Well, obviously the size of the pan dictates the overall weight, no matter what the material… So PROBABLY yes for the borosilicate glass, and a qualified yes for the cast iron IF it’s a nice little 5"x5" raised grids broiler pan for one that I’ve been looking for for years! Thought I’d found one on amazon.com, but when it arrived the raised grill bars are not as deep as the on line photo showed. Disappointing, but I still use it because I HATE dragging out a big old 10" square grill pan to broil ahi tuna for one! Which is something not always addresses by manufacturers: Cookware for one. As “globalization” is creating an ever-expanding upper echelon of educated males and females, more and more of whom are opting to postpone marriage and family, they can go crazy trying to find something like a well designed 5"x5" square cast iron broiling pan!
Way back in the '60s Pyrex or one of the other “glass to cook in” companies made a glass double boiler with lid that I loved! It functioned beautifully as a saucepan as well, and unlike pyroceram, did not discolor. It was fun being able to see how the “boil bubbles” traveled to the surface through contents such as peas, or to watch rice cook. But overall, glass is a pretty heavy material. EXCEPT: TITANIUM CRYSTAL…!!! I’ve replaced all of my everyday drinking glasses and tumblers with it, and about the only thing thinner than it is a paper cup, but these glasses are FAR more durable! I accidentally bumped one off the cabinet shelf and it fell onto the granite counter top, bounced twice, then landed in the mouth of the garbage disposal. And about a year later it’s still just fine, thank you! But I doubt it has the thermal shock resistance to make it suitable for cookware. Pity!
The ONLY direct contact aluminum I’ve used in my kitchen for at least 40 years now is the two walnut handled omelette pans I mention above, and water never touches them! I’m just not a fan of aluminum, whether anodized or not, or even when it has been endowed by man with the ability to ring like a bell. When all is said and done it is still aluminum! It warps, even when anodized. Try boiling onions or tomatoes in pure aluminum and you have a major aroma problem on your hands, as well as food for the garbage disposal. My guess is that even if aluminum was cast with a seriously “sturdy” grid (structural support) in the base of a pan the damned stuff would still warp! And it discolors easily, or maybe “eventually” for some of the more modern anodized aluminum. As a suitable material for any type of direct contact cooking vessel, I avoid it like the plague!
