by The Cool Cook

Created on: April 14, 2008

Walk into the kitchen department of any department store and what do you get? Rows and rows of gleaming pots and pans in every conceivable color, size, weight and heat resistant material. No wonder we get confused.

Let's get rid of the confusion right away - in the main, use stainless steel. No ifs, no buts, no 'but I read somewhere that......' Use stainless steel and here's why:

It cleans easily
It will last forever, just about
It's relatively inexpensive
It's hygienic
It's maintenance free
It cools down quickly. No, this is NOT a negative point. If you've ever burnt your hand on a copper or cast-iron pot ages after it came out of the oven you'll appreciate this feature
It will stand up to any amount of rough handling
It's virtually non-stick

In fact, I've yet to find a single downside to using stainless steel for ALL my kitchen implements; toaster and deep fat fryer included. There's just one proviso. With any items that are going to be placed directly on the heat, such as saucepans, make sure that these have a heavy metal base, which will usually be made of aluminum.

I do cheat a bit, by the way. I have an enameled cast-iron stockpot that I wouldn't be without for the world. You'll have your favorite pots too as time goes by. Nevertheless, if in doubt, buy stainless steel.

What do you need?

The chances are that you already have the basic equipment. You may even have a fully equipped kitchen. If you haven't, don't worry about it. Here's my best advice on pots, pans and anything else for that matter. Buy it when you need it.

Apply the same rules to the equipment you use as you would to the food you intend to cook with it. Go into just about any domestic kitchen and you'll find cupboards full of cookware that never gets used and never will get used. But it's cost a whole heap of money which has simply been a waste.

You don't need special items for every dish. Most of my cooking, and I suspect yours as well, is done in the same four pans, which consist of a roasting tin and rack, a large pot for pasta, a smaller one for rice, potatoes etc, and an even smaller one for sauces.

Oh, yes - and a skillet, of course, which is for browning, cooking eggs and passing things through the oven. Incidentally, it's a good idea to make sure that ALL your pots are oven-proof, even those you only intend to use on top of the stove. The day will come when you need to improvise. Maybe your favorite saucepan is the only thing you have which is the right size for your goats cheese souffl.

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