What to look for when choosing a lid for a frying pan

No matter how perfect the kitchen appliances are, housewives and professional chefs are not ready to completely abandon traditional cooking methods. This means that the frying pan will continue to be a must-have in the kitchen. And how to refuse those delicious dishes that you manage to cook on it! But for them to be really good, some recipes require you to leave the cooking dish under the lid at some point. And after cooking, the lid helps to maintain the temperature of the food for a longer time, protects it from airing, etc. True, lids are not sold along with pans. You have to choose it yourself. And this must be done correctly, otherwise there is no point in such a cover.

Let's figure out how to choose a lid for a frying pan.

Size and shape

Simple selection criteria, which do not depend on our preferences, relate to the size and shape of the product.

The lid should exactly match the shape and size of the pan, fit snugly against its walls.

That is, we only have to find a product of the required diameter that matches the diameter of the pan that is suitable in shape (round, rectangular, sometimes oval).

Important! Manufacturers offer a special type of lid - universal, which can be used for 3 diameters of pans and pots.

What material to choose

Our grandmothers a couple of decades ago would have been surprised by such a question. After all, there was no choice either. The additional attribute of the frying pan was made from metal only. Today, every housewife must determine which material is more suitable.

Metal

Even metal lids make up a diverse group these days.

• Cast iron. These lids are usually sold immediately with the cookware. They are noticeably heavier than the rest, so they can act as a press.
• Aluminum. They are much lighter than cast iron, but they do not differ in strength and durability.
• Stainless steel. Most often, these lids are used for pots. But many housewives also use them for a frying pan and are satisfied with the quality and ease of maintenance.

Glass

Glass lids are becoming more and more popular in modern kitchens. They are made of special heavy-duty glass, so they can withstand high temperatures.

Hostesses attract such items with their transparency. You don't have to lift the lid every time to see what's going on in the pan.

Silicone

Silicone products were the latest among kitchen utensils. The food grade silicone used to make them also tolerates high temperatures well.. They do not deteriorate even in the refrigerator.

additional characteristics

There is a few more parameters to pay attention to.

• Bezel. Many products have a metal or silicone rim. Metallic is usually done on glass objects. Such a bezel protects glasskeeping it intact when in contact with metal. And the silicone bezel needed for a tighter connection two items.
• Steam hole or valve. When cooking in a pan, housewives often have to let off steam. If in the past our grandmothers opened the lid for this, then the manufacturers of modern products have provided other possibilities. Some models have small steam holes. This is an easy option. More perfect - the valve, which is in the handle. It switches automatically to let the steam out. But if the steam has stopped, closing the valve will prevent the food from burning.

Advice. If you often stew meat, fish or vegetables, you are better off choosing a product with an automatic steam valve.

• Temperature sensor. Not all covers are yet equipped with this removable device. In addition, it increases their value. But its convenience and usefulness suggest that there will be more and more of them. Different colors on the gauge show how cooked the food is:

• warming up - up to 40 ° - yellow;
• cooking - 40 to 90 ° - green;
• burning - more than 90 ° - red.

We hope that your choice will be optimal!