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CenturyLife.Org Cookware Thickness Database: How thick is (insert brand, e.g., All-Clad) cookware? How thick is the disc base? Where was it made, is it induction compatible, and how long is the warranty?

Q: So how thick is All-Clad, really? Or any other brand?

A: See below for a sortable list of cookware thickness. My preferred way of estimating thermal performance of cookware (heat-spreading ability) is to use thermal imaging, but that takes a long time to perform. You can see the results for induction/electric and gas.

Even without thermal images, you can still do some guesstimation of how a particular piece of cookware performs relative to other cookware by looking at the thickness of the cookware. If we assume that everyone is using the same grade of aluminum/copper/thickness and the same thickness of stainless steel, then all else equal, the thicker cookware is more thermally conductive. Obviously those assumptions are shaky, but they can be good enough for a guesstimate if no thermal data is available.

The table is broken up into types: cladded, cast iron, nonstick, copper, and disc-bottom. Thickness is given in millimeters, and the assumed thermally conductive material is aluminum (Al). However, sometimes the conductive material is Carbon Steel (CS), Copper (Cu), or Iron (Fe), and will be marked accordingly.

CenturyLife.Org's Cookware Thickness Database



Methodology: For measurement of sidewalls (e.g., the thickness of All-Clad Stainless), I use two high-end micrometers (Mitutoyo, purchased new and calibrated). For disc bottom measurements, if the disc was exposed, I measured thickness using coins of known thickness.1

Below are some photos of the various measurements I took. For instance, my Sitram Profiserie casserole (I review it here) had just enough room for two pennies, a nickel, and a dime = 6.34mm. But 2 quarters, a dime, and a penny (6.37mm) would not cleanly fit. Therefore we can guess that the Sitram has a 6.35mm base (exactly equivalent to 1/4-inch).

Similarly, my 1100-series 11″ Paella pan (I review it here) has a bottom disc could fit 2 dimes, 2 pennies, and a quarter (7.49mm). However, 3 dimes, a nickel, and a penny (7.52mm) were too much. So I classified it as 7.5mm total disc thickness, in the table above.

FOOTNOTES

 

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  1. http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/?action=coin_specifications In millimeters, 1 quarter = 1.75mm; 1 dime = 1.35mm; 1 nickel = 1.95mm; and 1 penny = 1.52mm. ↩

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