How can I tell if my stockpot is stainless steel or aluminum? (no markings)?!
How can I tell if my stockpot is stainless steel or aluminum? (no markings)?
Answers:
you can tell by the finish, stainless steel is shiny and aluminum is dull. Stainless steel is also heavier.
Touch a magnet to it. If it sticks, it's steel. If anything else, it won't. Hope this helps. Have a nice day.
what I would do is find another pot in your collection or a neighbors of roughly the same size and shape, one that your sure is made of stainless steel. Then weigh both pots on a dietary scale or if you don't have one use the produce scale at the supermarket...The suspect pot, if it is made of aluminum will weigh much less than the stainless steel pot. No magnetic attraction...much lighter than the known stainless pot of same size?? It's aluminum.
P.S. there is a stainless that's not magnetic it's referred to as Austenitic steel series 300. Cookware made of stainless steel with a high Nickle content 18/8 or 18/10 becomes non magnetic. These should have Copper clad bottoms though to help with even heating.. today's cookware has become pretty darn sophisticated...I hope this helps
Your pot is stainless steel with an aluminum core bottom. Pans are not made of aluminum only, as it is too soft a metal, and reacts with food. But pure stainless pots do not conduct heat. So they add aluminum to the inside of the stainless to make them heat properly. Most pans have aluminum only at the bottom, and you can tell because there is a little line around the bottom, like a disc. Some more expensive pans have an aluminum core all the way up the sides, but it is entirely encapsulated by stainless.
Magnets won't tell you a thing. Most stainless isn't magnetic. Iron blended with stainless makes them magnetic and are good for induction stoves.
99% of stainless pots and pans have some aluminum for conducting heat. It won't leech into your food.
Stainless won't turn color where aluminum will turn dull......
The stainless steel will be heavy and aluminum is very light.