Reynolds Metals

How do you tell the difference between stainless steele pots and aluminium?

I am canning pickles it says don,t use aluminium all my pots are old and they don,t say what their made of

Public Comments

1. alum., will be silver white in colour while stailless steel will be of steel colour
2. they are probably steel. but if they are really light for something their size... than they are probably aluminium.
3. TRY A MAGNET!!!!!
4. Thats a tough one.. I would try to figure out who the maker was, and then look them up on the web, to find out what they make their pans of.. A lot of companys put their logo or name on the bottom of the pan.. A magnet might be useful unless they are a combination material so that might not be reliable. When in doubt, buy a pan you know you can definately use for the pickles.. It will be worth it not to worry..
5. Most pots will have a stamp on the bottom and may say aluminium or S.S. or Stainless but not all. I have a stainless pot made by Superior Aluminium.The weight of the pot is an indicator. Magnets will not stick to aluminium but they will stick to pots because they are not pure stainless.