Kitchen equipment, how to choose...how to use.

People often times say, "if I had better pans my food would come out better".  While this statement may help you work through a cooking disaster it is most certainly untrue.  There are several things to consider when you go shopping for new kitchen equipment such as:

• How often you cook?
• How much space do you have?
• Do you like heavy or light weight cookware?
• Will you be the only one using it?

Let's start with the first thought, if you only cook 1 or 2 times a week at most then you may not want to spend top dollar for your pans when less expensive ones will suffice.  There are several brands of cookware that are considered a middle of the road level on both price and performance.  Now to our next question being about space.  This is where a good look into what types of meals you prepare will come in handy.  There are many pots, pans, as well as counter-top griddles that can be used in multiple applications.  Depending on your personal meal habits may mean the difference between buying 2 or 10 pieces.

Looking at what we've covered so far I feel that the best way to provide a user friendly means of selecting your cookware would be to list some different types.

Types of pans:

Saute Pan- There are a few varieties here mainly broken into 2 categories:
                   1. Straight side-if you plan on keeping contents in the pan for braising or searing
                   2. Sloped side- if you tend to toss items in the pan or if you cook things like crepes
                       or omelets that need to slide out of the pan.

Sauce Pan-
These are basically saute pans with taller sides, and there are usually 3 to a full set
                    
Stock Pot/Soup Pot-
Every kitchen should have one of these, most everyone makes soup from time to time.  The primary difference between a pot and a pan is that pots have 2 handles.

Roasting Pan- 
This is your standard pan for roasting a turkey or a large roast.  This is also the only pan that has 2 handles and is still referred to as a pan.  If you get one of these I recommend a good sturdy heavy one that will last.

As stated above, when you are selecting your cookware consider what pans will best fit what you like to cook.  You should also look at which pans can serve more than one purpose, this will eliminate you buying too many pans.

In the next post I will walk you through the difference why some pans cost so much more, and if there is really a benefit to spending the extra money.