how come metal saucepan handles don't get hot?

Answer 1

They do. However, they don't get as hot as the rest of the pan because they are thinner than the pan and are not heated directly by flame. This means air allows it to cool down a bit.

Also, in a sauce pan (assuming you have a deep one) the actual metal near the rim isn't as hot as it is near the bottom. This significantly reduces the heat that can travel to the handle.

They still get hot after a while though! My family owns a restaurant the chefs all use towels to grab the pan handles.

If you've ever cooked with cast iron skillets, they get pretty hot after a while too.

All metals conduct heat relatively well. Now what some manufacturers have done is reduce the area which the handle contacts the pan, or separates it with some sort of material that doesn't conduct too much heat. This can be plastic in some cases, or the handle can be attached by a few prongs etc. This significantly reduces the path for heat to flow.

Imagine the metal as a pipe, if you have a smaller area between the pan and the handle then less heat will flow.

Now all metals conduct heat quite well. While conduction rates differ, those that are suitable for cooking are all quite conductive and close to each other. So if you have metal on metal handles, its not the metal, its basically

1. distance up the side of the pan
2. thickness of the attachment point
3. handle-pan interface material
4. thinness/cooling of the handle.

You see professional chefs use towels with frypans because commercial pans tend to have very thick handles and attachments for durability.

Answer 2

Some saucepan handles do get hot(the cheap ones). I think it has something to do with they use 2 different types of metals-one that conducts heat(the saucepan), and on that does not conduct heat(the handle)....

Answer 3

Well, they should eventually, being metal (good heat conductor) and all. Maybe you've just found a kind of metal that doesn't conduct as fast or something.

Answer 4

they do genius