Get Cooking with the Right Cookware

by Barbara J. Avery

(Originally published in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel)

Is your cupboard full of the cookware that you’ve had since you got married 20 years ago?  Or, are you just starting out and finding that your apartment kitchen is bereft of all but a microwave and a potless stove? It’s time to buy cookware. 

When you set out on your trek to find the perfect set of cookware, be forewarned that a small saucepan can cost more than $50.00, and a whole set will set you back several hundred dollars. Of course, that is, if you want cookware that will not only cook food but is durable and will last as long as your grandmother’s did.  Considering cost, it’s best to start out with a few good pieces, including 2, 8” or 9” saute pans or frying pans, a 1 to 2 quart sauce pan, and a 4 or 5 quart pot.  Don’t forget the lids. You can add a 7 quart stock pot later if you find that the pot sizes you have are restricting your culinary requirements..  If you’re limited for space, the ultimate cooking vessel that you should own is a crockpot.  It’s a one-dish miracle maker.  And, a cast iron skillet is indispensable for price and heat conductivity.

So, what is the stuff off which cookware is made?  How do you know if you have the right stuff?  You have your choice of five different materials.  If you have an unlimited budget, copper cookware is the classic choice.  It is heavy and provides the most even heating of the pot and pan types.  It’s great for high heat and fast cooking.  If your pocketbook is a little tighter, hard anodized aluminum is the way to go. It is one of the fastest growing and most popular materials today.  It has superior heat conducting ability and doesn’t react with acidic food such as tomatoes and wine. 

Is your budget smaller yet?  You can get plain aluminum cookware for a bit less than its anodized cousin.  It’s a great heat conductor, and is used by many restaurants because of its even heat conduction across the bottom and walls of the cookware. The thicker the aluminum the better.

If you are looking for the least expensive way to start or replace a set of cookware, stainless steel may be for you.  It doesn’t conduct heat as well as aluminum, but it is resistant to stains and doesn’t react to acidic foods.  Alone, it doesn’t conduct heat well, so look for a disk attached to the bottom of the pan that is made from copper or other good conductive metal.

Then there’s nonstick cookware, a cook’s dream since Teflon came on the stove top scene in 1946.  Nonstick surfaces have come a long way since then.  To make sure that you are buying a pot or pan that will be durable for the longest time, look at what the nonstick coating is covering. The better the metal it coats the longer the coating will last.  Nonstick is touchy, so don’t use your metal spatulas and other utensils in it.  Once the coating is scratched, it’s harder to clean than if you’d had no coating at all.

If you have anodized aluminum taste on a stainless steel budget, watch for sales.  If you are willing to collect one piece at a time, different pieces of cookware are featured at times through the year at local stores.  You get a great price and a workhorse pieces of cookware.

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