Pots and pans are essential in every kitchen. They are available in different sizes and shapes, and picking the right one helps to cook better and faster. Meanwhile, choosing pots and pans depends on the type of cooking and the quantity of food cooked. And the most used kitchen utensils are the frying pan, saucepan, saute pan, Dutch oven, and skillet. As such, saucepans are the most common type of cookware found in all kitchens because they are versatile and irreplaceable.
Most Used Cookware in the Kitchen
Frying Pans
A frying pan is a flat-bottomed metal pan with outward flaring sides and a long handle. They are made of stainless steel, aluminium, copper, or cast iron, and they hold heat longer than other pans and can cook food quickly and evenly. Frying pans are used for sauteing and steam frying but not for stir-frying, and they are used for frying food over moderate to high heat.
Saucepans
They have tall and straight edges with a long handle, and they come in a range of sizes and are the best choice for tasks like simmering and boiling. Meanwhile, most saucepans are made of stainless steel because of their ability to conduct heat evenly and withstand high temperatures. The most significant feature of such a pan is its size, as it is smaller than the other types of cookware in the kitchen. Besides, it has a lid and helps cook small quantities of food or simmer sauces.
Saute Pans
A saute pan has a wide flat bottom with straight sides, a long handle, and a lid. It’s ideal for sauteing, shallow frying, and searing because of its wide surface area. Meanwhile, saute pans come with a lid that helps to lock in heat and moisture. The straight sides of the saute pan hold more liquid and reduce the splashing of the liquid when the pan is moved. As a result, the saute pan has the best qualities of a saucepan and a frying pan.
Dutch Oven
Dutch ovens have a flat bottom with vertical sides and a handle on two sides. Generally, they are made of cast iron or aluminium and come with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are thick-walled and heavy, and they conduct and retain heat and are deep enough to hold large pieces of meat and a sufficient quantity of cooking liquid. They are used for cooking soups, stews, pasta, and braise meat because it heats up evenly and retains high temperatures.
Skillet
A skillet has a flat, broad surface that allows heat to distribute evenly. It is made of aluminium, cast iron, or steel and has become the ideal choice for grilling vegetables and barbeque-style food. Besides, since the skillet is shallow, it is easier to flip food like pancakes, bacon, and burgers. In addition, the food cooked using a skillet doesn’t trap any moisture and turns crispy.
How to Choose Cookware
Choosing and buying cookware is a challenging task, and people need to consider certain things before choosing them, such as:
Heat Conductivity
Some metals conduct heat better than others, and a better heat conductor transfers the heat evenly while cooking. As such, when the cooking temperature is increased, copper cookware reacts quickly to the temperature change.
Durability
Some cookware lasts longer and maintains its good looks even if they have been used often. And stainless steel cookware is the most durable and scratch resistant. It does not react to any ingredient used in cooking and handles all cooking techniques.
Maintenance
Taking care of the cookware makes them last for many years. And stainless steel cookware is easy to maintain and dishwashable. They do not get stained by the food cooked in them. Meanwhile, copper and cast iron cookware need more work to keep them looking pristine. On the other hand, aluminium cookware gets scratched easily.
Reactivity
The material of the pot or pan should not chemically react with the food cooked in it. It should not cause any undesirable change in colour or taste. As such, ceramic and stainless steel cookware is non-reactive, whereas copper, iron, aluminium, and steel are reactive. And acidic foods are not to be cooked in cookware made of reactive materials.
A kitchen must have all types of pots and pans to do different kinds of cooking. However, the saucepan plays the most significant role in all kitchens. It is an excellent pan for cooking anything that has high liquid content. As such, pots and pans enable people to cook various dishes as per their preferences.