Kitchen

[depglass]

I'm still trying to pick up info on current cookware.  What I'm seeing now is a term new to me, cast aluminum.  Is that the same as what I call Walmart pans?  That thin aluminum that deforms with pressure, like being dropped on the floor?  

[novamc1]

@depglass 

You can often (but not always)  tell a cast aluminum pan from others when the handles are molded with the body of the pan---no screws or rivets fastening them on.

I have several pieces of  fairly thick cast aluminum cookware (love and use them all  a lot both on the stove and in the oven.

[On It]

I had Club Aluminum cookware I bought in the 60's. I believe it was cast. The Dutch oven cooked the best of any I have ever had both on the stovetop and in the oven. I stopped using it when my son's Chemistry professor said there was some evidence that aluminum was connected to Alzheimer's. I do not know if that claim made almost 30 years ago was ever substantiated. I do know I miss that cookware.

[Kachina624]

@depglass    Ever think about looking it up yourself on Google?

[SharkE]

No, GOOD aluminum is expensive, cannot put in dishwasher.

Best conductor of heat to bake in, although I like stoneware, also.

[SilleeMee]

What happened to this thread?? Several posts have gone missing including mine. I'm not imagining it. So why?

[FranandZoe]

It's like cast iron, but aluminum.  It's rough on the inside - browns meat very well.  My Mom used it and I've used it all my adult life too.  It's great for browning then braising or roasting meat.  Think round steak, beef or pork roasts, pork chops   I have a large frying pan and a bigger pot like a dutch oven for roasts.

[gardenman]

The "cast" refers to how it's made. Anything cast is made by pouring molten metal into a mold and then letting it cool in the mold. If a pan isn't cast, it's stamped. That's when a sheet of metal is set between two dies and squeezed into the shape desired.

As a rule, cast items cost more as the molds (typically sand molds using a special sand) are more labor intensive. A model of the finished product has to be made with the holes for where the molten metal will be poured. That model then gets sandwiched between two boxes filled with sand to make the impression for the casting. The two halves are then pulled apart, the model removed, the two halves rejoined, and the liquid metal poured in. The cast then has to cool. Once cooled the casting is removed, the areas where the metal was poured in are ground down. The pan or other item then typically needs some grinding/polishing to make it sales-worthy. It's a more labor-intensive process but can yield a stronger pan. 

Stamped items require a die in the positive and negative shape of the finished product, but industrial presses can work quickly and churn out hundreds of finished products almost immediately. Sheets of the raw material get fed into the press and with each closure of the press one or multiples of the item are stamped out and then ejected. Other than a quick cleaning, the pieces that emerge are typically ready for sale. (Once the handle gets attached anyway.)

Casting lets you make pans that are thicker than you can make by stamping them. (Generally, but there are presses capable of shaping almost any thickness of aluminum.) Because stamping distorts the metal it tends to weaken the metal a bit. If a casting isn't cooled properly though that can also induce stress into the finished product and lead to trouble down the road.

I wouldn't say one method was better than the other. Either way can be very effective if done correctly or a mess if done incorrectly. In general, I would expect a cast pan to be stronger, but unless you're really abusing your pans, it probably won't matter to you.

[depglass]

Kachina, Google doesn't give the range of personal experience I can get from this board.  So far my cookware in the last 20 years has been stainless steel and hard anodized aluminum.  Most of it has a non-stick interior.  Some pieces hold up well in both categories, some have lost their non-stick in chunks.  (Circulon)  Of course I have treated it all the same.  Not seeing much new hard anodized coming out.

[Q4u]

I used to own a cast aluminum pot, designed to hang over a fire, made roughly in the 1880's.  It was a marvel of a pot and I had intended to keep it because I love old things.  Mine was smooth on the outside and inside, had little areas poking out at the top on each side for the handle to be attached to  Loved that pot but never used it and decided to sell it.