How to Choose a Baking Pan

With all the new innovations in bakeware these days, a trip to the kitchen goods aisle of your local department store can seem overwhelming. While you may find it tempting to spend an extra $30 or $40 for that "diamond surface" or an air layer in your baking sheets, many food experts recommend that when it comes to browning, safety and convenience, you can’t go wrong with the older, less expensive standbys of Pyrex and stoneware. Here are a few things to consider when shopping for baking pans.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Read any label warnings carefully before making a decision about which baking pan to purchase. Do you really want to transfer your lasagna into another dish before cutting it? Most nonstick surface products are explicit in their instruction not to use any type of cutting utensil or abrasive scrubbing device on their surface because chipping may occur. When you chip chemically coated pans, dangerous toxic chemicals can be absorbed by your food. Unless you want to risk feeding your kids Teflon, opt for the old-fashioned Pyrex or stoneware products.

2. Look for the dishwasher-safe logo unless you plan to hand-wash your bakeware.

3. Choose dark-finished bakeware for evenly browned food. Lighter finishes tend to reflect the heat away from the pan and create uneven browning.

4. Compare prices at your local department store. Although you can spend as much as $95 for a 13-by-9-inch rectangular aluminum cake pan with a stainless-steel coating and stick-resistant liner, you can get better performance from the same size Pyrex pan for less than $9. Unglazed stoneware tends to cost a bit more (around $35), but if properly cared for, it will last a lifetime, and the seasoned surface will add extra flavor to your food.

5. Consider other features, such as handles, the weight of the product, aesthetic properties and whether or not you will be able to soak, scrub or use cooking spray on your baking pan. Each person’s needs are different, but knowing your cooking habits before you purchase equipment will help you make the right choice for your kitchen.

Tips & Warnings

• Buy springform pans if you want to extract your cakes and cornbread easily without having to scrape the edges of the pan.
• Aluminum baking pans are highly reactive and will distort the flavor of any acidic food, such as lasagna and other tomato-based recipes. There have also been studies that demonstrate a possible link between cooking in aluminum pans and Alzheimer's disease.
• Never use metal utensils on nonstick bakeware. The chemical coating can end up in your food and ultimately in your bloodstream!

Resources

• More tips on choosing bakeware
• Alzheimer's and aluminum

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