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What a cook wants: Pots and pans
By JANET K. KEELER © St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2000
"If we were stranded on a desert island," Wolf recounts, his distinctive voice dripping with seriousness, "what five pieces of kitchen equipment would we want with us?" Never mind books or CDs. After discussion they agreed: a saute pan with a lid, a sauce pan with a lid, a chef's knife, a pair of "really good tongs" and a stainless steel cooking spoon. The sauce pan couldn't be just any old sauce pan. "A Windsor. One that's narrower at the bottom than it is at the top to help get moisture out faster," says Wolf, host of several TV food/travel shows. And there will be nothing if not moisture on that island. For two pans to make Pepin's and Wolf's top five illustrates how indispensable cookware is. You'll notice, though, that Wolf didn't name brands. That's because there are many cookware lines on the market that would suffice in such a dire situation.
The first questions to ask, Wolf says, are "What are you going to cook?" and "How many people are you cooking for?" The answers to these questions determine the material your cookware should be made of and how big the pieces need to be. "Are you roasting? Then you need a roasting pan," Wolf says. "Sauteing? Saute pan. If you never make soups, then a stockpot might be a waste of money. If you pan-fry a lot of chicken, then a cast iron frying pan is your best shot." Elise Free, owner with her husband, Tom, of Beans About Cooking in Clearwater, adds to that list, "Who will be using the pots and pans? Just the cook or the whole family?" The more people using the cookware, the sturdier it needs to be. A gourmet cook might take extra care to use the right utensils on a non-stick surface; her 15-year-old teenager might not. Weight of the cookware is also a consideration. Free sells many German-made Berndes non-stick pieces to older cooks. They are small and lightweight, perfect for condo dwellers. When you pick up a pan, make sure it is comfortable. After answering these questions, consider your budget and whether you care if your pots and pans match. Then, begin the hunt. Wolf is not a fan of cookware sets because he says they often include unnecessary pieces. "I prefer buying pieces individually," Wolf says. That way, he says, he gets the pans he needs for the cooking he does. They may not match, but they will be used. Sets, however, offer better prices per piece, as long as you use the pieces. Cookware prices vary widely. At a grocery store, $20 can buy a 10-inch, non-stick frying pan, and department stores often run specials for multiple-piece sets for $75 or less. Then there are the darlings of Food Network devotees: All-Clad, KitchenAide, Scanpan and Calphalon. For these luxury lines, you'll pay about $350 and up for a seven-piece set. (The lids are counted as pieces, so a seven-piece set may only be four pans. Wolf and Pepin really would be taking seven items to that desert island!) Discount stores such as Marshalls and T.J. Maxx often have pieces of high-end cookware at reduced prices, though you aren't likely to get a full set. In between the high and the low, you'll find Farberware, Artisan, Chantal, Cuisinart, Revere Ware and new lines by Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart, among others. These lines run from about $150 to $250 for multiple-piece sets. Many manufacturers make several lines of pots and pans, including non-stick and a version of stainless. Calphalon, known for its high-end cookware, now sells a lower-priced line at Target. It is important to note that there is no material perfect for all types of cooking. For instance, non-stick cookware, because of the layers of synthetic coating, doesn't brown food as well as cast iron or aluminum. The dark coating on non-stick sauce pans makes it difficult to determine, by color, the doneness of a sauce. However, the draw of non-stick is the reduced need for fat in cooking and the ease of cleanup. Even cooks who own stainless often have a non-stick frying plan in their cabinet. "Anything that starts as a liquid and changes to a solid as a result of heat, such as eggs or pancakes, calls for non-stick," Wolf says. For many home cooks, the advantages of non-stick outweigh the disadvantages. Plus, new non-stick coatings are making pans more scratch-resistant. You won't, however, see many non-stick pans in commercial kitchens. For sauteing, which cooks food on the stove top at very high heat, a highly conductive metal such as copper or aluminum works best. Copper can leach into food, though, so you will find that metal mostly on the bottom of pans. The popular Revere Ware is a copper-clad stainless steel. (Another consideration is that copper pans have to be polished to keep their shine.) Stainless steel is not an even conductor of heat, and if you are considering a brand made from this, look for pans reinforced with a heat-conducting disc at the bottom. Unevenly distributed heat can burn food in one area and undercook it in another. Though aluminum is a great heat conductor, when it comes in contact with acidic foods, such as tomatoes, it can change the flavor and color. You've probably seen recipes that call for a "non-reactive aluminum" pan. This means a pan that conducts heat well but won't affect the food's taste or appearance. To counteract this, many aluminum pans are now anodized. Anodization is an electrochemical process that alters, hardens and blackens aluminum, buffering it from food. Most aluminum pans made today are coated with a non-reactive substance. Most expensive pans don't have non-stick coatings, but food is less likely to stick on thicker layers of metal that conduct heat well, unless, of course, you are frying an egg. Clean them by "deglazing," or boiling a liquid in them to remove any food left behind. You'll also find tempered glass cookware on the market, though it is probably the least appropriate for everyday use, says Nan Jensen, a home economist with the Pinellas County Cooperative Extension Service. "It is breakable and is uneven on the stove top." How the cookware sits on your stove top is another consideration. If you have a glass-top stove, make sure the bottoms of the pans are flat; otherwise, they wobble and cook unevenly. If the pots and pans you are considering don't say specifically that they are made for glass-top stoves, look at them yourself to ensure a flat bottom with no curved edges. At some stores, such as Target, the pots and pans cannot be removed from the displays to be inspected. Ask for help. Besides the material of the cookware surface, consider its construction. How hot will the handles get? Handles usually are made of different materials from the pot to slow the spread of heat from the cooking vessel. For inexperienced cooks, it might be better to get pots and pans with plastic handles that don't conduct heat. This way, the cook won't have to remember to grab the handles with potholders. How are the handles connected to the pots? Are they riveted to them, welded or screwed on? Riveted handles are sturdier. Screws come loose, and so will the handle eventually. The quality of the welding depends on the material. Lids keep food from splashing out of the pot, plus they control heat, evaporation and moisture during cooking. They should fit the pot well. What pots are essential for the basic kitchen? Jensen says every cook needs a decent-size frying pan or omelet pan, two sizes of sauce pans with lids and a stockpot with a lid. Even if you don't make soup, the stockpot comes in handy for cooking pasta. Any additional pieces would depend on the cook's needs. Above all, Wolf says, don't sacrifice function for convenience. If you want a cast iron skillet for fried chicken, a non-stick frying pan for Sunday morning omelets, an expensive aluminum and stainless sauce pan for your temperamental bechamel and a hand-me-down stockpot from Mom, get them. Know how you cook, and the cookware decisions will be easier.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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