Step 1: Knowing Your Budget
Let’s be honest here that if you decide to directly visit places that sells top-notch quality cookware set, you can expect to spend thousands of dollars here and there. However, in reality, you don’t have to waste your money spending that kind of money just to get some good pans. The secret to this dilemma is to set a fixed budget for yourself along with some factors to keep in mind.
For instance, the budget that I’ve set for myself is $200, and for me personally, it’s vital that the cookware set that I need would be the one that is dishwasher safe and nonstick. In this case, the best cookware set that fits the budget and criteria that I have in mind would most probably be the Rachael Ray Hard-Anodized Set.
Just in case you have a low budget, then you should have been flexible when choosing the best cookware that fits your budget and needs. Apart from that, if you’re not a professional chef and more of a casual home cooker instead, then individual pans or a smaller cookware set might just be the perfect solution to your budget issues.
Step 2: What Type of Meals Do You Enjoy Cooking?
Once you’ve set the right budget and have all of the required criteria in mind, then it’s time for you to ask yourself what type of meals that you enjoy cooking or the one that you need to cook often. Provided below are the more typical preparations that need particular types of pans and pots.
Soups
Healthy and loved by most people, a good soup would need bigger stockpots to handle all of the ingredients that are needed to cook the most nutritious and delicious soup for your family. A large stockpot such as the Cuisinart 766-26 Chef’s Classic is an example of an ideal solution as it features a high cooking performance with the base that is covered with aluminum and the cooking surface made from stainless steel.
The aluminum base helps to spread the heat evenly and allows for a higher rate of heat transfer which allows itself to be heated in a shorter time. Since the majority of the nutritional soups that are cooked with vegetables and herbs needs somewhere around two to three hours of slow simmering, this stockpot not only helps you to preserve the flavors and nutrients but also make sure that you don’t have to deal with the dripping water problems with its drip-free solution.
Steaks
Nothing is better than a steak with an ideal searing exterior and juicy on the inside. By using the Lodge Seasoned Cast Skillet, you can easily get the perfect browny searing that you would expect to get from a high-class restaurant. One of the interesting things about this cookware is that it could be used on any kind of stovetop regardless of whether it utilizes gas, electricity, or even induction.
Apart from that, you may also use it on glass top stoves, but you will need to be extra careful not to leave any scratches on the cooktop surface. On top of that, the cast iron also provides a colorful touch and pleasing aroma to the food, which makes the cooking experience to be more satisfying than ever. The only thing that you need is some cooking oil to begin cooking your steak the way that you most prefer.
Step 3: Keep a Close Eye on the Type of Material Used
Teflon (PTFE)
This classic but also controversial nonstick material provides some benefits to your cookware, but the most important one is that it provides you with the freedom to cook your food without having the need to use any type of oil. Besides that, it’s also a type of solid material that helps to strengthen your pans. It’s quite difficult for it to peel, and with the proper care in place, you should be able to preserve the nonstick properties for an extended time.
However, one of the most crucial drawbacks that seem to scare most people is the level of safety. The reason for this is that if you excessively heated the pans with Teflon coating, a type of harmful and toxic gas is released into the air. This harmful gas may cause fever, headaches, and even chills. The gas, however, is expected to be released from the surface of the pan when you heat it anywhere higher than 260 degrees Celcius (approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit), and a normal cooking recipe won’t require you to heat up your pans up to this level of temperature.
Stainless Steel
This material is specifically engineered to last for a long time. This is because cookware sets that are made from stainless steel are mostly known to be highly resistant to dents and scratches. Besides that, the shiny external surface would not peel no matter how you use it. If you’re the type of person that enjoys deglazing, then you would most probably know that in order for you to get a perfect gravy is by using a stainless steel pan.
However, just like any other materials, stainless steel also has its drawbacks, and one of them is that it has a poor level of heat conductivity. This means that it would take a longer time for you to heat up pots and pans that are made from stainless steel, and this would cause you to use more electricity or gas depending on the type of stove that you use. For this particular reason, there are some cookware sets that come with an aluminum or copper core that boosts up the level of heat conductivity, such as the Duxtop SSIB-17 Professional.
Step 4: Ask For Special Features Before You Buy
Most of the time, when you get to a store that sells these cookware sets, you would most probably stumble upon the special features that are mentioned in the product ads. The information provided on the labels might at times confuse you, so you might want to make sure that the special features mentioned on the labels are the same as what you think they are.
Hence, it’s highly recommended for you to ask the seller exactly what these special features mean. One of the special features that can often be found in most cookware sets is the oven-safe feature. It’s commonly known that most of the pans in the market currently can resist up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; however, you also need to keep in mind that not all handles or lids can withstand that level of temperature.
Picking the wrong cookware set by randomly assuming that it’s oven safe is not wise at all as it may lead to all kinds of terrible things. One of the most frustrating things that can happen is when you realize that the gorgeous handles that you handpicked in the store have just been instantly destroyed by your oven as it completely melts when you heat it up.
Next, most of the nonstick cookware sets that are available today are not resistant to the abrasive detergents and high temperatures of the dishwasher. On top of that, a seasoned cast iron pan is also known to lose its seasoned layer if you decide to wash it in the dishwasher. For this reason, please make sure that you ask the seller for these special features to get the exact answer as to whether the cookware sets that you’re about to buy are oven and dishwasher safe or not.
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