Stainless Steel Cookware: What To Look For

When you are cooking up culinary treats in the kitchen, you want to be able to use The Best Pots And Pans possible for what you can afford.  Stainless steel cookware could be the answer you are looking for as it is durable, versatile and perfect for amateur and professional kitchens alike!

What do you need to look out for when buying stainless steel?

The price is usually the first thing you look at, buy within your means; you don’t want to have to re-mortgage the house to get a good set of pans!

The quality of stainless steel is based on a ratio of chromium and nickel.  18/10 stainless steel the best and ‘the one’ to look out for as, unlike 18/0 or 18/8 stainless steel, it has added benefits including being very hardwearing and rust resistant.

Sadly, stainless steel is not considered the greatest conductor of heat. Because of this, many cookware makers will ‘clad’ cookware.  This is a tri-ply construction technique that uses aluminium and sandwiches it between two layers of stainless steel.  This allows fantastic heat conduction and improved cookware!

ProCook designs, manufactures and supplies 3 different ranges of stainless steel cookware at 3 great, better, best prices.


Gourmet Steel Cookware

Built to offer incredible strength and versatility at an amazingly low price the Gourmet steel Cookware range is made from the highest quality stainless steel and will never tarnish or discolour.

With a 4mm encapsulated base they boast even heat distribution across the base and each pan features a stay-cool silicone handle which is riveted for extra strength.

The Saucepans benefit from a useful strain & pour design that involves each pan having pouring lips on either side of the pan, making them suitable for both left and right handers.  And toughened heat-resistant glass lids with steel rims and large and small draining holes to safely drain contents.

Read More

How To Take Care Of A Non-Stick Frying Pan

The one piece of cookware that most people could not live without would be a frying pan.  They can be used for anything from scrambling eggs to frying and shallow frying, sauces, poaching and stir-frying.
The main benefit of a non-stick frying pan, especially for those on a diet, is that oil is not necessary for cooking.

A good quality frying pan should be in your kitchen for many years, so how can you take care of it?

The first thing to do is take a good look at the care instructions, which can be found on most of our product pages.  I know many of us think it is more fun to work things out for ourselves, but many people have been cleaning their pans wrongly from the day dot.

So how can you take care of your non-stick frying pan?

Don’t cook on too high a heat!

High temperature cooking can warp the pan and cause the non-stick coating to crack and reduce performance when cooking.  Also, you risk burning your food, so keep the temperature low to mid and enjoy perfectly cooked food.  This will also reduce the amount of food residue you have to clean off afterwards.

Plastic Utensils and Storing

Avoid using metal utensils when using your non-stick pan and definitely don’t cut anything using a knife in the pan.   Once you scratch the surface, the non-stick coating will be damaged and it will be the beginning of the end.  Use silicone, wooden or nylon utensils, including tongs, to avoid this problem.
A great way to store pans without them scratching is to hang them from a shelf or pot hanger.  All of our cookware comes complete with an integral hanging loop so they are easy to store.
If you don’t have the luxury of lots of space and have to stack pans, place a piece of kitchen towel, napkin or bubble wrap between each pan to avoid unwanted scratches.

Cleaning

The quickest way to destroy your new non-stick frying pan is to wash it in the sink with an abrasive sponge or scourer.  You will rub off, little by little, the protective coating on your pan.
Warm soapy water and a nylon sponge should work perfectly and won’t harm your pan.
Another option is; after using the pan, fill it with boiling water and simmer gently on a medium heat for a few minutes.  Rinse in the sink and then dry immediately with a soft cloth or kitchen towel.

Cleaning by hand is always best.

So there you have it, some top tips to preserve the lifespan of your non-stick frying pans.  These tips work across the full range of non-stick pots and pans and will save you money in the long run.

Read More

How To Season Non-Stick Frying Pans

Like all hard-working tools, your frying pans need looking after if they’re going to stay in good condition, work properly and last for years.

Though many people know it’s necessary to season cast iron pans, few realise that seasoning your non-stick frying pans is just as important if you want to achieve the very best culinary results.

So if you’ve recently invested in a brand new pan or even replaced all of the cookware in your kitchen, here’s how to season your non-stick frying pans and get fantastic results every time.

Preparing your pan

The first thing you’ll need to do once you’ve purchased a new non-stick frying pan is to give it a thorough clean. This should remove any residue left over from packaging and ensure you’ve got a clean surface to work with.

Seasoning your pan

Once you’ve made sure the pan is completely dry, cover it in a thin layer of oil and place it an oven heated to around 300˚F.

Leave the pan in the oven for around an hour, remove it and then let it cool. When completely cold, wipe away any excess oil with a kitchen towel or tea towel and your pan should be ready to go.

Maintaining your pan

In order to maintain a good quality non-stick surface, it’s a good idea to season your pan every six months.

This will help to keep the surface in good condition and ensure that you always get great results when cooking with it.

When cleaning your seasoned, non-stick pans, always use a nonabrasive brush or sponge and try to use gentle washing up liquids.

Avoid heating your non-stick pan to too high a heat as this can damage the non-stick surface and leave your pan looking scorched.

Reviving old pans

If you have any old frying pans that have seen better days, it may be possible to revive them be re-seasoning the surface.

Firstly, you’ll need to make sure the pan is completely clean (soak in vinegar to remove any burnt on residue), and then simply season as you would a new frying pan.

If your pan is in especially poor condition, repeat the seasoning process a few times to ensure the surface becomes truly non-stick.

By seasoning your non-stick pans properly, you can not only increase their lifespan, you can also make life a lot easier for yourself, preventing the need for tough washing up and enhancing your culinary results.

Read More

Cheap Sauce Pans

When it comes to saucepans, it’s definitely worth investing in the best you can afford. As with so many things, quality always shines through in the end and your choice of cooking equipment is no different. Buying a good set of pans is investing in the right tools to help you cook delicious meals for many years to come.

We’ve all bought cheap pans and often lived to regret it. When you’re just starting out in your new home or trying to get by on a student budget, buying the cheapest set of saucepans available can be tempting. If all you want to do is boil an egg or warm up some soup then just about any kind of saucepan will do the job. As soon as you start getting a bit more ambitious, however, cooking dishes that require a sauce or a rich stew that is best cooked long and slow and at a constant temperature, cheap pans will often let you down.

Cheap pans, made from inferior material have a tendency to get too hot and stay hot, or not get hot enough. The end result can be sauces stuck or burnt on to the bottom of the pan and your meal ruined! Worse than that, it’s easy to permanently damage the coating of a cheap pan trying to clean off burnt on sauce or food. Buying a good set of quality pans won’t make you into a great cook overnight but at least you won’t be let down by inferior equipment and washing up afterwards will be a lot easier as well.

At ProCook, you can buy a set of four saucepans, or bigger sets of six, eight or even the complete ten piece set that will ensure you have the right pan for whatever you’re cooking. And buying a set of saucepans means you’ll get a good discount as well, so you’ll end up saving money in the end.

Ideally, you want to have a few different sized saucepans, including a saute pan; a frying pan is essential in any kitchen and is incredibly versatile, while a stock pot will last you a lifetime. Saucepans are made from various materials, including stainless steel, cast iron, aluminium and hard anodised. The ProCook Professional Anodised range of saucepans keeps it simple and can be used on all hob types, apart from induction. Induction hob saucepans sets will be the perfect match for your hob while a set of stainless steel pans look great and will inspire you to get cooking!

Read More