put into preparing a meal.
3. Be Cautious of High Temperature
Use a heat protection when working with an oven. You should also use an oven mitt when moving your pot out of the oven to avoid burns. Sometimes, your cooking pot can be heavy because of the amount of food that's in it or the type of material of the cooking pot. So, you'll want to be extra careful when taking your pot out of the oven.
Sources:
Post a Comment