Manufacturing and Materials

J.A. HENCKELS INTERNATIONAL Classic Clad Cookware is manufactured using clad material, which is also known as triply. Clad material is composed of three layers of metal bonded together. (18/10 Stainless/aluminum/magnetic stainless). The aluminum material in the center is an excellent heat conductor, which provides even heat distribution in the pan. Because of the superior properties of heat conduction it is only necessary to use low to medium heat for stovetop cooking.The stainless steel material on the interior-cooking surface and outside of the pan is high strength, resistant to rusting and does not react when in contact with food.

Many other brands of cookware products sold in North America are constructed with a capsulated bottom or a sandwich bottom base. The aluminum material is only at the bottom of the pans. In the Clad material design the aluminum layer extends from the base up the sides of the pan so the heat is conducted evenly throughout the pan. This increases the cooking performance of the pan and eliminates hot spots, which can burn foods because of uneven heating when cooking.

Classic Clad Nonstick
Classic Clad Nonstick cookware combines all the properties of the three layers of clad material described previously and additionally has a premium, durable, nonstick coating called Excalibur. Excalibur is manufactured by the Whitford Corporation.

Features of Excalibur Nonstick Coating

Excalibur is a unique system reinforced both internally and externally utilizing a patented stainless steel alloy. It is highly resistant to wear and all types of abrasion. The coating has a matrix of "peaks" and "valleys", (see below), that provide a permanent rigid base which reinforces and locks the coating in place. There are three layers of nonstick coating on Classic Clad Nonstick cookware. Here are the steps to produce the nonstick coating on Classic Clad Nonstick cookware:

1. First, the surface of the pan's substrate is blasted with an abrasive to roughen it, so that other elements in the Excalibur system adhere to it better.

2. Then, the most important part: White-hot particles of a special stainless steel (an alloy patented by Whitford) are sprayed onto the roughened surface.

3. The particles cool and harden, welded to the surface, forming a series of "peaks" and "valleys" that provide a permanent base for the nonstick coatings.

4. Several coats of tough fluoropolymers fill the "valleys" and cover the "peaks"' locked permanently into place by the stainless-steel "peaks".