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> it does not retain heat better than aluminum alloys You're missing the forest for the trees. Cast iron pans retain heat better than aluminum pans because cas

> it does not retain heat better than aluminum alloys You're missing the forest for the trees. Cast iron pans retain heat better than aluminum pans because cast iron pans are 4mm thick and aluminum pans aren't 6mm thick. (Also it does retain heat better. [EDIT: by thickness, not by weight. The comment below is also correct.]) https://www.centurylife.org/heat-retention-myths-and-facts-does-cast-iron-hold-heat-better-than-clad-is-clad-better-than-disc-base-at-retaining-heat-longer/ https://www.centurylife.org/heat-retention-myths-and-facts-d...

painlessWheel 5y ago
No, aluminum retains heat better. As you said cast-iron's thickness is what's doing the heat retention, not the material. https://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/6061-AlMg1SiCu-3.3214-H20-A96061-Aluminum/Ductile-Nodular-Spheroidal-Cast-Iron https://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/6061-AlMg1SiCu-3.3214-H20... For most day-to-day cooking where you're ingredients are in direct contact with the pan over a burner (sautés, searing etc) heat retention can actually be bad (it's difficult to adjust the temperature). For specific tasks, cast iron excels, that's why you don't see a lot of copper deep fryers. (This is mentioned in the 2 experiments that person runs in their kitchen that you posted)
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qbasic_forever 5y ago
Thick aluminum can be amazing though, I have a nonstick pan with a near half inch thick aluminum disc base and it's a fantastic pan. It heats up up to medium and higher heat in about the time it takes me to turn on the range and get ingredients out of the refrigerator.
- DubiousPusher 5y ago
  True. I borrowed a friend's top of the line Demeyere. It is a clad pan with a 4-5mm aluminum core. That pan could hold a lot of heat and dump it fast. It was too easy to burn your wrist just glancing it over the rim, even at conservative heat levels. In the end, it didnt cook that much better than my All-Clad D7. So I just stayed with that. But I have never cooked with anything so brimming with heat and ready to pour it into absolutely anything that came into contact with it.

painlessWheel 5y ago

No, aluminum retains heat better. As you said cast-iron's thickness is what's doing the heat retention, not the material. https://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/6061-AlMg1SiCu-3.3214-H20-A96061-Aluminum/Ductile-Nodular-Spheroidal-Cast-Iron https://www.makeitfrom.com/compare/6061-AlMg1SiCu-3.3214-H20... For most day-to-day cooking where you're ingredients are in direct contact with the pan over a burner (sautés, searing etc) heat retention can actually be bad (it's difficult to adjust the temperature). For specific tasks, cast iron excels, that's why you don't see a lot of copper deep fryers. (This is mentioned in the 2 experiments that person runs in their kitchen that you posted)

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qbasic_forever 5y ago

Thick aluminum can be amazing though, I have a nonstick pan with a near half inch thick aluminum disc base and it's a fantastic pan. It heats up up to medium and higher heat in about the time it takes me to turn on the range and get ingredients out of the refrigerator.

DubiousPusher 5y ago
True. I borrowed a friend's top of the line Demeyere. It is a clad pan with a 4-5mm aluminum core. That pan could hold a lot of heat and dump it fast. It was too easy to burn your wrist just glancing it over the rim, even at conservative heat levels. In the end, it didnt cook that much better than my All-Clad D7. So I just stayed with that. But I have never cooked with anything so brimming with heat and ready to pour it into absolutely anything that came into contact with it.