As a professional chef, a lot of times people request me to recommend what kinds of kitchen cookware are preferable. This is because there are already a lot of different types and brands of kitchen pots and pans to choose from. Depending on your budget, you have a wild selection when it comes to the prices.
If there is no limit on your budget, you may opt for high-end brands. Or perhaps buy kitchen cookware sets instead of per piece. If you are on a tight budget, you may opt for cheap pots and pans. What is important to know is what and how frequently you will use your pot and pans. This will determine which cookware is best for you.
To give my personal preference on what is the best pots and pans I consider based on my experience with them. I will briefly discuss each of them below.
Cast Iron Kitchen Cookware
Cast iron cooking pots and pans are great for preparing healthy dishes. Especially with one-dish recipes, I would recommend using cast iron. Some of the dishes you can prepare are pork chops, pasta, and frittatas. Dishes that you should avoid preparing using cast iron cookware are dishes that have acidic recipes. These are tomato or lemon as they may react with the iron.
For cast iron pots and pan sets to last a lifetime, maintaining their quality is important. You must take appropriate care to achieve this. As you may have already realized, cast iron pot pans weigh a lot compared to stainless steel pots and pans. Others made of different materials like glass or ceramic are also lighter. One must be careful when handling it, especially when hot, as dropping it may cause irreparable damage.
Cleaning and storing cast iron pots and pan sets also involve a different process called seasoning. Seasoning is putting a sort of coating on the iron cookware by greasing it and heating it in an oven. We will discuss the process in detail shortly.
Once you have seasoned the cast iron kitchen cookware, it is ready for use. After this, you must only treat it with warm water, and not with dishwashing soap. The only time you may clean with dishwashing liquid is when you just bought it and took it out of its original packaging. You should do this because there may be some waxy residue that serves as a protective cover for the new cookware. After the first wash involving dishwashing liquid, you have to season the cookware and the next washes will no longer involve dishwashing liquid.
Cookware Tips
Going back to the process of seasoning your cast iron pots and pans sets, you must first make sure it is completely dry before you apply any coating. You must also preheat your oven to 350 degrees in preparation for cooking or seasoning your cast iron kitchen pots and pans. Apply a thin layer of edible oil on the inner and outer part of the cookware and place this in the preheated oven, letting it stay for about 30 minutes.
The inner part of the cookware should be placed in the oven where the inner part is facing down. It is recommended that you place a stray or foil on the under rack where the cookware is being cooked to serve as an oil drip trap. Once this is done, your cookware is ready to use. You may repeat this procedure from time to time but not necessarily each time you use the cookware. This will ensure that your cookware will be passed on to the generations to come.
To get more information about other types of cookware, check out other kitchen pots and pans reviews.