Dishes

Since time immemorial, mankind has been using certain types of dishes. At first, the dishes were made mainly from clay, the most affordable material for processing heat-resistant and liquid-resistant.

Later, from the VI-IV centuries BC. e. cast iron cookware began to appear, later copper cookware . The need to replace clay as the main material for the manufacture of dishes appeared with the transition from cooking on an open fire, on charcoal or in the oven to the use of hobs (burners). Later, in the 20th century, stainless steel cookware appeared. At the end of the 50s of the 20th century , non-stick cookware, extremely popular these days, appeared.

Cooking

We meet with representatives of this category on a daily basis in the kitchen (mostly metal) - these are: pans , pots , ladles , stewpan .

For serving

This category includes everything that we regularly see on the dining table. Here are glass (and crystal ) products : plates , glasses ; and ceramic or porcelain saucers , plates , cups , mugs ; and many metal objects - spoons , forks , knives . Often used disposable tableware made of plastic - which, of course, is very hygienic, but is considered unacceptable in expensive restaurants.

Food Storage

This category includes containers for storing food. Most often, they are made of metal (enameled), glass or plastic. Cereals can be in any sealed containers. In glass jars, as a rule, pickles , preserves, canned stewed fruits are stored. For liquid products ( dairy , sour milk, juices , mineral and soda waters) glass, plastic or specially made cardboard containers are used. For alcoholic drinks use glass bottles. Dressed meat ( sausage ) and cheese products with a limited shelf life are packed in dense plastic, inaccessible to the external environment. Canned meat and fish - in metal cans (with a limited shelf life).

Cast Iron

Cast iron - the first metal from which mankind began to make dishes on an industrial scale. Nevertheless, cast iron cookware is still popular. Cast iron has a very high heat capacity, which allows the dishes to heat up to high temperatures (aluminum cannot reach such a temperature due to higher heat transfer), and this is necessary when it comes, for example, to preparing dishes on the grill, in a wok or baking pancakes.

Cast iron cookware can be divided into cookware with and without coating.

Uncoated cast iron cookware tends to rust if left moist, but has natural non-stick properties. Some manufacturers use the firing of uncoated cast iron cookware in oil at high temperatures, which allows you to create an additional protective layer that increases the corrosion resistance and non-stick properties of cast iron. Uncoated cast iron cookware is one of the most durable types of cookware that can be used indefinitely if you do not drop it and properly care for it. Even if the cast-iron pan is very rusty, it can be restored.

Cast iron cookware is coated with enamel and non-stick coating (the latter is less common).

Enamel does not allow cast iron to rust, but for the most part, the natural non-stick properties of the dishes are lost, in addition, even high-quality enamel is prone to chipping, and the low-quality enamel that covers most of the inexpensive dishes is chipped off quite quickly. It is recommended that you immediately stop using dishes with chipped enamel, since around the place of the first chip the enamel will break off further and enter the food, and the dishes in this place will begin to rust.

PTFE-based coating (Teflon) protects cast iron cookware from rust and strengthens non-stick properties many times. The disadvantage of such a coating is its relative fragility (two to three years), in addition, the technology for applying PTFE to cast iron is quite complicated.

Copper and Brass

Cookware made of copper and brass is not very popular these days. Copper in contact with food acids in air passes into solution, and soluble copper compounds are extremely toxic. On the other hand, copper has the best thermal conductivity among the metals from which the dishes are made. For this reason, it has found application in multi-layer bottoms for steel utensils. Currently, copper (carefully tinned from the inside) is used to make dishes for boiling water (samovars, teapots), and most of the rest of the “copper” dishes are simply coated with copper from the outside to provide an attractive design.

Brass (an alloy of copper with zinc), as a more inert material, is more or less massively used only for the manufacture of basins for cooking jam and samovars.

Stainless steel

Stainless steel cookware, along with cookware made of aluminum and cast iron, is most popular. For the manufacture of cookware, alloyed stainless steel is used, containing at least 17% chromium. The steel used for the manufacture of dishes can be nickel-containing (austenitic class, non-magnetic). Such steels include AISI grade 304 steel, which some manufacturers designate as 18/10 (analogue of 12X18H9 steel according to GOST 5632-72) grade 201,202, NTK D11, etc. Nickel-free grade 430 steel (analogue grade 03X17 according to GOST 5632-72) or as it is designated by some manufacturers 17/0, NSSC 180, JFE443CT, JYH21CT and others, related to the ferrite class - magnetic.

There is a huge selection of stainless steel cookware on the market. The main differences between different brands and series is the technical characteristics of the tanks - the wall thickness and the thickness of the heat distribution layer (TRS). Stainless steel cookware containers are made by deep drawing from a cold-rolled sheet with a surface finish of 2B (mirror polish) and can have a variety of shapes. TPC is attached to the tank by high temperature brazing or diffusion welding. TPC is an aluminum or copper disk enclosed in a stainless steel capsule, usually of a ferritic class. This makes it possible to use such cookware on an induction cooker. The handles of the dishes are attached to the container either by the method of contact spot welding, or by means of rivets. Simple products not intended for use on the stove are made without TRS. For surface finishing, two main types of polishing are used - mirror and matte, as well as their combination. Stainless steel cookware can be used both for cooking and for storage.

Domestic dishes are made in accordance with GOST 27002-86, imported in accordance with EN and other international standards. Currently, the bulk of the "European" brands on the market are made in China, some in Turkey, and the cheapest and low-quality in India. A feature of dishes manufactured in these countries is that the local manufacturers are not burdened with compliance with international standards, and therefore the quality of such dishes is determined, as a rule, by the specification of the importer.

Aluminum

The advantages of aluminum cookware in good thermal conductivity, ease of operation. Suitable for applying non-stick coatings. According to the production method, it is cast and stamped. Stamped dishes reach 5 mm in thickness, the bottom of molded dishes starts from 4 mm and reaches 10 mm. As a rule, the thicker the bottom of the dishes, the better the heat is distributed in it and the better the dishes themselves, of course, you must pay attention to the characteristics of the non-stick coating applied to the dishes.

Also, manufacturers of tableware produce products from anodized aluminum (anodized aluminum) - aluminum with a durable oxide coating obtained using an electrolytic bath.

In Soviet times, the production of uncovered aluminum utensils was also practiced, but since the contact of aluminum with food leads to a chemical reaction and the release of metal into food, at the moment such utensils are not common in everyday life.

At the present time, also, there is a disposable aluminum tableware - cassettes .

Enameled

Enamel ware is a metal dish with enamel coating.

Titanium

From titanium , due to its lower density than steel, tourist dishes are mass produced. And since the metal has good thermal conductivity, there have been recent attempts to make pans and cauldrons from it, however, when used in a kitchen where the weight of the dishes is not critical, there are no significant advantages over aluminum or steel in titanium dishes.

Glass

Glass is most often used to make tableware. But in addition to very elegant glass (and crystal ) glasses , glasses , vases , glasses , plates , cups and saucers , teapots and pans from heat-resistant ( borosilicate ) glass or glass (ceramic) are regularly found. Such pans can be placed quite calmly both on the stove and in the microwave, thanks to their transparency you will always be able to see what condition the cooking dish is in, and since glass is a chemically inert material, you are reliably protected from changes in taste or other characteristics of the cooking food.

Clay and ceramic

This section includes pots for batch cooking, a variety of ceramic containers for stewing in the oven or microwave, as well as the whole range of tableware - mugs, plates, jugs, bowls, etc. A serious minus of ceramic kitchenware is the inability to use it on hobs, although there are exceptions, such as ceramic braziers and Turks.

From ancient times to the present day, tableware and tea made from burnt clay, faience and porcelain are widely used from ceramic dishes that have become part of Russian life ^[1] .

Porcelain and Earthenware

As a rule, this is tableware: plates, saucers, sockets, cups, salad bowls, etc. There is also a dish for cooking food from heat-resistant porcelain and earthenware: baking dishes and pans suitable for use in ovens.

Plastic

It is made of polypropylene , polystyrene and other materials. Typically intended for single use. It is widely used in fast food restaurants ( fast food ) and in the organization of picnics. Some types of plastics are not intended for hot dishes or alcoholic beverages, because they produce harmful substances when exposed to heat or when in contact with alcohol. Hazardous substances may also contain superconcentrates of dyes used in the manufacture of disposable tableware. Reusable plastic utensils can also be dangerous to human health. This is especially true of melamine products.

Disposable plastic utensils can be recycled and used again for the manufacture of products that are not in contact with food.

In France, a law has been passed according to which, from 2020, plastic disposable tableware in France will be banned for use ^[2] .

Paper

Currently, paper ( disposable ) dishes ( plates , glasses ) are used much less often than plastic ones. This is due to the fact that the manufacture of paper cups is technologically more complicated than stamping from plastic.

Paper or thin cardboard, as a rule, are impregnated with water-repellent substances. Teflon is often used for this. The scope of such dishes is the same as that of disposable plastic.

Silicone

If we talk about dishes made of silicone (and not dishes with some elements of silicone), then the vast majority of them are baking dishes. Silicone caps for pans and pots are also quite common.

Wicker

Wicker ware for storing bulk substances and liquids was known several millennia ago among the Germans , Celts , Slavs . In wicker containers transported grain, water, oil, wine.

For weaving, straw and vine were used , which connected so tightly that the walls of the vessel swelled from moisture inside it and became moisture-proof.

Unlike clay counterparts (for example, amphora ), wicker ware was lighter and therefore convenient for transportation. The disadvantage was that wicker jugs and other containers burned during fires. This is one of the reasons why this kind of tableware has not come down to this day.

On modern dishes, you can observe a huge number of non-stick coatings . The most common coatings are Teflon and Whitford, developed by American companies. But there are also many more companies that produce a line of non-stick coatings for dishes made of aluminum or steel. Recently, ceramic-coated dishes appeared (not to be confused with inorganic ceramics ).

Coatings vary in number of layers, thickness and resistance to mechanical damage. The thinnest coatings, with a thickness of 10-15 microns, are used for application on baking dishes, since mechanical loads are minimal there. For dishes, as a rule, coatings with a thickness of 25 to 50 microns are used.

Coatings of a higher class usually include abrasive additives that increase their strength - different manufacturers use ceramic and diamond dust for these purposes, or other various additives, usually of mineral origin.

For aluminum utensils, a correspondence can be made between the thickness of the bottom and the class of coating: as a rule, the greater the thickness of the bottom, the higher the class of coating used for dishes.

• Glassware
• Tableware on the leg
• Utensil

• Functional classification of dishes // Kitchen World.