Through our A-Z of cooking tips known as Tefalphabet, we’re hoping to inspire more people to get into the kitchen and give them the confidence to cook meals from scratch.

A key part of cooking with confidence is understanding your cookware – knowing which pots to use when, what the differences are between different types and how to take of them.

Understanding the hardware in your kitchen will definitely make you feel like a pro as tell your other half that you couldn’t possibly cook that in a frying pan, only a saute pan will do.

The graphic below gives you a brief lowdown of the different types of pan and when to use them, but before we get to that we wanted to answer a few points that we’re asked regularly about our Tefal pots and pans.

What is Thermo-Spot?

Otherwise known as that red dot in the middle of your pan, the Thermo-Spot is a Tefal innovation that makes cooking simpler. The idea is simple; as your pan heats up, the Thermo-Spot indicates when it’s reached the ideal temperature for cooking. Pre-heating your pans correctly is key to good cooking.

Whether you’re cooking meat, veg or pancakes, wait for the red dot to turn completely red and you’re good to go!

How to look after a non-stick pan?

Having a non-stick pan is great. It makes it a lot easier to cook as you don’t need to worry about food getting stuck to the surface of the pan, and you can use less oil to make your meals healthier.

It’s important to maintain your pans properly though to protect the non-stick coating. It’s strongly recommended that you don’t use metal utensils on a non-stick pan as they can scratch or gouge the coating, damaging the non-stick.

You also shouldn’t use scouring pads to clean them as they will scratch the pan. With a good non-stick pan any food residue should come away easily, so wiping clean with soapy water and a nylon sponge should be ideal.

If your pan is scratched, that doesn’t mean you can’t use it – it just means your non-stick coating won’t be as effective but it is still safe to use.

What causes pans to warp?

Pans will change shape and warp due to ‘thermal shock’. The most common cause of this is placing a hot pan in cold water – often when you’ve just finished cooking and think you’ll make the washing up easier by putting your pan into rinse. But it’s best to let your pan cool first before rinsing it to avoid it becoming mis-shapen. Plus with good non-stick, the washing up is a doddle anyway! Enjoy your dinner and worry about the washing up afterwards.

Thermal shock can also occur the other way round too – when an empty pan is overheated for example. Keep an eye on the Thermo-Spot so you know when you’re at the right temperature.