One of the most loved cookware brands, Calphalon is highly known for its signature cookware sets especially its stainless steel collections. Recognized as a household name, many home cooks are looking for this brand’s robust and high-performance cookware sets. However, as great as their pots and pans are, they need the proper care and maintenance to keep them in our kitchen for as long as possible.
Is Calphalon stainless steel safe?
Stainless steel is regarded as one of the safest materials used in making kitchenware. It is non-reactive and generally non-toxic. Since it doesn’t react with the food we cook, we are guaranteed that stainless does not leach anything toxic to whatever it is we eat.
Though there are reports that chromium, one of the main minerals used to make stainless steel, and sometimes nickel may potentially leach into our food. These metals are highly reactive and can accumulate inside our body causing future illnesses. That is not the case with Calphalon cookware, the stainless steel they use is high-grade steel creating strong cookware but definitely safe and non-reactive. Read more about the safety of calphalon stainless steel cookware.
How to care for Calphalon stainless steel cookware?
No matter how durable your cookware is, you need to properly take care of your pots and pans to extend its longevity.
Care for new cookware
From when you buy your cookware (or set) to its daily or constant use, aftercare is necessary to maintain its quality and performance.
Never put your brand new cookware inside your dishwasher. You need to dilute soap in warm water. Wash and rinse your new cookware using the sudsy water and later rinse it off. This helps preserve the nonstick surface of the stainless steel surface. Since stainless steel is not naturally nonstick, it needs interior polish to allow low-grease cooking.
Stuffing your brand new cookware in your dishwasher will destroy this polish and start stripping it off.
Proper cleaning and caring of your Calphalon cookware
Calphalon cookware is designed for daily use keeping up with the demands of constant cooking over high heats. To help keep your pan looking pristine, you need to properly clean your cookware every after you cook.
Leave your cookware to cool before washing it.
Immediately pouring cold water over a hot pan or pot can cause the cookware to slowly warp. Your cookware expands every time you heat it up and it eventually shrinks when it starts to cool. Flushing cold water onto your cookware will force it to cool causing it to shrink quickly.
You should never use strong abrasive cleaners on your cookware.
Abrasive soaps have the tendency to stick to your cookware making it harder to wash. So, when you’re cooking, these layers of soap sticks to the surface thus getting into your food. Abrasive soap also slowly causes the nonstick surface to break down.
Examples of abrasive cleaners:
- Baking soda and vinegar
- Caustic solutions
- Bleach
- Liquid house cleaners
- Acids
Wipe your cookware after washing
Tap water or soap residues may remain on your cookware, wiping it with a gentle cloth or a towel will prevent spotting or staining.
Avoid steel wool as much as possible
When food gets frustratingly stuck on your cookware, pour warm water and leave it to soak. Don’t pour cold water into your cookware because it will take longer for the stuck food particles to separate. Even if your cookware can handle steel wool, the steel wires may damage your cooking surface making it susceptible to rusting.
Do not scrape your cookware with a metal utensil while cooking
I know that food eventually gets stuck on the cooking surface but never use your metal utensil to scrape off food that sticks to your hot pan. This scratches the pan permanently. Add more oil or butter to help loosen the particles up. You can also use a wooden utensil to avoid scratching your cookware.
Give your cookware a quick rinse before cooking
This is to make sure that no other chemical or foreign particles are stuck on your cookware. These can cause a bad reaction to the food making it go bad or resulting in your pot or pan’s interior polish to get stripped.
Cook over indirect fire
Calphalon can handle outdoor cooking but it is prone to staining especially when cooking over an open fire. It’s best to put a grill or a metal surface over the flame or wipe oil in the exterior of the pan to prevent soot from forming at the bottom of the pan.
Season your pan when food starts to stick to the surface
Over time the nonstick quality of your cookware especially your pan weakens making your food stick. When this happens, you need to properly and regular season your cookware to help retain its smooth and nonstick surface. It will also prevent your cooking surface from completely turning dull and useless.
Don’t scrub against the grain of your cookware
You will notice that your cookware has lines around the cookware, following this direction to help retain your cookware’s aesthetics.
Outdoor or Camping Cleaning
When you’re cooking with Calphalon over open flames while you camp, you can use the ash to clean your cookware. Fine ash will act as a polish to the exterior of your cookware.
Always preheat your cookware before adding oil
Preheating your pan before adding oil improves its nonstick capability. Avoid adding oil to a cold pan or burning oil in a hot pan otherwise, it will reduce the nonstick ability of your cookware.
How do you make stainless steel cookware look new again?
One great thing about stainless steel cookware is its flexibility as cookware. Not only does it last longer, but you can also renew your cookware and use it as if it was brand new. Over time, your cookware will start looking dull or lose its luster. You can easily replenish the glimmering state of your cookware by polishing it.
Commercial Polish
We have a ton of commercial cleaners in the market. They are easy to use and they really help in bringing back the shine in your cookware. Here are some of my favorite commercial cookware polish.
Bar Keepers Friend Cookware Cleanser and Polish
Bar Keeper is one of the most used cookware cleaners out there. It is simple to use and a quick polish will immediately remove fingerprints, smudges, shallow scratches, and a dull surface
King Kleen Stainless Steel Cookware Cleaner
This cookware cleaner really helps in brightening your pot or pan. What’s great about this cleaner is that it really handles tough stains really well from burn marks to water spots and oil stains, it can easily clean and polish your cookware at the same time saving you time and giving you a replenished pot or pan.
DIY Polish
Commercial cleaners really offer instant clean and polish but we can’t deny that they rely on chemicals to achieve these amazing results. You can make your own DIY polish for your cookware with fewer chemicals.
White Vinegar and Olive Oil
Mix equal parts of distilled white vinegar and olive oil. Dampen a microfiber cloth or a soft rag and use it to wipe and follow the grain of your cookware. Do this repeatedly especially over stains and dull areas of your cookware.
Bottom Line
Calphalon is a brand that undeniably provides our kitchens with durable cookware. One of their specialties is stainless steel cookware but no matter how durable it may be, frequent use and many years of abuse in the kitchen will wear it out. To keep your cookware last longer and continue its great cooking performance, you need to properly clean and take care of your pot and pans.