Encapsulated cookware is fairly new to the market and is exactly what its name implies. Encapsulation by definition is the action of covering one material with another material for purposes like durability, chemical stability, heat distribution, weight reduction and so on.

This has become very popular in cookware and many of the more popular brands use this technique – typically referred to as clad cookware. A manufacturer may decide that an alloy will not provide the properties they are seeking. An alloy combines two or more metals into a single material (similar to p lywood); as they combine properties change, meaning not all of the features of each property present in the individual metals will be fully present. Essentially, encapsulation tries to keep best properties of the original materials while minimizing the others.

The most common desire for encapsulation is to produce more even heat distribution in stove top cookware while at the same time minimizing the potential of chemical reaction with the food. Typically an aluminum or copper core is surrounded by stainless steel. The aluminum or copper core heats more evenly and more quickly than stainless steel which distributes heat slowly. The stainless steel is inert so it will not react with even the most acidic foods. The combination of even heat distribution along with an inert cooking surface and strong outer shell yields superior features for cookware.

The process by which the aluminum or copper core is encapsulated is very similar to the way a candle is made. The inner material, in this case aluminum or copper, is coated with varying layers of stainless steel. The number of layers is usually 3 – aluminum – copper- aluminum -- but higher end consumer and some commercial cookware can be four or five layers.

Think of this process as the reverse of a piece of copper bottom cookware. The core in this example is more or less a pancake that is then placed into a mold or dye for encapsulation process and the material, stainless steel, is literally poured in around this core. This way the end price to the consumer is lower and more chefs and cooks can take advantage of the properties of encapsulated cookware.

The stainless steel provides increased durability while the aluminum or copper core yields even heat distribution. Encapsulating any cookware is very expensive so some companies encapsulate only those parts of cookware that is required. As an example, stock pots, Dutch ovens and other pots and pans that only need heat across the bottom use this process only on the bottom. Sauce pans, sauté pans, skillets and other that need heat distributes up the sides use this technique all the way to the edges of the cookware.

Currently, encapsulation is used in producing cookware for induction cook tops. Induction uses electromagnetic fields to heat a ferrous or iron based material. This material completes the circuit with the stove top and is the only thing that gets hot. The cookware has to be able to hold an electromagnetic charge; this means it has to be able to be magnetized.

Many metals used for conventional cook tops were not designed with magnetic properties in mind but considerations for lightness, heat retention or appearance were more important. Now manufacturers are designing specifically for induction stove tops and are still trying to retain the flexibility of moving cookware from stove top to oven and back. They are using magnetic core materials to complete the electromagnetic circuit with the exterior of stainless steel or alloy. This maintains the objectives of keeping pots and pans as light as possible, retains their attractive features and keeps their good looks.

Having these features work well together provides attractive and useful cookware that consumers appreciate and love.