Cookware: Choose the Best Tools for the Job
“Home Science” is a term that gets tossed around a lot. To many, cooking is nothing but measuring ingredients, combining them, and using one or more cooking techniques to produce a dish. To the real experts, cooking is as much art as it is science. And like painters and sculptors, one needs good tools to bring out the best in him or her.
Learning to create varied quality cuisine calls for a lot of trial and error, but having the right cookware can cut down on the amount of practice time.
Copper pans are perfect for making sauces. The metal is one of the best heat conductors and react almost instantly to changes in temperature. This characteristic is crucial when making sauces since you don’t want your cookware staying hot after you have turned down the heat as this is a surefire recipe for burnt sauces. Being a good conductor, copper also distributes heat well, ensuring even cooking. The only drawback is that copper reacts with acid so sauces made in it that contain vinegar or lime juice will end up less-than-ideal. A great workaround for this is copper-bottomed cookware lined with stainless steel.
Sauting is a cooking process that uses high heat so you will want to use cookware that conducts heat well while quickly responding to changes in temperature. Two of the best metals to be used in this application are copper and aluminum. A more expensive choice is stainless steel cookware with copper or aluminum cores. Combining the conductivity of copper and aluminum with the durability of steel, this type offers all the benefits without any drawbacks. Non-stick cookware can be used but is discouraged. The coating on these kinds of cookware does not conduct heat evenly and that produces unpredictable results – something that should be avoided in cooking.
When it comes to stir frying, most cooks agree that the Chinese pan with steeply angled sides known as a wok is the ideal choice. Woks come in different sizes and materials, but in two main shapes: flat or round-bottomed, the traditional version. Flat-bottomed woks are better for electric stoves, while the round-bottomed version works for gas ranges. A wok must conduct heat well, since stir frying needs high hear. Carbon steel, cast iron or aluminum are the most popular metal choices for woks.
Roasting pans are indispensable oven companions. The requirement here is even dispersal of heat, so the best candidates again are copper and aluminum. Pure copper roasting pans are the most popular, followed closely by anodized aluminum, and stainless steel lined with copper or aluminum. In addition to this, you can opt to use a roasting rack. Many prefer to leave the roast inside the pan so that the fat will give it intense flavor. Also, they want to keep the dripping for making gravy later. Others prefer to raise it up in a rack so that the fat drips away and makes the dish a little healthier.
The wisest cooks know that they only need to buy cookware once. The best ones will last a lifetime and can even be handed down to the next generation. So whether you want to specialize in sauce-making, sauting, stir-frying, or roasting, you have to get the right equipment from the start.
Janette loves to beautify her kitchen space and using kitchen countertop ideas and / or kitchen corner cabinet is something which she undoubtedly recommends for a new look.
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