Steel and care guide

Of the 41 stainless steel pieces in our catalog, 14 carry the grade named on its page. The numbers 18/8 and 18/10 refer to the alloy: roughly 18 percent chromium and either 8 or 10 percent nickel. That balance gives the steel its resistance to rust and its ability to stay bright through years of use. It is not a coating. It goes all the way through.

Stainless is not stain-proof, though. If you leave a colander wet with salt water or citrus juice, the surface can spot or pit. That is normal, not a defect. A quick rinse and a dry towel are all it needs. Aluminum moka pots and nonstick baking pans are different. They are hand wash only. A trip through the dishwasher will dull the aluminum and shorten the life of a nonstick surface. Our bamboo drawer organizers and knife blocks want a wipe with a damp cloth. Soaking them will swell the wood and split the joints.

Stainless steel does not mean stain-proof. The chromium in 18/8 forms a film that stops rust, and the nickel keeps it bright. What it does not stop is a water spot from a dishwasher that dried with droplets on the bowl, or pitting from salt left in a squeezer overnight. Rinse, dry, and the steel looks the same in ten years as it did in the box.

Carbon steel pans bake better than steel bowls would, because the coating releases what steel would hold onto. The coating is the weak point: metal tools scratch it, and a dishwasher dulls it. Aluminum moka pots are lighter and heat faster than steel ones, and they are the one piece we would never put in a dishwasher. Bamboo wants a wipe and a dry drawer. Microfiber wants a machine wash, not a pile.