Filter
Top Products
How
to
Select Flame Size
Watch the flame, not the knob, as you reduce heat.
The flame size on a gas burner should match the
cookware you are using.
FOR SAFE HANDLING OF COOKWARE, NEVER
LET THE FLAME EXTEND UP THE SIDES OF
THE COOKWARE. Any flame larger than the bottom
of the cookware is wasted and only serves to heat
the handle.
When using aluminum or aluminum-clad stainless
steel pots and pans, adjust the flame so the circle it
makes is about 1/2 inch smaller than ’the bottom of
the cookware.
When boiling, use this same flame size—1/2 inch
smaller than the bottom of the cookware-no matter
what the cookware is made of. Foods cook just
as quickly at a gentle boil as they do at a furious
rolling boil. A high boil creates steam and cooks away
moisture, flavor and nutrition. Avoid it except for the
few cooking processes which need a vigorous boil.
When frying or warming foods in stainless steel,
cast iron or enamelware, keep the flame down
lower—to about 1/2 the diameter of the cookware.
When frying in glass or ceramic cookware, lower
the flame even more.
Top-of-Range Cookware
Aluminum: Medium-weight cookware is
recommended because it heats quickly and evenly.
Most foods brown evenly in an aluminum skillet.
Use saucepans with tight-fitting lids for cooking with
minimum amounts of water.
Cast Iron: If heated slowly, most skillets will give
satisfactory results.
Enamelware: Under some conditions, the enamel
of some cookware may melt. Follow cookware
manufacturer’s recommendations for cooking methods,
Glass: There are two types of glass cookware-those
for oven use only and those for top-of-range cooking
(saucepans, coffee and teapots). Glass conducts heat
very slowly.
Heatproof Glass Ceramic: Can be used for either
surface or oven cooking. It conducts heat very slowly
and cools very slowly. Check cookware manufacturer’s
directions to be sure it can be used on gas ranges.
Stainless Steel: This metal alone has poor
heating properties, and is usually combined with
copper, aluminum or other metals for improved heat
distribution. Combination metal skillets usually work
satisfactorily if they are used with medium heat as the
manufacturer recommends.
9