The handles of cooking pots are fitted with plastic because plastic is a poor conductor of heat. This property prevents heat from transferring from the hot metal pot to the handles, allowing the handles to remain cool and safe to touch during cooking. Using plastic (or sometimes wood) as the handle material ensures that people can hold or move the pot without getting burned.
Key Points
- Cooking pots are typically made of metal, which conducts heat well, causing the pot body to become hot during cooking.
- If handles were made of metal, they would also become hot and could cause burns.
- Plastic is a heat insulator, meaning it blocks heat transfer effectively.
- This makes plastic handles safe, comfortable to hold, and practical.
- Plastic handles can also be molded ergonomically and are often heat resistant within typical cooking temperatures.
Therefore, plastic handles on cooking pots enhance safety and usability by minimizing the risk of burns from touching hot metal surfaces.
