If you have ever whipped up a meal that left you underwhelmed or, worse,
calling for a pizza, you may have been left wondering what went wrong,
especially if you were following a recipe.
They say bad workmen blame their tools but, with good gourmet cooking, if you don’t have the right equipment then you will struggle to produce the impressive meals that you see on TV.
You may have been put off by the sheer variety in cookware sets; questioning why you need so many pots and pans, but there is a reason so many different pieces exist. They serve a precise purpose and are made to produce specific foods perfectly. You can’t just stick everything in one pot and hope for the best if you want to produce something special.
Each piece that you see in cookware sets is unique and will cook in a different way, meaning some foods just will not cook well in certain pans. Cooking a soup or producing a stock in a wok, for example, will never get you good results because of the shape and design.
A wok is designed for quick, nimble frying and will do a poor job for low simmering foods because the heat will not distribute evenly. Similarly, a large, basic sauce pan is, despite the name, a poor choice for cooking sauces and gravies. Instead, a saucier pan is shaped for better temperature control and easier liquid evaporation, making it a much better choice for creating the perfect sauce.
As important as the different designs are,consider the different materials used to make the best cookware sets. Whilst your simple pan will probably be made from stainless steel, cookware sets may be made from copper, cast iron, aluminium or a mix of these different materials.
This range of choice lets you have better heat convection for quicker, even cooking, and will be less reactive with the food, protecting the flavours. This all plays an important role in producing gourmet food, as opposed to the simple, one-pot meals from your student days, and makes choosing the right cookware set an important task if you want perfect meals.
Good cooking is a source of pride for many of us and nothing is more disappointing than a bland or unsavoury meal. Don’t let poor equipment affect your cooking: take the plunge on a good cookware set to give yourself the best chance of serving up a meal that will put a smile on everyone’s face.
They say bad workmen blame their tools but, with good gourmet cooking, if you don’t have the right equipment then you will struggle to produce the impressive meals that you see on TV.
You may have been put off by the sheer variety in cookware sets; questioning why you need so many pots and pans, but there is a reason so many different pieces exist. They serve a precise purpose and are made to produce specific foods perfectly. You can’t just stick everything in one pot and hope for the best if you want to produce something special.
Each piece that you see in cookware sets is unique and will cook in a different way, meaning some foods just will not cook well in certain pans. Cooking a soup or producing a stock in a wok, for example, will never get you good results because of the shape and design.
A wok is designed for quick, nimble frying and will do a poor job for low simmering foods because the heat will not distribute evenly. Similarly, a large, basic sauce pan is, despite the name, a poor choice for cooking sauces and gravies. Instead, a saucier pan is shaped for better temperature control and easier liquid evaporation, making it a much better choice for creating the perfect sauce.
As important as the different designs are,consider the different materials used to make the best cookware sets. Whilst your simple pan will probably be made from stainless steel, cookware sets may be made from copper, cast iron, aluminium or a mix of these different materials.
This range of choice lets you have better heat convection for quicker, even cooking, and will be less reactive with the food, protecting the flavours. This all plays an important role in producing gourmet food, as opposed to the simple, one-pot meals from your student days, and makes choosing the right cookware set an important task if you want perfect meals.
Good cooking is a source of pride for many of us and nothing is more disappointing than a bland or unsavoury meal. Don’t let poor equipment affect your cooking: take the plunge on a good cookware set to give yourself the best chance of serving up a meal that will put a smile on everyone’s face.
