Pots and Pans
You may be questioning the importance of pots and pans here but I believe that quality pots and pans are just as important as the food we cook in them. Using the right pots can improve the ease and quality of your cooking and make cooking not just fun but healthy. Food prepared in different cookware varies in taste. For instance, meat tastes delicious when cooked in a well seasoned cast-iron pot, but loses its scrumptious flavor when prepared in stainless-steel vessels.
COOKWARE MATERIALS
Common materials includes stainless steel, aluminum, cast iron, and copper. Each of which offers different advantages and will determine the price of the set. A well-constructed set of pots should last for a lifetime.
Stainless steel pots: are classic, durable, lightweight and some brands are even magnetic (making them compatible for induction cooking methods). stainless steel is my go-to for cooking anything and everything.
Aluminum pots: Aluminum is ideal for its light weight and heat-conduction properties. Coated with PTFE or Teflon which provides a nonstick cooking surface. It requires little to no oil which makes cooking in them healthy. They’re perfect for cooking delicate foods like fish, and eggs. Aluminum is highly reactive, so acidic dishes that use tomatoes or vinegar tend to pick up a metallic taste. Please remember to not use metal utensils with these.
Cast-iron pots: Everyone should have a cast iron pot in their kitchen. These heavy-duty pots are ideal for many dishes and are great at distributing and retaining heat so food cook evenly. Cast iron can to react with acidic foods but they are also perfect for searing proteins, carmalizing or even cooking desert and go from stovetop to oven. Cast-iron pots require extra care, but some basic cleaning tips and regular seasoning will keep this pot good for a lifetime.
Copper: Copper pots owners love to show-off their copper pots in their stylish kitchens. Copper is the best conductors of heat. Copper is durable, hygienic and corrosion-resistant. It heats quickly and dispersed evenly, all the way up to the edges of the pan allowing uniform cooking of your food. This means no more burnt spots. Copper shines at searing, sautéing, and sauces. contrary to the rumors, copper is 100% safe to cook in, so long as it is lined with another, non-reactive metal which most copper cookware is. It requires regular polishing and is excessively expensive for most of us and cannot be used induction burners. Cooper is antibacterial as germ cannot survive on copper.
ALL-CLAD CALPHALON CUISINART FARBERWARE
Check out this updated cookware buying guide
TYPES OF COOKWARE
Stainless Steel Skillet The work horse of your kitchen stainless steel's excellent heat retention and durability make it an excellent choice in the kitchen. Skillets have a long handle and wide, slanted sides. They’re a kitchen powerhouse for browning, searing, sauteing vegetables, building sauces or pan-frying food. There are several types of skillets also called a frying pan. If you’re going to buy one, we suggest a heavy-duty, try-ply or multi-clad stainless steel pan. Our favorite skillet
Cast Iron Skillet These heavy-duty pans can be used on the stovetop or in the oven. They're durable, extremely useful, making cast iron pans ideal for searing. Some high acid foods like tomatoes can have a chemical reactions In addition, some foods like spinach cooked on bare cast iron will turn black. Cast iron offers superior heat retention making it ideal for searing.
Tips on seasoning your cast iron pan.
Some recommended Cast-Iron pots are VICTORIA LODGE LE CREUSET
Sauté Pan is similar to skillet, except it has flat bottom, much higher with straight sides, and always come with a lid. It’s the perfect for making quick one-pot meals, saucepans are intended for general purpose cookery, and usually have solid construction, permit searing in the pot, reducing splatter, and a variety of other tasks. braising meats, and simmering sauces, and because it has tall sides prevents splatter. They’re great for poaching eggs, pan frying or cooking large quantities of greens.
Dutch Ovens or Dutch pots as they were called while growing up in Jamaica. I can still remember the shiny dutch pot sitting on the coal stove right outside the kitchen door. Sometimes charcoal was nestled on the lid emulating an oven while I impatiently awaited whatever fare was being cooked the likes of run dung, cow-foot, packasa (one pot meal), and sweets like almond or coconut drops…my mouth salivating right now. Dutch ovens are actually fairly versatile cooking instrument, and can serve for searing, roasting, braising, stewing, biscuit making, soup making, and baking.
Recommended Dutch ovens LODGE LE CREUSET SULIVES
Sauce Pans are excellent at cooking anything liquid. This makes them great for stewing, simmering, making soups and sauces. An important task often designated to saucepans is boiling water... for risotto, lentils, or grains that requires boiling. It's smaller than a stockpot or a dutch oven but is much deeper and usually not as wide than a skillet. It's also taller and narrower than a sauté pan. Sauce pans are solidly constructed with a long handle and matches well with a steamer basket.
Recommended sauce pans UTOPIAKITCHEN AVACRAFT ALL-CLAD
Steamer Basket A must have in your kitchen. Steaming is a healthy cooking choice because it helps retain more than 90% of the nutrients lost when you boil food. A steamer basket can be used to steam veggies, seafood, eggs, meats, desserts, and much more. I love using it for my red snapper which is a delicate fish.
Get one with elevated feet which can accommodate enough water underneath so you don’t run the risk of drying out your food. Recommend Steamer Basket.
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