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Cookware Materials
Note from Cheri: So you want
to invest in cookware -- or perhaps you just want to buy something
to get by with for now--but the endless array of choices out
there makes it seem like a daunting task. If cooking is new
to you, the following cookware primer and cookware
descriptions should help you navigate the waters of what
to put on your stove or in your oven.
The following are some different types of cookware materials
you are likely to come across and the overall advantages or
limitations of each type.
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ALUMINUM/Non-Stick Coated Aluminum - Aluminum cookware is the
most economical, but I don't recommend it unless it is coated with a non-stick
coating, which it almost always is these days. I use coated aluminum sauté
pans nearly every day in my kitchen. Cookware of this type allows you
to cook with less oil or fat and makes clean up a snap. When buying non-stick
coated aluminum pans, buy the one with the heaviest bottom that you can
afford. This helps to keep the bottom of the pan, and likewise the food
in the bottom of the pan, from scorching. The downside to coated cookware
is, regardless of what the salesman or the text on the box tells you,
it scratches fairly easily. Always use wooden or plastic spoons and spatulas
when cooking with non-stick coated cookware and never use steel wool or
abrasive cleaners or your non-stick cookware will indeed, start to stick.
STAINLESS STEEL - Stainless steel makes excellent cookware and
it's most often used by professional chefs. However, it is quite pricey.
Even though it is called "stainless" steel can in fact be stained by allowing
pots to burn dry or by excessive burning of food. But you wouldn't do
that, would you?
COPPER - This cookware is gorgeous to look at -- in fact many
people collect copper cookware-- and is a wonderful heat conductor. Buy
heavy gauge copper cookware as the thinner pans don't heat as evenly.
The downside is copper is VERY expensive and it must be cleaned and polished
frequently to keep it looking gorgeous. In other words, it is HIGH MAINTENANCE,
not something I particularly look for in a kitchen utensil, but to each
his own. Copper cookware usually has a tin lining which can become scratched
or worn. When this happens, you will need to get your cookware re-lined.
Again HIGH maintenance, but people who like copper cookware swear by it.
CAST IRON - Cast iron can be a great cookware choice. It's inexpensive,
heats slowly and evenly and maintains its heat well. The down side of
cast iron is that it must be washed and promptly dried or it can rust.
It is also rather heavy to lug around.
ENAMELWARE - Enamel covered iron based cookware is great for
casseroles, but not for frying or sautéing. Thinner metals and
thinly coated metals tend to chip easily and don't heat all that evenly.
OVENPROOF/Stoveproof Glass/Ceramic - Ovenproof glass is inexpensive,
relatively easy to clean and a good heat conductor. This cookware is perfect
for casseroles and pies. Corning's "Visions" line of cookware is probably
the best of this sort. Extremely versatile, it can go from freezer to
stovetop to oven to your table! The same can be said of ceramic cookware
-- what most of us know as the white corning ware with the little blue
flowers on them.
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