Cast Iron Cookware Is Back!

Cast Iron the cookware of a few generations ago has made a comeback! There was a reason this was the cookware choice of our grandparents. Versatile, economical, and an excellent alternative to non stick cookware. If you don’t already have at least one cast iron skillet you really need to get one!

Cast iron distributes the heat evenly over the pot and it retains the heat. And when seasoned properly it’s as good as any of the non stick pots and certainly a lot more healthier than some of those chemical coatings.

Compared to many other pots cast iron is very inexpensive and they are still the number one pot choice for many Chef’s because of their ability to retain flavor. Cast iron never wears out and if it doesn’t have a wood handle you can even use it in the oven. In fact if you are one of the lucky ones you’ve inherited a cast iron pot from your grandmother.

If you weren’t lucky enough to inherit grandma’s pot that’s okay cast iron pots are now once again available on department store shelves. But if you’ve purchased a new pot you are going to need to season it.

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees. Coat your cast iron pot with lard. Never use cooking sprays or vegetable oil. They will not season your pan correctly. Once you’ve coated it with lard put it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and pour out any excess lard. Now put it back in the oven for 2 hours.

Repeat the above process two to three times initially. This will ensure your pot is deeply seasoned. The first time you cook with your cast iron pot cook something greasy like bacon which helps strengthen the seasoning of the pot.

Over time your pot will loose its seasoning. When food begins to stick it’s time to season your pot again. While the pot is warm wash well, then repeat the same process you initially used to treat your cast iron pot.

Cleaning your cast iron cookware is really quite easy. There are two simple things to remember never use steel wool and never use soap. Both of these will cause your seasoning to breakdown. Simply rinse with hot water and scrape any food that is stuck. Then either dry with paper towel or place in a warm oven to dry.

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Waterless Cookware

What is waterless cookware, you ask? You may have heard the names SaladMaster, Town Craft, Neova or other cookware suppliers that have big price tags and a promise of better tasting and healthier food. The cookware allows you to cook all types of food using very little oil or water, reducing calories and retaining a more natural taste.

Most of the companies that sell waterless cookware do so through direct selling. They set up dinner parties for five or six couples, come over to your home and demo the cookware by cooking you a great meal. In the process they show you how the cookware is constructed and the cooking process required when using waterless cookware.

It is really amazing that you can just cut up a chicken, throw it into the pan and cook it to a golden brown with just the oil in the chicken and no other oil or grease. Vegetables come out with a fresher taste because they do not have the flavor boiled out of them. The cooking technique is called induction cooking. Induction cooking is done with thick based pans with tight sealing lids over low heat.

The pots and pans are not magic, but they are constructed very well, made of heavy 10/18, 304, or 316 stainless steel, with several layers of special aluminum and steel bonded together to form the thick base of the pan for even cooking. The lids fit very well and some have small vents or temperature dials to make sure the correct cooking temperature is not exceeded.

Cookware Pot Information Posted By: Blueshoots.com

Original Source : http://homeupgrades.blogspot.com

Pots & Pans Terminology

Aluminum pots and pans - Perhaps the most common plus, of course, low-priced type. High grade aluminum provides marvelous even heat conduction, and, just as relevant, is lightweight in the bargain. Notwithstanding, it is chemically unstable and need be utilized having alternatively a resistant to sticking or professionally anodized finish to cease adhering, marking and off flavors in edibles.

Cast iron kitchenware - Dense, durable and, in addition, affordable. Cast-iron was highly appealing for pots and pans for ages. This conducts heat leisurely and, moreover, without hot spots and can be utilized in the electric oven or even on the stove top.

Clad cookware - pots and pans vaunting a hidden layer of a fast, evenly heating metallic element, ‘clad’ employing a more long-lasting protective outer layer, expectedly non-reactive steel. Clad pots and pans will indeed be an reasonably priced alternate choice to select heavy copper stove top cookware, plus, obviously, extra robust compared with resistant to sticking high-grade aluminium.

Copper - Copper was a very fashionable select cook ware fabrication material over a long time. It’s really aesthetically pleasing, possesses prodigious conduction, plus, obviously, may easy be encased with old-fashioned tin or chromium steel so as to check responses in regard to acidulent cookery.

Enamel glaze black iron - A iron vessel protected via a a enameled surface. This kind of product delivers the even conductivity & thermal inertia of black cast iron combined employing a more lasting, non-sticking cooking surface.

Nonstick - Silverstone constitutes another preferred nonstick pots & pans exposed surface. Non-stick coatings may be usually a feature of food grade aluminum cook ware. Any well-suited non-sticking finish speeds up cleanup time, and represses the demand to employ cooking fats in the course of gourmet cooking.

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Cookware (Pots and Pans)

Unless one insists on cooking using a skewer over an open fire pit, it is impossible to avoid the necessity of cookware. We all need pots and pans of various types. These vessels hold food as it is boiled, sauteed, fried, roasted or steamed. Proper cookware should have the following characteristics: excellent heat transfer, easy to clean, relatively light, pleasing to the eye, and not outrageously expensive. This usually translates into a pot with aluminum and copper in the base, and an otherwise stainless steel construction. Steel is relatively easy to clean and copper has one of the highest heat transfers of any metal. Of course, one can get pans made completely of copper with a stainless steel interior, which in many ways represent the zenith of cookware, however, the outside is difficult to keep clean, the larger pieces are quite heavy, and they are very expensive.

If you happen to employ a strong-armed cook, and have both a diligent housekeeper, and a significant income then I would recommend nothing other than copper cookware in the kitchen. For most mortals, however, a few copper pieces, a casserole perhaps and one for delicate sauces, are more than adequate.The most common quality pot in the US market has an aluminum core in both the base on the sides, and is lined with stainless steel but has no copper. Among the best manufacturers are All-Clad, Viking, Kitchen Aid. Calphalon is a little less expensive (though they do a cheaper line for some discount stores), however, many of their products do not have stainless steel lining and in my experience are difficult to clean. Most of these manufacturers also do a pot with a copper base but these tend to be quite expensive.

A personal favorite of mine for both price and quality, and which does have a copper base, is the Sitram “Catering” product line, which is available in some specialty stores and on the internet. Cookware made from cast iron is also excellent for heat retention and slow cooking. Cast iron frying pans can be bought quite inexpensively but they need to be “seasoned” with oil and frequent use before they acquire a patina that will reduce sticking; otherwise they will be the bane of your life. Le Creuset is a high end manufacturer of cast iron cookware products that are lined with enamel and are relatively low stick. These pans are quite expensive and heavy but work wonderfully well as casseroles or stewpots.

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Original Source : http://thefamilymeal.blogspot.com

Camping Cookware and Cooksets for the Backpacker

If you're going to cook from a backpack, you'll need an outdoor cookset. Plenty of camping cook ware exists - which is right for you? Do you need a simple pot or a full blown set of nested pots and pans? Take a look at this guide.
You've got some material choices:

Stainless steel

Non-stick Aluminum

Hard Anodized Aluminum

Titanium

MSR (Mountain Safety Research) has some advice for you on these choices here. Remember that storing wet aluminum in your cupboard between trips will result in pitted cookware.

Let's look at the best backpacker cookset - the MSR Duralite Mini Cookset. This cookset includes 1 and 1.5 liter pots, lid which doubles a plate, PanHandler and Packtowl weighs 16.9 ounces.

The PanHandler, which can be bought separately if you decide on another cookware set, is, according to MSR's website: "A whisper-light pot lifter that works perfectly with all MSR cookware. Safely supports up to 10 pounds/4.5kg?ch is a lot of stew." And the Packtowl, also available separately, is touted by MSR thusly: "Packtowl UltraLite is the lightest, most compact microfiber towel on the market, perfect for camping, travel, or any situation where weight and space are at a premium. It absorbs water quickly and dries in a snap." The pots nest together so as not to take up precious backpack space.

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Original Source : http://studenttravel.about.com/od/backpackercooking/a/cookware.htm

Cuprinox Extra Cookware Pan

Highly regarded in the professional world, with over 170 years of experience, offers several different lines of copper cookware to professional chefs and home cooks that appreciate the benefits of their high quality products. Professional cooks can attest that copper cookware is an essential part of every cookware collection as it is 2X more conductive than aluminum and 10X more conductive than stainless steel.

This advantage makes copper the very best material for cooking, as it is unsurpassed in its ability to heat up evenly and rapidly and to cool down quickly, allowing for maximum control and great cooking results. A professional line that has a thicker gauge of copper for added strength, combines two efficient materials, a very thick 2.5 mm copper exterior, and very thin layer of stainless steel on the interior.

The stainless steel lining is easy to clean and very durable. This products have straight sides and have handles that are cast-iron and attached to the bodies with sturdy stainless steel rivets. This is resistant to high temperatures and scouring pads on the interior and comes with a limited lifetime warranty for household use only.

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Stellar Cookware Accessories Pasta Pot

Attractively designed with a robust construction, The Stellar Cookware accessory range is suitable for all hobs including induction hobs. The thermal base ensures that the heat is spread evenly resulting in economical cooking, are dishwasher safe having been approved by Finish, and come with a lifetime stainless steel guarantee.

The Stellar cookware accessories range has been designed to compliment any Stellar range and will look fabulous in the kitchen.

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Types Of Cookware: Pots And Pans

Pots and pans make the most essential part of your cookware. There are lots of various types available for each particular cooking method or a few different methods.

Skillet/frying pan has a flat bottom with short sides that are flared or sloped, which makes it easier to toss and turn food with a spatula. The pan is usually made of a responsive to heat material such as lined copper, stainless steel with a copper or aluminum core, anodized aluminum or cast iron. Non-stick surface is also popular in such pans. They are available in different sizes and generally come with a cover.

Roasting pan is usually of a rectangular shape with low sides allowing the heat from the oven to expose the entire surface of the meat. Roasting pan is generally used with a rack to prevent the meat from sitting in its own juices and stewing instead of browning. The pans are available made of different materials including stainless steel, aluminum with non-stick surface, clay and granite.

Saucepan is a round pot with high straight sides and a flat bottom, can be used for several purposes, such as cooking soup, stewing vegetables, making sauces. There are a few styles to suit special purposes. A saucepan known as a Windsor has sides that flare out and another known as a saucier has sides that are rounded. There are also different sizes and materials of saucepans. Most of them have a snug fitting cover.

Stir-fry pan is a round, deep pan that may have straight sides with a slightly rounded base or more commonly a round base that slopes out and upward. Sizes and handle length can vary to match the cooking process. Heat is evenly distributed across the base while the sloping sides make it easier to stir and turn the ingredients.

Wok is a bowl shaped version of stir-fry pan, best for quick cooking food over high heat. It is available with rounded or flat bottom. Some varieties of woks have one long handle, some have two short handles and others have a long handle on one side and a short one on the opposite side. The materials used are carbon steel, cast iron, and metals with non-stick coating.

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Original Source : http://www.articles4free.com/blog/?p=2125

Basic Cookware Explained

What is All-Clad stainless steel cookware and why is it the best top-of-the-line bake ware you can buy? All-Clad cookware is made with a heavy aluminum inside which extends up the sides of the pan. It is coated with a stainless steel cooking surface and has an outside layer of magnetic stainless steel. This type of bake ware is ideal for cooking on a gas stove where the flames can burn up the sides of the pots and pans. These types of pots and pans are heavier than the less expensive kinds that you find at cheap discount stores. This cookware is extremely popular among the expert chefs, holds up well in high heat up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and it comes in a nonstick version as well.

Maybe you like to do lots of browning. If so you may want to use uncoated or non coated cookware for your favorite recipes. A top brand of uncoated pots and pans are made by Wolfgang Puck. Chances are you will never see a review that will not give Wolfgang Puck high marks for its baking performance and price value. Uncoated bakeware has an aluminum plate as the foundation or base. It does not run up the side as does the All-Clad type which is a big reason why uncoated is less expensive.

Calphalon nonstick bakeware is a hard anodized aluminum bake ware with a nonstick coating. If you are looking for a cheaper brand that will perform almost as well as the more expensive ones this may be what you are searching for. Plus it is also lighter in weight than most All-Clad varieties or brands. It may require a little more energy on your part during cleanup though since most Calphalon nonstick pots and pans are not dishwasher safe. Another positive aspect to this type of cookware is that it can be used in your oven in temperatures up to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Similar to Calphalon, Emeril (Emerilware) is a high quality cookware that compares favorably to other top-of-the-line pots and pans and is a very good value for the money. Your favorite recipe will still taste delicious. Famous TV chef Emeril Lagasse has this line made by All-Clad which is similar to their hard anodized cookware. The major difference is the designs added to the pieces. This cookware is made of hard anodized aluminum with nonstick cooking surfaces. It is not recommended for the dishwasher, but comes with a lifetime warranty. That is something you do not see everyday.

Cookware Pot Information Posted By: Blueshoots.com

Original Source : http://www.ezinearticles.com/