Can I use regular gas (stove) cookware (pots and pans) in a fireplace?

Question

I went somewhere with a fireplace. Let's say the place and cookware are mine. The kitchen works with fire (gas stove), so the cookware works for gas (I've used it before for a long time).

According to my research, a gas stove can go up to +-1650C and a fireplace +-550C

I know that to cook in fire usually it's required to do it in the embers. E.G: some bricks to make a support, add a BBQ grill, and there you go (Done it. Messy because of oils dripping there, but works). But what about regular cookware which will be in touch with the embers (SUPPOSING that with regular cookware you do it that way) Imagine heating up a pot with popcorn kernels (it'd be hot enough), making some hot chocolate, etc.

My guess is that apart from getting the pots dirty and probably harming the handles if they are made out of anything different than the material the pot is made (usually hard plastic or w/e), it should work fine. Although in this site I usually ask and also experiment to try out and post the results , I really don't want to risk it this time. Temperatures are higher in a gas stove (although not constant, not everywhere in touch), so these variables make me doubt.

Answer 1

It's not impossible, but you should choose your pans with care. That 550°C figure is for the outside of a wood-burning stove, and would be faintly glowing red in a dark room. In practice the stove has to be burning pretty fiercely to get that hot. You could put pretty much any cooking pot on top and you'd be fine.

But you say "in a fireplace", not "on a wood-burner" so it will get a lot hotter than 550°C. It's done when camping, but it's also how many people cook all the time - the 3-stone fire (google images) is very common, though not very efficient. You usually need a sturdy pot support as resting it on burning wood isn't good for the pan or the food, especially when things move, hence the three stones. Cooking in the embers is possible, but that's normally done by letting them die down, and partially burying the pan for slow cooking.

Cast iron pans have been used for cooking since before gas stoves were invented, so they'd be fine. My cast iron is enamelled and I wouldn't because I want to keep it looking nice. Also the hottest burning bits of the actual fire are potentially a bit too hot for the enamel.

A pan full of hot water or milk is limited in how hot it can get, which will protect many pans. That means that thin aluminium camping pans can be used right down in the fire, but not if they boil dry. They don't last for ever if you make a habit of it, but they do work.

Given what I have available, I'd use a stainless steel pan with a stainless steel handle and lid. Obviously the handle has a high chance of getting hot enough to burn you.