Clad Aluminum or Copper

<h4 >Clad aluminum or copper</h4>

Cladding is a technique for fabricating pans with a layer of heat conducting material, such as copper or aluminum, covered by a non-reactive material, such as stainless steel. Rather than just a heat-distributing disk on the base, the copper or aluminum extends over the entire pan.[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" >citation needed</a>]

Aluminum pans are typically clad on both their inside and the outside surfaces, providing both a stainless cooking surface and a stainless surface to contact the cooktop. Copper is typically clad on its interior surface only, leaving the more attractive copper exposed on the outside of the pan.

Some high-end cookware uses a dual-clad process, with a thin stainless layer on the cooking surface, a thick core of aluminum to provide structure and heat diffusion, and a thin layer of copper on the outside of the pot that provides additional diffusion and the "look" of a copper pot. This provides much of the functionality of tinned-copper pots for a fraction of the price.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookware#cite_note-16" >[17]</a>