Cookware

Just because your favorite celebrity chef uses Viking or All-Clad cookware does not mean you cannot create great meals unless you do as well. Have you watched some of the original French Chef episodes with Julia Child? The cookware she used looks like it came from the dollar store.  My cookware is a collection of various pieces, some expensive and some not so expensive.  I want to share with you what I’ve learned.

Aluminum Cookware

Next to copper, aluminum is the best heat conductor.Aluminum cookware heats very evenly. The downside of aluminum cookware is that if you use metal utensils in it you will be scraping tiny bits of aluminum into your food. Acidic foods can also cause aluminum to leach out into the food. Large amounts of aluminum have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, which proves that aluminum crosses the blood/brain barrier.

Aluminum cookware is very inexpensive. A 4-quart aluminum saucepan from Food Service Warehouse is about $25. If you use rubber-coated or wood utensils in it and avoid cooking acidic food in it you will be just fine.

Stainless Steel Cookware

Stainless Steel cookware avoids the problem of aluminum ending up in your food.  The problem is that stainless steel is a poor heat conductor.  Place a large pan on a small burner and the center of the pan will get noticeably hotter than the outer edges.

High-End Cookware Has Multiple Layers

You are probably asking yourself “What if I have a pan that is aluminum with a coating of stainless steel on the interior surface?”  Congratulations. You are a genius. Hence the name “All Clad”.  My Viking sauté pan actually has 5 layers of various aluminum and steel alloys.  Just one small problem: A Viking 5-ply 6.4qt sauté pan is about $380.

What The Restaurants Use

Ask a professional  chef if his restaurant kitchen is full of All-Clad cookware, and his answer will be “No, that would be way too expensive.” Even a small restaurant kitchen may have a dozen or more fry pans, for example. Commercial cookware needs to be tough enough to use 10-12 hours per day, seven days a week.

Pictured on the right is my 11-inch fry pan (I actually have two if these) made by Update International and purchased from Food Service Warehouse. Notice the seam about 3/8 inch up from the bottom.  That is an aluminum plate that has been bonded to the bottom of the pan so the heat gets distributed evenly. I find it to be just as effective as my Viking.  Better yet, this Update International sauté pan is $18.59 from Food Service International. The only think I don’t like about it is that the handle is round and difficult to deal with when the contents of the pan are heavy and off to the side.

What About Cast Iron?

My dutch oven is Le Creuset. It browns better than anything else in my kitchen. I’m saving my pennies for Le Creuset’s big sauté pan ($300 sold exclusively by Williams-Sonoma). Note that it is enamel-coated cast iron.  I know that cast iron cookware has a big following, but it tends to rust, and it also tends to leave black bits in the food.  It also rusts.