Why is 304 stainless steel used in the kitchen?

The extensive use of stainless steel products in the kitchen is a revolution, as they are beautiful, durable, and easy to clean, directly changing the color and texture of the kitchen. As a result, the visual environment of the kitchen has been greatly improved, no longer dark and damp, and full of darkness. But there are many kinds of stainless steel, why is 304 stainless steel used in the kitchen?

Before answering this question, let’s first clarify what stainless steel is.

What is stainless steel?

The special feature of stainless steel is determined by two elements, which are chromium and nickel. Without chromium, it is not stainless steel, and the amount of nickel determines the value of stainless steel.

Stainless steel can maintain its luster in the air and not rust because it contains a certain amount of chromium alloy elements (not less than 10.5%). It can make the steel surface form a solid oxide film that is insoluble in certain media.

After adding nickel, the performance of stainless steel is further improved. It has good chemical stability in the air, water, steam, and many kinds of acid, alkali, salt water solutions, and even in high or low-temperature environments, it can still maintain its corrosion resistance.

According to the microstructure, stainless steel can be divided into martensitic, austenitic, ferritic, and dual-phase stainless steel. Austenite has good plasticity, lower strength, certain toughness, easy to process and form, and does not have magnetic properties.

Austenitic stainless steel was introduced in Germany in 1913 and has always played the most important role in stainless steel, with its production and use accounting for about 70% of the total production and use of stainless steel. There are also the most steel grades, so most of the stainless steel you see in daily life is austenitic stainless steel.

The well-known 304 steel is austenitic stainless steel. The previous Chinese national standard was 0Cr19Ni9 (0Cr18Ni9), which means that it contains 19% Cr (chromium) and 9% Ni (nickel). 0 refers to a carbon content of <=0.07%.

The Chinese national standard notation has the advantage that the elements contained in the stainless steel are clear at a glance. As for 304, 301, 202, and so on, these are American and Japanese names, but now everyone is accustomed to this naming convention.

We often see 18-10 and 18-8 on kitchen utensils. These types of identification methods reflect the proportion of chromium and nickel in stainless steel. The higher the proportion of nickel, the more stable the nature.

18-8 (with nickel not less than 8) corresponds to 304 steel. 18-10 (with nickel not less than 10) corresponds to 316 steel (0Cr17Ni12Mo2), which is the so-called medical stainless steel.

Why is 304 stainless steel used in the kitchen?

The main reasons why is 304 stainless steel used in the kitchen are as follows:

1. High-temperature resistance: 304 stainless steel has excellent heat resistance, can withstand higher temperatures, and is suitable for use in high-temperature kitchen environments.
2. Corrosion resistance: The kitchen environment has a lot of corrosive substances such as cooking fumes and water vapor. 304 stainless steel has strong corrosion resistance, is not easy to rust or corrode, and can maintain a clean appearance for a long time.
3. Food-grade safety: 304 stainless steel meets the national food-grade safety standard, does not leach harmful substances, and does not cause pollution to food.
4. Easy to clean: The surface of 304 stainless steel is smooth, not easy to adhere to stains and grease, easy to clean, and can reduce the cleaning workload in the kitchen.
5. Strong durability: 304 stainless steel is durable and not easy to deform or damage. It has a long service life and can maintain good use for a long time.

Therefore, in order to ensure the normal use and hygiene safety of the kitchen, it is necessary to choose 304 stainless steel that meets national standards to make kitchen equipment and utensils.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading our article and we hope it can help you to have a better understanding of why is 304 stainless steel used in the kitchen. If you want to find a trustworthy supplier of 304 stainless steel, we would recommend Sino Stainless Steel.

As a top supplier of stainless steel products acorss the world, Sino Stainless Steel provides customers with 304 stainless steel, stainless steel strips, stainless steel coils, stainless steel plates, stainless steel sheets, stainless steel bars, and stainless steel wires at a very competitive price.