02-14-2022, 06:34 AM
A few well-chosen pieces—starting with a good stockpot and a heavy sauté pan—can make a big difference
As a Fine Cooking editor, I’ve had the chance to observe lots of great cooks at work. From them, I’ve learned plenty—including the fact that good-quality pots and Frying Pans made of the right materials really can improve your cooking.
I polled some of our authors to find out which Cartoon Mini Egg Pans were the most valuable to them and why. I then came up with six pieces, starting with two indispensables: an anodized-aluminum stockpot to handle stocks, soups, stews, some sauces, blanching, boiling, and steaming; and a high-sided stainless-steel/aluminum sauté pan with a lid for frying, deglazing sauces, braising small items like vegetables, making sautés and fricassées, cooking rice pilafs and risottos, and a whole lot more. The other four pieces I picked make for even more cooking agility and add up to half a dozen ready-for-action pots and pans that you’ll really use (see For every pot, there’s a purpose…).
A. Calphalon 8-quart (or bigger) stockpot, with lid. Simmer soup or cook a big batch of tomato sauce in this sturdy, nonreactive stockpot. It will do double-duty for boiling pasta and steaming vegetables, too.
B. All-Clad 3-quart sauté pan, with lid. Stainless coating with aluminum sandwiched all the way through makes for a responsive, durable, attractive Grill Pan. Great for frying, deglazing, and, of course, sautés. And it goes from stove to oven.
A. Calphalon 8-quart (or bigger) stockpot, with lid. Simmer soup or cook a big batch of tomato sauce in this sturdy, nonreactive stockpot. It will do double-duty for boiling pasta and steaming vegetables, too.
B. All-Clad 3-quart sauté pan, with lid. Stainless coating with aluminum sandwiched all the way through makes for a responsive, durable, attractive Grill Pan. Great for frying, deglazing, and, of course, sautés. And it goes from stove to oven.
In a well-stocked kitchen store, you’ll see lots of first-rate pots and Square Grill Pans. They may look different, but they all share essential qualities you should look for.A pan should feel comfortable. “When you’re at the store, pantomime the way you’d use Soup & Stock Pots or pan to find out if it’s right for you,” advises Fine Cooking contributing editor and chef Molly Stevens. If you find a pan you love but you aren’t completely comfortable with the handle, you can buy a rubber gripper to slip over the handle. Just remember that grippers aren’t ovenproof.
Some pans need special talents
Depending on what you’ll be cooking in the pan, you may also need to look for other attributes.
For sautéing and other cooking that calls for quick temperature changes, a pan should be responsive. This means that the Baking Dishes & Pans are doing what the heat source tells it to, and pronto. For example, if you sauté garlic just until fragrant and then turn down the flame, the pan should cool down quickly so the garlic doesn’t burn. Responsiveness isn’t as crucial for boiling, steaming, or the long, slow cooking that stocks and stews undergo.
As a Fine Cooking editor, I’ve had the chance to observe lots of great cooks at work. From them, I’ve learned plenty—including the fact that good-quality pots and Frying Pans made of the right materials really can improve your cooking.
I polled some of our authors to find out which Cartoon Mini Egg Pans were the most valuable to them and why. I then came up with six pieces, starting with two indispensables: an anodized-aluminum stockpot to handle stocks, soups, stews, some sauces, blanching, boiling, and steaming; and a high-sided stainless-steel/aluminum sauté pan with a lid for frying, deglazing sauces, braising small items like vegetables, making sautés and fricassées, cooking rice pilafs and risottos, and a whole lot more. The other four pieces I picked make for even more cooking agility and add up to half a dozen ready-for-action pots and pans that you’ll really use (see For every pot, there’s a purpose…).
A. Calphalon 8-quart (or bigger) stockpot, with lid. Simmer soup or cook a big batch of tomato sauce in this sturdy, nonreactive stockpot. It will do double-duty for boiling pasta and steaming vegetables, too.
B. All-Clad 3-quart sauté pan, with lid. Stainless coating with aluminum sandwiched all the way through makes for a responsive, durable, attractive Grill Pan. Great for frying, deglazing, and, of course, sautés. And it goes from stove to oven.
A. Calphalon 8-quart (or bigger) stockpot, with lid. Simmer soup or cook a big batch of tomato sauce in this sturdy, nonreactive stockpot. It will do double-duty for boiling pasta and steaming vegetables, too.
B. All-Clad 3-quart sauté pan, with lid. Stainless coating with aluminum sandwiched all the way through makes for a responsive, durable, attractive Grill Pan. Great for frying, deglazing, and, of course, sautés. And it goes from stove to oven.
In a well-stocked kitchen store, you’ll see lots of first-rate pots and Square Grill Pans. They may look different, but they all share essential qualities you should look for.A pan should feel comfortable. “When you’re at the store, pantomime the way you’d use Soup & Stock Pots or pan to find out if it’s right for you,” advises Fine Cooking contributing editor and chef Molly Stevens. If you find a pan you love but you aren’t completely comfortable with the handle, you can buy a rubber gripper to slip over the handle. Just remember that grippers aren’t ovenproof.
Some pans need special talents
Depending on what you’ll be cooking in the pan, you may also need to look for other attributes.
For sautéing and other cooking that calls for quick temperature changes, a pan should be responsive. This means that the Baking Dishes & Pans are doing what the heat source tells it to, and pronto. For example, if you sauté garlic just until fragrant and then turn down the flame, the pan should cool down quickly so the garlic doesn’t burn. Responsiveness isn’t as crucial for boiling, steaming, or the long, slow cooking that stocks and stews undergo.