I get asked this question quite a bit so I thought I’d write a quick article about it. The question is: what’s the best tri ply cookware? It can be a little complicated but I’ll try to plow my way through it as best as I can!
What is Tri Ply Cookware?
Before we get into any discussions about the best tri ply, I thought it would be a good idea to start with a definition of what tri ply cookware is to begin with. Basically it’s a process where they bond three different types of metal together.
Now, there are a number of different reasons why you would want to do such a weird thing. For one thing, it will make the pot or pan stronger overall so that it will last much longer. The main reason, however, is because different metals conduct heat differently and by bonding three of them together you get better heat distribution throughout the entire pan which leads to better cooking overall.
There are a number of different tri ply standards, as it were, and all of them act a little differently. The three or four main metals that you’re going to see bonded time after time are; stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and maybe tin (though not as often).
Stainless steel is usually going to be the main focus and in fact even though it’s called tri, meaning three, very often only two metals are actually used. For instance, you may have an outer layer of stainless steel with an inner layer of aluminum and then another outer layer of stainless steel. That’s three layers (or tri ply) sandwiched together.
Most of the time the two outer layers are going to be 18/10 stainless steel, while the inner layer is either going to be aluminum or copper. Copper is usually much more expensive then aluminum simply because the metal copper costs more money then aluminum does.
Fortunately though, aluminum conducts heat in much the same way that copper does, and nearly as well. So for the most part it doesn’t usually make sense to spend extra money for copper tri ply because you’re not going to really see a great benefit over aluminum; so you should really just go with the aluminum and stainless steel bonded metal.
Is Tri Ply Cookware Better?
Tri ply cookware is always going to be more expensive than regular cookware, in fact sometimes it will be much more expensive which begs the question; is it worth it? The answer is a resounding yes! Tri ply cookware will heat more evenly, giving you a nicer cooking environment that leads to better prepared food, and it will also last much much longer than traditional cookware.
So What’s The Best Tri Ply Cookware?
I hesitate to give an opinion on which is the best because everybody’s cooking circumstances are different and everybody has their own opinion based on their own uses, which won’t be the same as anybody else’s uses of cookware, but for this article I will venture my own personal opinion and say that All-Clad cookware is my favorite tri ply cookware. They use a stainless steel and aluminum bond that holds up really well and does the job. You can expect to pay more money for it, but I think it’s worth it in the end.
