Kitchen Guide- Handy tips to care for your cookware

No matter how good or how expensive your cookware might be, only proper care of your cookware will lengthen its useful life and it will also provide you with better cooking results.

1)Try not to use abrasive or caustic cleaners like cleanser, lye and oven cleaners. Try heating some water with baking soda to remove those stubborn stains. Better: Avoid scrubbing by heating some water in the pan right after you're done cooking to soften any sticking food; makes for easy wiping when you're ready to clean after finishing your meal.

2)Avoid using use metal scouring pads or scrubbers on fine finishes. They leave microscopic scratches that dull the finish and encourage foods to stick. If you must scrub try a nylon scouring pad instead.

3)To care for cast iron cookware, do not wash in soapy water but try wiping clean with a paper towel. Run hot water over stuck on food to help loosen and remove. After your cast iron pot has been washed it should be dried thoroughly. To prevent the pan from rusting, rid it of any excess moisture by setting it on the stove over high heat until all moisture has evaporated and coat with oil before storing.

4)Season steel, cast aluminum and cast iron. At high temperatures, oil or shortening carbonizes in the pores of metal cookware, thus preventing foods from burning and anchoring themselves to the pans. A well-seasoned pan is nearly stick-proof and a real cooking pleasure.

5)Protect the non-stick surfaces by only using wooden, plastic, or coated utensils when cooking. Don't crank up the heat with non-stick pans; or you will severely shorten its useful life. If minerals in the water cause white spots to appear on your non-stick surface, try wiping the surface with white vinegar or lemon juice.

6)Always try to match the size of the pan to the size of the heating area. Use moderate to low heat and do not allow the pan to boil dry. Excessive heat can spoil the appearance of the pan by causing discoloration of the surface. Never allow a gas flame to extend up the sides of the pan, as this could damage the handles, and also damage non-stick or cause discoloration above the level of liquid in the pan.

Other Cookware Guides Cookware Guide- Cookware Materials, Cookware Guide- Types of Pans & Skillets

Kitchen Guide- Types of Pots 'n Pans

There are many types of pots and pans available for different cooking methods. It’s important to choose your cookware carefully keeping in mind the type of food and cooking you’ll be doing and how often you’ll be using it. It’s also good to consider how many people you’ll be cooking for most and keep an appropriate size in mind while purchasing your cookware. Cookware is made of different materials and understanding the differences will help you choose the right type for your needs (See Cookware Guide- Cookware Materials). A good way of choosing the appropriate Pan is to match it to the task you’ll need it for. Here are some of the important types of pans and skillets available today and what they are generally used for:-

Frying Pan/ Skillet: A frying pan has a flat bottom with short sides usually one to two-and-a-half inches deep that are flared or sloped, which makes it easier to toss and turn food with a spatula and a long handle for better handling. As the name suggests it is used for frying foods but can also be used for sautéing. Frying pans are available in several sizes, such as 6 ½", 7", 8", 9" 10", 11", 12", and 14". They are available in depths of 1 ½" to 3" and may come with a cover.

Sauté Pan: The term sauté, meaning to jump, implies frying quickly. A sauté pan is similar to a frying pan, except that its bottom is flat, and its sides are straight and deeper (up to four inches). Apart from being used for sautéing foods it can also be used for frying foods. The pan should have a long handle and it generally comes with a cover. Some of the larger models have a loop handle opposite the long handle that is used to assist in lifting the pan.

Grill Pan: A Grill Pan is a heavy metal pan that consists of ridges spaced evenly across the bottom that closely simulate the grilling process when cooking various meats and foods. They are available with shallow sides and with deeper sides similar to a frying pan. The ridges raise the food off the bottom surface of the pan, which helps prevent the food from steaming as it cooks. The ridges also serve as a method for allowing the fat contained in some foods to drain away from the food and collect in the spaces between the raised ridges.

Saucepan: A sauce pan is a round pot with high straight sides and a flat bottom. It usually has straight, or slightly sloping high sides four to seven inches tall, and a long handle. In sizes from about a pint to four quarts it is called a sauce pan. Above four quarts, usually squat and with two loop handles, it is called a Sauce Pot and Sauce Pots can also be considered Dutch ovens or Stewing Pans. A Sauce Pan is used for several purposes, such as cooking vegetables, heating soup, and making sauces.

Stockpot: A stock pot is a tall, relatively narrow, yet capacious, utensil with straight sides, usually at least six quarts in capacity. It is taller than it is wide and usually has two, securely attached, loop handles that are big enough to easily allow the use of potholders or oven mitts. It is used for simmering large amount of liquid, such as stock, soup and stews, but also works well for thick soups, chili and for boiling pasta.

Double Boiler: A double boiler consists of two pans where one sits inside of the other. The bottom pan is slightly larger so the top pan can fit inside. The bottom pan contains hot water and the top pan holds the ingredients that are being cooked. This hot water bath, rather than through direct heat contact, ensures that the food in the inside (top) pan is gently cooked without scorching. It is useful while cooking delicate sauces that have a tendency to separate if cooked on direct heat and foods that burn easily on direct heat like chocolate.

Wok/ Stir-Fry Pan: A Stir-Fry Pan is a popular, all-purpose Asian pan also known as a Wok; it is distinguished by high, sloping sides, resembling a bowl. The traditional type wok has a rounded bottom and is used over a flamed heat source, such as a gas burner. Woks are now available with a rounded or flat bottom for use on an electric burner or a ceramic stovetop. The wok is most often used for stir-frying but can also be used for sautéing, steaming, deep-frying. The idea is to have a hot spot at the bottom of the wok, where the actual cooking takes place. The sides are used to rest the food that is cooking at slightly cooler temperatures.

Roasting Pan/ Roaster: A Roasting Pan is a rectangular shaped pan with low sides, which allows the heat from the oven to expose the entire surface of the meat to create a browned exterior. The pan is generally used with a rack to prevent the meat from sitting in its own juices and stewing instead of browning. They may have a lid to assist in the basting of the food and to keep it from drying out.

Popular Brands of cookware: Some of the widely known and popular brands of cookware are- Calphalon, KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Pinzon, Farberware, Anolon and Circulon.

Kitchen Guide- Cookware Materials

Cookware is one of the most important purchases you will ever make for your kitchen. Different types of cookware are made of different materials and have different uses. Understanding the differences will help you make the best choice for you needs. The following are the most popular cookware materials-

Aluminum: Aluminum is a great material for cookware as it is lightweight, fairly strong and a good conductor of heat. Aluminum works well for sautéing and frying foods because if its heat responsiveness. Aluminum is also fairly inexpensive when compared to other cookware materials. However, uncoated aluminum will quickly collect scratches and look unsightly and with time it reacts to acidic and alkaline foods, causing it to corrode. Coated aluminum however, is much more acceptable and a better option.

Hard Anodized Aluminum: This is aluminum that has been given a special finish to protect it from corrosion. Hard anodized pans usually combine a high quality non-stick interior coating, as the hard anodized surface is not inherently non-stick. It is a good choice of material to look for in pots and pans for all most any type of cooking, the only disadvantage being it's not dishwasher safe.

Cast Iron: Cast iron cookware is inexpensive to moderately priced. It is fairly heavy and conducts heat evenly. It heats slowly but once it is hot it holds the heat well. This makes it good for deep frying and slow-cooking. It can be used on top of the stove and in the oven. Drawbacks to cast iron are that it rusts, stains and becomes pitted when exposed to air, moisture and certain foods.

Copper: Copper is one of the more expensive materials used to make cookware. It is very responsive to heat as it is the best conductor of heat. Copper has about ten times the heat conductivity of stainless steel and glass, and twice that of aluminum. One problem with copper is that it interacts with everything it comes in contact with. To make the copper pots and pans safe to use, they are lined with tin, silver or stainless steel to protect any surface that would come in contact with any food.

Non-Stick: This type of cookware has a coating applied to them that prevents food from sticking and makes clean up easier. The non-stick surface is really an advantage when cooking some foods especially sticky foods and it also reduces the amount of fat that is normally required when cooking. The disadvantages are that they may become too easily damaged by spatulas, spoons, forks, etc., especially metal ones, and that their durability has a short life expectancy. Even the newest non-stick coatings will begin to lose their resistance to sticking after only a few years; sooner if the pan is constantly overheated or cleaned in the dishwasher or with harsh detergents.

Stainless Steel: It is the most versatile material to use because it keeps its bright shine and has good tensile strength, preventing it from denting easily. Stainless steel is a good material for any type of pan because it does not corrode and does not react with alkaline or acidic materials. Its primary disadvantage is that it is an even poor conductor of heat, so that constant movement of the food is required in order to cook it evenly. To make stainless utensils better equipped for heat conductivity and distribution, an important layer of conductive material, such as copper or aluminum, is often added to the bottom of the pan and, sometimes, all around the pan. The heat conductive quality of stainless is about one tenth that of copper and about one fifth that of aluminum.

Porcelain: Porcelains can usually be used on the stove, in conventional and microwave ovens, and even under the broiler, provided there is ample liquid inside. They can also be used for storage in the refrigerator or freezer, are virtually non-stick, and are dishwasher safe. Porcelain enamel is applied as a coating only on pots and pans made of other material, such as cast iron or aluminum. It prevents them from corroding or reacting with the food being cooked. A pan coated with porcelain on the inside cannot be used for sautéing or frying but will work as a saucepan and can be used in the oven.

Tempered Glass: Available as flameproof and ovenproof glassware. Both types of glassware hold heat well but are not heat responsive. The flameproof glassware, which is fairly expensive, can be used in the microwave, on the stovetop and in the oven. It heats unevenly, resulting in hot spots that cause food to stick. Ovenproof glassware can be used in the microwave and in the oven, but if used on the stovetop, it must be used with a diffuser.

Popular Brands of cookware: Some of the widely known and popular brands of cookware are- Calphalon, KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Pinzon, Farberware, Anolon and Circulon.