extra thick ironing board cover_48 ironing board cover

Most of these pans have a long handle, making it easy to move the pan on and off the stove. However, larger frying pans may include a smaller grab handle to carry the weight.

    The sizzling plate is designed to retain heat, allowing the food to stay sizzling hot when it is served.  They usually consist of sizzling iron plate or stainless steel plates that are heated to high temperatures and then placed on a wooden or metal base to protect the tabletop.  The sizzling sound of the steak as it makes contact with the induction sizzling plate not only creates an enticing sound but also helps lock in the juices and flavor of the meat.

Best for: Almost any food that needs frying, browning, or searing. Because it’s ovenproof, stainless is also a good choice for foods that you start on the stovetop and then move to the oven to finish, like thick pork chops.

The details: Nitahara says that 95 percent of the pans used in the CIA’s teaching kitchens are stainless steel because they can take a lot of punishment. “The only time we don’t use them is on egg day, when we use nonstick,” he says. He adds that the shiny surface of a stainless pan makes it easy to see whether your food is browning.

In CR’s tests of stainless steel pans, we measure heating evenness by cooking pancakes, and we gauge how evenly a pan sautés by cooking potatoes until they’re tender. We also conduct a cleaning test to see how easy it is to remove cooked-on food. You’d think that all stainless pans would be about the same to clean, but our tests show that some require a lot more scrubbing than others.

Here are two recommended stainless steel pans from CR’s tests.

The sides are usually only 1-2 inches high, as the purpose of the pan is to fry food, not simmer it.