Teflon Vs. Aluminum Pots

Nonstick

• The primary advantage of Teflon-coated pans is that Teflon is a nonstick surface, which means that when you cook in Teflon, you won't have to fight food sticking to the bottom of the pan. You also need less oil when cooking, and cleaning the pots is much easier. Aluminum does not carry these same advantages.

Heat

• Aluminum is a good material in pots because of the way it conducts heat. As a good conductor, aluminum heats up fast and heats your food evenly. You can also cook at higher heats in most aluminum pots than you can in some of the more inexpensive Teflon pots that might be damaged by very high temperatures.

Reactivity

• One good thing about Teflon is that it doesn't react with the food that you cook in it. You can cook anything you want in Teflon and not alter the taste of your food, which is not the case with aluminum. Certain foods undergo a chemical reaction when heated in aluminum. Mostly this is a problem with foods that have a very high acid content, such as tomatoes. As the reaction tastes place, tiny portions of the metal absorb into the food which can certainly affect the taste.

Scratching and Durability

• This is an area where aluminum emerges as the clear winner. While it is not as durable as some other pot materials, aluminum is much more durable than Teflon. Teflon scratches very easily, and most pots made from the material cannot have metal utensils used in them or the Teflon surface gets scratched. Once Teflon has been scratched a few times, it often results in the nonstick coating flaking off of the pot's bottom.