Flavor Enhancement: By pressing meats during the cooking process, bacon presses and steak weights help to enhance the caramelization and browning of the exterior, resulting in richer flavors and appealing textures in the finished dishes.

Large Enamel Pots With Lids

Seasoned Cast Iron: Bacon presses and steak weights are typically made of seasoned cast iron, which provides excellent heat retention and durability. Proper seasoning and maintenance are essential to ensure the longevity and non-stick properties of the cast iron surfaces.

Like their aluminum counterpart, carbon steel frying pans are an excellent conductor of heat. However, they are a more durable and long-lasting option with the proper care, plus they can be used on induction cooktops. They can maintain both low and high temperatures for greater versatility and can cook both delicate foods like eggs and fish as well as sear thick meats like steaks and pork chops. Like cast iron, carbon steel pans require regular seasoning to maintain their non-stick capabilities. However, they heat up faster and are more lightweight, making them a great alternative to cast iron skillets. It is important to note that carbon steel pans are not ideal for cooking acidic foods as they can alter the foods' taste.

You can put a copper pan in the oven if you’re making a dessert like a tarte Tatin, but remember that copper can’t take the high heat of cast iron or stainless, so most manufacturers don’t recommend temperatures above 450 °F.

In our tests, we put copper skillets through the same heating evenness and sauté performance tests as stainless steel pans, which are also uncoated. We also cook foods that require controlled heat, including risotto, a gooey banana tarte Tatin, and melted white chocolate. All the copper pans perform well, Fisher says.

Here are two recommended copper pans from CR’s tests.

Carbon-steel pans are thinner and lighter than cast iron pans. They heat up quickly but lose heat just as fast. Like cast iron pans, they can also be seasoned to make them non-stick. They distribute heat evenly and are oven safe. Their main disadvantage is that they're prone to rust easily if not cared for properly.