So you’re in the market for new cookware. Whether you’re just setting up your own household, registering for wedding gifts, redesigning your kitchen, or just need a new piece to add to your collection, there are many choices in the world of gourmet cookware today—and we’ll talk about some of the factors that will influence your choice.
Sometimes aesthetics will be your primary consideration. I’ll admit that I like my entire house, not just my kitchen, to look streamlined, organized, and modern. So a set is definitely appealing—the thought of having my pots and pans hung up in a tidy row is great. And maybe some of you will need a fresh new set of red enamel cookware—that’s OK—your kitchen is your kitchen and you need to be happy with what you see there.
But you may also want to think about how and what you’re going to cook. Will you be doing a lot of entertaining and need to have multiple dishes going at the same time? Will you be simmering a lot of soups and stews and need a stock pot with a heavy bottom? (One pot meals are really popular at my house—we hate cleaning up!) Will you be experimenting and teaching yourself to be a better cook? Will you be cooking for yourself or for a growing family?
One of the big decisions you’ll need to make is about the material of your cookware. The best cookware on the market is going to heat consistently and evenly throughout the pan. You don’t want to have any “hot spots” which occur when parts of your pan are hotter than other parts. These usually occur in the middle of the pan, which makes the process of “browning” food very difficult.
Copper is the best conductor of heat—unfortunately, it is also the most expensive material. Copper is great for beating egg whites but it will also react with acidic foods like tomato sauce, wine sauce, fruit fillings and some other foods, changing the taste and appearance of your food.
Because copper is such a great conductor it is often used as the middle layer in cookware like All-Clad and CIA. The layering process used in making these pots and pans will give you the quick and even heating of copper as well as the non-reactive properties of stainless steel. The outside coating of stainless steel also helps with your kitchen cleanup and gives you a nice shiny exterior.
Aluminum is also a good conductor of heat. One of the drawbacks to aluminum is that it’s a soft metal and will eventually wear out. Anodized aluminum is treated with a chemical process that prevents reactivity.
Cast iron is a great cooking material and relatively inexpensive. It can be prone to rusting, pitting, or sticking, but you can prevent all of those issues by “seasoning” your iron pan every so often. You simply cover the interior and exterior with oil or shortening and bake the pan—this process seals the fat into the iron and gives you a rust-proof and non-stick surface. (The ProLogic line by Lodge is pre-seasoned and ready to use right out of the box.) Cast iron is great for cooking when you need a pan that retains heat well—I regularly use my Lodge skillet for searing steaks, baking cornbread, and even making omelets. One drawback to cast iron pans is that they are fairly heavy, but the versatility is a quality that I need in my kitchen.
Cast iron is also great for dishes that need to go from the stovetop to finishing in the oven, and they even look great on the table. Le Creuset’s enamel finish on their cast iron pots and pans eliminates the need for seasoning, and their colors are simply beautiful. In addition, the knobs on Le Creuset lids are heat resistant to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can use them in the oven as well. My round piece of Le Creuset is great for making soup, simmering spaghetti sauce, even for frying chicken. It’s also really easy to braise meat in Le Creuset as the lid naturally forms a seal and keeps all the juices (all the good stuff!) inside the pot.
Non-stick cookware is a great choice for people who are trying to lower the fat content of their meals, and non-stick technology has come a long way. For instance, Swiss Diamond has a patented coating that is reinforced with real diamonds, which are a very effective heat transfer material. In addition, Swiss Diamond pans have a perfectly flat base, so they’re easy to use on gas and electric stoves. However, you’ll want to be careful about using metal utensils with any non-stick cookware, and be mindful of the manufacturer’s recommendations for cleaning.
Clay pot cooking is a practice that can be traced back thousands of years to the Etruscans, Romans, and Chinese. Clay cookware works very well with lamb, poultry, beef, and fish—clay that has been soaked in water releases steam during the baking process and also prevents juices from escaping, enabling you to cook without additional fats or liquids. In addition to retaining the flavor of the food, nutrients and vitamins are maintained in your dish. Popular vegetarian entrees cooked in clay include ratatouille, potatoes with herbs, and spinach lasagna. And you can even cook bread in clay—you’ll get a very crispy crust and a moist interior. New clay products on the market include Rachael Ray’s new glazed terracotta roasters. Romertopf produces a chicken roaster, a covered clay baker, and a covered garlic baker.
When making your final choice, you’ll want to look for heavy-gauge materials. Thinner gauge pots and pans can warp and possibly dent, causing your food to cook unevenly. You’ll also want to pick up the pan you’re looking at and think about how comfortable it is—you want to make sure that it is right for you since you’ll be using it a lot. Make sure that the lids fit well since sometimes you’ll want to maintain the moisture level in your dish.
In the end, your cookware choice is about the way you cook and what you need in the kitchen. Most cooks would recommend a good set of stainless steel cookware for conductivity, non-reactivity, and ease of cleaning. But you should consider a few specialty items (such as non-stick, cast iron, copper, etc.) for foods that are cooked best in those materials.
Let us know if you have any questions, and happy cooking!
