The process of cooking should take place not only in a comfortable environment, but using the right types of kitchenware. Therefore, having bought a kitchen, you should think about choosing new quality cookware.
The assortment varies not only in purpose and design, but also in the materials used in the manufacture and defining the main properties of this or that product. Considering the main characteristics, it will be much easier to choose convenient, durable, safe and high-quality kitchen utensils.
The Basic Set For Cooking
- A big pot (usually five liters). It will come in handy for cooking soups, but also for making pasta, for example.
- A medium saucepan (three liters). It’s a good way to cook side dishes. If it has a low side, it will also come in handy when stewing, for example, stews. A small saucepan or sautépan. It can be used to boil porridge, make sauces, boil milk.
- Large skillet with high rim. Can be used to cook meat, fish or poultry.
- Low-sided pancake pan. It is convenient to use not only for frying pancakes, but also for cooking cheesecakes, pancakes. This pan must be lightweight, with a non-stick coating.
- A frying pan. It can be used to cook vegetables, eggs, omelets. It is more convenient to use a Teflon skillet with a medium or high board and a lid.
Extra utensils
- Cutting boards – you need several: for bread, meat, fruits and vegetables, seafood, and groceries. We also recommend renewing old chopping boards once a year, especially since this complies with hygiene standards.
- Set of knives. The necessary minimum is three to five pieces for different products.
- A set of kitchen “helpers”. Spatula, whisk, ladle, strainer, mashed potato jug, colander and strainer.
- A set of different containers. Choose the containers, bowls and salad bowls of your choice.
Of course, the list can go on forever: coasters, chef’s spoons and forks, wooden spoons, tongs for turning over frying, tweezers for cleaning fish, all kinds of containers for spices, salt, sugar and so on… But all this you choose to your taste and in the style of the kitchen interior.
If you’re on a tight budget
- for a family of two people is usually enough two pans of different sizes, two small pots, ladle, small forms for baking
- a family with children of 3 to 4 people, a set of dishes for the house should consist of four pans for cooking main dishes, pancakes and fritters, three different size pots, a few forms for baking
Many people buy entire sets of pots, some of which never show up on the stove. However, if you have enough for 2-3 items, it is better to buy pans or pans individually and not overload your workspace.
The right cookware for the kitchen: what is it?
The main characteristics that kitchen utensils should have are the following:
- Ergonomics (convenience and ease of use)
- High quality (durability and strength)
- Environmental safety
- Attractive appearance
Types of Cookware Material
The most important factor is the material of manufacture. Each type of product has its own advantages and disadvantages, which you need to pay attention to when choosing to make it really successful.
Stainless Steel
- The most hygienic are models created from alloy steel, which has a high degree of corrosion resistance.
- Environmentally friendly and completely harmless because it does not react with food during cooking. It is convenient and easy to cook and store cooked food.
- Uniform distribution of heat, thanks to the heat distribution layer of several metal levels.
The disadvantage is the high cost, since really high-quality stainless steel products do not cost cheap by definition.
Tips from the experts:
Be sure to look at the composition: cheap models are often made with the addition of copper, which is dangerous for health. Proper stainless steel cookware is an alloy of iron, chromium (18%) and nickel (10%).
Aluminum Cookware
- This is an inexpensive cookware that has the lowest degree of safety if made without an oxide coating.
- Aluminum cookware has good thermal conductivity. They can be coated with Teflon.
- Manufacturers offer modern products with an oxide coating and made of impact-resistant anodized aluminum. The advantages include non-stick properties.
Tips from the experts:
The thickness of the bottom directly depends on the quality characteristics of products;
Aluminum utensils can not store cooked food;
aluminum has a negative contact with acidic and alkaline environment, so not all products can be cooked.
Cast Iron Cookware
Cast-iron pans and sauté pans are found in most old kitchens. It is the first material to make its way into industrial use. Cast iron cookware is durable, holds heat well and has relatively good nonstick characteristics.
Cookware made of cast iron has a significant advantage. Some dishes cooked in it, unlike other materials, have unmatched taste characteristics, which is the main criterion of choice for some housewives.
Proper care and regular heating will allow cast iron products to serve a long operational period. The only thing that can stop you from buying – heavy weight.
Enamel Cookware
Good for cooking and storing all kinds of food. It is made by thermally applying a thin vitreous coating on the metal.
For all its advantages, enamel is prone to warping and has the lowest non-stick properties. Cracks can form with sudden temperature changes, uneven heating or shocks.
Damaged product is no longer suitable for further use.
When choosing, you should remember that light-colored products are less conductive, so it is better to choose models with a darker shade or with a darkened bottom.
Teflon Сoating
Teflon coating at one time made a furor and every housewife had a desire to buy at least a frying pan with such non-stick protection. Indeed, it is possible to cook even without the use of fats, without fear that the products will stick.
To the minus attribute fastidiousness in operation:
careful use without metal accessories;
susceptibility to deformation, after which the products are absolutely not suitable, because there is a possibility of release when heated biologically hazardous substances;
Overheating Teflon contributes to the evaporation of carcinogens, dangerous to health.
Glassware
Cookware that you can buy today from modern heat-resistant glass is the safest and most versatile. Glass products are chemically inert, that is, they are safe glassware that does not emit any substances that are hazardous to health and do not come into contact with the food that is cooked in it.
They are resistant to burning and grease formation, easy to clean and unlike other materials in long-term use does not lose its original appearance.
The disadvantages include high cost and fragility. With improper use, glass is exposed to the formation of cracks, especially in case of sharp temperature fluctuations.
Tips from the experts:
Always use cooking oil or water before you put it on the fire;
hot glass must cool down before further manipulation.
Despite the significant advantages of the rationality of buying products made of glass is worth thinking about, because the glass fragility is worth a considerable monetary investment.
Tips for Types of Kitchenware
- All dishes of the same design
Black, graphite, gray or white tableware allows you to serve dishes with style and does not create unnecessary visual stains. Optimally, if you’re not used to separating holiday and non-festive tableware – basic solutions always work.
Dishes from the same set look stylish in the kitchen, especially if matched with the color of the fronts. This approach has another advantage – in an open kitchen-living room, such dishes will be visually less noticeable and the kitchen will not look like a purely utilitarian area.
- Holiday tableware – in plain sight
If your family keeps a collection of holiday tableware, plan for glass display cabinets with lighting so you don’t have to put outdated sideboard counterparts in the living room. The kitchen will look unusual, stylish and noble.
- Unusual accent pieces on the countertop.
They set a special mood in the kitchen, make it cozier and more modern. Attracting the eye of the entrant, accent positions distract from the rest of the kitchen environment – due to this you can change the style and atmosphere of the space without much investment.
If you buy stylish chopping boards and a transparent sea pink salt bottle, ordinary utilitarian items in the kitchen will become accent design objects.
Сonclusion
- Pay attention to small chips, scratches, bubbles, bumps and discard such utensils in favor of a solid, even surface.
- Other things being equal, you should prefer dishes with thicker walls and more layers of coating (if any).
- Screwed or monolithic handles are more practical than welded ones.
- The native lid should fit tightly to the cookware and stay on it even if it is tilted.
- Check the stability of the cookware and how flat its bottom is.
Choose the right cookware for your stove and your cooking preferences, take care of it, then it will last a long time and will be a faithful assistant in cooking delicious dishes!