Cookware and bakeware

Cooking utensils are the containers in which food is cooked, as well as various implements that manipulate the food. Basic types of pots, pans, casseroles, etc., have characteristic shapes, sometimes with subtle variations, but also can have quite different properties due to their materials.

Principally stovetop

These comprise the "pots and pans" category, which are usually used on a gas or electric heating element. Some are made of materials safe to put in an oven for slow heating, or under a broiler for browning.

Materials

While most of the cooking variation comes from the primary material of the part of the utensil that contacts the food and the heating utensil, handles, covers, and other accessories need to be considered. A given pan, for example, might not be able to go under a broiler because its handle cannot resist the heat there.

Cast iron

Cast iron utensils come in plain metal, and in various types of factory coatings. These utensils share the property of having good heat retention and spreading heat evenly.

Uncoated cast iron, without treatment, will rust if allowed to dry while wet. Some cast iron utensils, such as griddles, never contain large amounts of fluid, and can be wiped dry and safely put into storage, perhaps with light oiling.

More commonly, uncoated cast iron is seasoned, or treated with oil and heat until a thin, stick-resistant film forms on the surface. Even though a new uncoated pan may be a metallic gray when first purchased, a properly seasoned surface will become black.