Cookware for a Healthy Kitchen » pots and pans

Hard Anodized Aluminum

Kitchen Diva — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:08:18 +0000

Hard Anodized Aluminum

Pots and pans!!?

What's the difference between stainless steel, cast iron, non-stick, aluminum, hard-anodized products. Are they used in different types of cooking or something?? cheers

Stainless steel is just that..it is cookware that holds its finish whether you are cooking acidic ingredients or just sauteing

Cast iron is heavy duty cast iron cookware that has been used for centuries. It is thick walled and is good for stove top, roasting or baking as well as campfires. It cannot be
used with most ceramic or smooth topped stoves as it will scratch the surface.

Non stick is any type of cookware that has an applied surface that keeps food from sticking during its preparation. Some surfaces are better than others.

Aluminum can be the thick walled variety that is cast, like cast iron, or it can be the conventional thickness of ordinary cook ware. It heats at a different rate than other types. It also can show stains from cooking some foods and sticking can be a problem.

Hard anodized is an actual process where the metal is treated in such a way that it has non stick properties, but isn't applied like most non-stick coatings. It is preferable to nonstick types.

I can only give you my experience as far as what to use when cooking. Because I don't believe in buying "sets" of cookware. I believe in buying cookware for what I cook.

One of the things that are important to me is whether the bottoms have at least triple ply of heat conductive metals and won't warp.

Another is that they all have metal handles so that I can put them in the oven if needed to finish a dish.

I prefer 18/10 stainless steel but am not opposed to Calphalon.

I want the tops of my pots and pans to have glass tops so that I can see at a glance what's going on. Cast iron is exempted from this.

I want my individual omelet pans to be hard anodized as well as my 14 inch frying pans. Soup pots need to fit my burner size and be fairly deep. Saute' pan and sauteuse don't need to be anodized.

I swear by my LeCreuset (porcelain over cast iron) and regular cast iron for roasting, and slow oven cooking.

I like to pan sear steaks over gas using my cast iron, also.

My wok is heavy duty steel and I only use it on my gas burner, not my ceramic top.

My crepe pans are also hard anodized and work beautifully but any well made 8 inch pan can work if dealt with properly.

My camp gear cookware is mostly aluminum, some is hard anodized and my cast iron fills in the gaps. I don't take the expensive stainless cookware out on bar b ques and camp dinners because it isn't necessary and I don't want it to get dinged up. Besides, it's to fancy looking for camp dinners.

Here's what I have for cast iron and what I use it for. (most of it was inherited and has been in use for over 80 years as my family used it long before I was born).

Deep dutch oven:
Pork roast, roasted chicken, potato and ham casserole, roasted beef brisket, pork loin and apples, any kind of soup

Deep fry skillet
French fries, Indian fry bread, hush puppies, apple fitters, corn fritters, filled fruit pastry, meat pastries, fried fish or fried cat fish

10 inch skillet
Omelets, fritters, apple cake, upside down cake, gravy, chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken cutlets, caramelised onions, bell pepper saute', corn tortillas, fajitas

Corn stick molds: Jalapeno cornbread, sweet cormbread

Round Scone molds: Scones, sticky buns, cinnamon buns, camp French toast rounds

I have all the way down to a 4 inch skillet and very old sauce pots which you never see nowadays in cast iron. I use the pots for keeping maple syrup warm, or gravies and sauces warm after they have been made in the larger vessels. I also use the smallest fry pan for melting butter in.

My aluminum cookware is good for steaming, boiling and deep frying, as well. I also use it for cooking rice, or for cooking potato cubes or pasta for salads. I even use it for mixing things in like the soup pots. Better than a bowl sometimes.

Hope you don't mind the long answer, but your question was a good one and deserving of a full answer.

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NEW IN PACKAGE CALPHALON NONSTICK OMELETTE PAN SET 8 AND 10 INCH
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Deluxe Gourmet Set

Kitchen Diva — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 12:40:08 +0000

Deluxe Gourmet Set

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Using such good pans will bring a lot of enjoyment to your cooking. Good tools make the work easier!!

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Equip Your Kitchen With Healthy Pots And Pans

Kitchen Diva — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:28:26 +0000

Often a gathering place, and certainly one of the most used rooms in the house, the kitchen is a very important part of the home. Since meal preparation is a vital part of maintaining good health, the kitchen needs to be equipped with healthy pots and pans to make it easier for the cook to prepare nutritious, good-tasting food.

What Makes Healthy Pots And Pans?

There is such a wide variety of cookware available today that choosing the right set of pots and pans for a healthy kitchen can seem a very daunting task. Each type of cookware has some unique features, with different types of lids, handles and cooking surfaces. However, the biggest difference is the specific material used to manufacture the pots and pans.

The most common materials for cookware are aluminum, copper, steel and cast iron. There are even pots and pans made of glassware, allowing the same pot to be used on the range top, oven, broiler, refrigerator, freezer and microwave.

Healthy pots and pans will allow you to cook your food safely, without any of the materials from the cookware leaching into the food.

Pros and Cons of Different Cookware Materials

Aluminum is one of the most commonly used materials for cookware because it is such a great heat conductor. However, there is some controversy as to the safety of aluminum since it is thought to contribute to health problems, and some aluminum may leach into foods cooked in that type of pan. This process is accelerated when a pan is dented, or when used to cook highly acidic foods such at tomatoes or citrus fruits.

Anodized aluminum cookware is a safer alternative. The electro-chemical anodizing process prevents the aluminum from leaching, and makes a good cooking surface that is scratch-resistant. Calphalon hard-anodized cookware is an example of anodized aluminum pots and pans.

Copper is a very efficient type of cookware, because it is also a very good conductor of heat. It allows for even cooking and an efficient use of energy. However, this material can also leach into food as the cooper heats up, so the interior cooking surfaces are usually lined with another material, such as steel.

Stainless steel is often considered a good material for healthy pots and pans. Since it is made of a mixture of different metals, including nickel, chromium and molybdenum, there is some possibility of these leaching into foods. However, unless the pots and pans are pretty beat-up with lots of dings and pits, it’s not likely much of these metals would actually get into food, so stainless steel is generally thought to be good cookware for a healthy kitchen.

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Cast Iron Makes Healthy Pots And Pans

Cast iron cookware has been around for a long time. This material makes heavy pots and pans that take a long time to heat up, but the cast iron also holds the heat for a long time, even at a low temperature. Besides that, it cools off slowly, and these characteristics are sometimes advantageous when cooking.

The weight of the pans make them great at heat distribution, but the disadvantage is hefting the pans in and out of storage and onto the stovetop or in the oven. One way to make this easier is to use a rack for hanging pots and pans close to the stove.

Cast iron is also one kind of material that is okay to have leaching in small amounts into your food since iron is an essential nutrient for human beings. It also has the advantage of building a natural non-stick surface through the carbonization process of heating oils and fats on the cooking surface.

However, one of the biggest drawbacks to cast iron cookware for some people is the fact it is not dishwasher safe. Once it’s well seasoned, it is easy to clean, but for cooks that don’t want to deal with the seasoning process, enameled cast iron can provide a good alternative. This makes the cookware dishwasher safe and somewhat nonstick.

Glass Or Ceramic Cookware

Non-porous glass-ceramic cookware is non-reactive, so does not absorb food odors or flavors. It also does not react with acid-based foods, or leach materials into the food. It is ideal for water based cooking and dishwasher safe. Corning Ware and Visions Cookware are a couple of better known examples of this type of healthy pots and pans.

Ceramic (pottery) cookware is made with clay that has a glaze, a sort of glass coating. The wrong kind of glaze or decorative pigments can cause health problems. For instance, in the past lead was often used in glazes and leached into food. Lead is now known to be a health hazard. Stick with a reputable manufacturer from a country that has safety standards in place for ceramics used for cooking.

Making A Choice Of Materials For Healthy Pots And Pans

All these various materials have different advantages and disadvantages when it comes to healthy cooking. Choose one that fits your criteria and lifestyle, and aim for healthy pots and pans in your kitchen!
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7 Piece Chef Graphite Nonstick Cookware
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