How To Tell If A Pot Is Stainless Steel

Stainless steel cookware is widely popular because of its good durability, chemical stability, metallic appearance and easy cleaning. At present, the market is full of pots of various materials. Many pots look similar, and it is not easy to identify which one is a real stainless steel pot. So how to judge whether the pot you bought is made of stainless steel? As a professional stainless steel kitchenware manufacturer.Below, we will discuss how to judge whether a pot is made of stainless steel from several aspects.

Observe The Appearance And Logo Of The Stainless Steel Pot

Stainless steel cookware usually has a smooth and silvery-white metallic appearance and is not prone to rust spots. You can carefully check the bottom or handle of the pot to find the manufacturer’s logo and material markings. Many high-quality stainless steel cookware will be engraved with “stainless steel” or related alloy numbers in these parts, such as “18/8” or “18/10”, which means that the alloy composition contains 18% chromium and 8% or 10% nickel respectively. Regular brands of stainless steel cookware often have material information marked on the product. These markings are an important basis for identifying stainless steel materials.

Testing With A Magnet

Stainless steel is an alloy. It is not completely non-magnetic. Its magnetism is related to the proportion of alloy elements it contains. Some stainless steel materials will have a certain attraction to magnets. Common food-grade stainless steels such as 304 and 316 are austenitic stainless steels, which have weak magnetism or are almost non-magnetic. You can use a small magnet for testing. If the magnet can slightly adsorb the surface of the pot, it means that it is most likely not 304 or 316 stainless steel cookware, and some may be low-grade stainless steel cookware. Of course, this method cannot help us determine whether a pot is made of stainless steel, because aluminum pots are also non-magnetic and will not be attracted by magnets. So we need other methods to help us get the answer.

Differentiate Between Stainless Steel And Aluminum Pots By Weight And Texture

Stainless steel pots are relatively heavy because of their high material density. When you pick up a pot, you can feel whether its weight is in line with the characteristics of stainless steel. At the same time, if you tap the pot gently, the stainless steel pot will make a crisp sound, which is different from the sound of other materials such as aluminum alloy or cast iron pots.

Reagent Detection Method

If you have higher accuracy requirements for the material of the cookware, you can consider professional reagent testing. There are some identification reagents on the market that can identify stainless steel with too high manganese content. This type of stainless steel usually poses a health risk to the human body. Use this type of reagent to drop on the stainless steel utensils that need to be identified. The color of the utensils with too high manganese content will appear dark red. Although this method is costly and you should pay attention to the risks of use, it can provide relatively accurate results.

Reference User Reviews

Before buying stainless steel cookware, it is also an effective method to refer to other users’ reviews and feedback. By looking at the product’s usage experience and long-term performance, you can better understand the actual material and quality of the cookware. Many online shopping platforms and food forums have a large number of user reviews and usage experiences for your reference.

Conclusion

According to the characteristics of stainless steel, it can be further evaluated through several aspects such as the visual identification or magnet detection method mentioned above. Stainless steel cookware is very useful in the kitchen. The choice of cookware can not only improve the taste and food, but also is very important for human health and safety. I hope the above methods can help you distinguish stainless steel cookware before making a decision.