April 2024
Cookware generally refers to the pans or things that you cook food in. You could say these are the “tools of the trade” for people that cook food but cooks also need “utensils” and things like knives etc but for this article, I’ll consider these as food preparation and concentrate on the “pans” you apply heat to for the purpose of cooking and the cooking devices.
I remember when my wife & I returned from our honeymoon, 50+ years ago. The first thing we did was to go to the supermarket to buy food and some pans to cook the food. We were young and daft but we could both cook – sort of 🙂 Chip pan, Frying pan, a pan to warm the baked beans up, something to cook a joint in the oven oh and maybe another pan for cooking veg 🙂
It was a steep learning curve, we bought a pressure cooker at some stage and had a few experiences that looking back can be seen as funny but it wasn’t at the time. I won’t mention the christmas pudding all over the ceiling or the bacon bones that went to mush 🙂
It might be common sense to some people but we gave no thought, as prospective newly weds, as to what we would need with regards to cooking pots and cutlery etc. Setting up home for newly weds is something that we should all be made aware of, including bedding, towels etc. Yes young and daft, here we are 50+ years later, older and still daft 🙂 We’ve learned a lot so maybe not as daft 🙂
So with 50+ years expereince behind us, we can hopefully pass on some of the knowledge we have learned – mostly the hard way.
When you are starting out, you might not know what you need with regards to cookware. There is a temptation to buy a set of pans because they are cheap. Unfortunately, they don’t last very long so you have to buy another set. We were fortunate at an early stage and discovered pans with a lifetime guarantee, not cheap but here we are 45 years later and the pans are still doing the job.
These days, the pans you chose will depend on the heat source. The most modern cookers / hotplates are “Induction” and need pans that are made of iron (ferrous) or have a base suitable for an induction hob / cooker. Our pans are mainly cast aluminium or stainless steel with aluminium core so they are not suitable for induction hobs 🙁 Gas hobs are apparently becoming obsolete and our gas hob / oven might not last much longer so we’re looking at ceramic hobs and electric ovens.
Non-stick frying pans vary in quality but in our experience you won’t get more than about 2 or 3 years of use before they are no longer non-stick. It is usually worth paying a bit more for one with a glass lid. When it is no longer non-stick, you can still use it for doing stuff like casseroles. The frying pans to avoid are those that don’t have a smooth bottom because the over time, the food gets stuck in the “grooves” – even more so when the non-stick becomes less non-stick 🙁
Cast Iron frying pans will last a lifetime but will never be non-stick. You can “season” them and over time they will become sort of non-stick, depending on how you use them. I always use my cast iron frying pan for cooking steaks.
On the occasion I use my (gas) BBQ, I use a cast iron plate – smooth side up to cook meat and steaks. I never cook any food in a naked flame i.e. I never burn (char grill) good food.
Carbon Steel frying pans will probably last a lifetime but despite all the hype, its unlikely that they will ever become non-stick. However, the more you use it, the more it becomes near non-stick. The main advantage of Carbon Steel is that it is a lot lighter than cast iron. They do apparently come “seasoned” but you can season them as you do a cast iron pan. After a bit of experimentation, I decided to use my Carbon Steel pan like an “ordinary” pan e.g. wash it it he conventional way and accept it isn’t non-stick.
I’ve found that the test of a non-stick pan is to cook bacon, when all that white stuff (mainly nitrates) comes out the bacon, it will quickly burn and stick to the pan. Sausages can have a similar effect. A really good non-stick pan will allow you put some water or wine in the pan to “deglaze” it and it will remove all of the burnt residue. With carbon steel pans, it will usually stain the pan but the residue should come off by de-glazing.
For other “Pans”, you need to decide if you want Hob / Oven to table pans. These are very convenient as they allow you to remove the pans from the hob (or Oven) and then place them on the table as “serving dishes”.
You might find that you prefer to transfer the cooked food into serving dishes and may use an additional Bain-marie* type “food warmer” to keep the food hot. This is often a metal container that holds hot water and the serving dishes are placed into it, the water is kept warm by an electric element. Something similar often used in restaurants is the use of small (tea) candles instead of hot water, both keep the food warm.
*Bain-Marie is traditionally also known as a Double Boiler – where a pan contains water and has a pan “floating” in the water. The heat is applied to the outer pan to heat the water and in turn the hot water heats the inner (floating) pan.
Other cooking “pots” can be made of glass or earthenware. e.g. Casserole dishes. Often designed to be used in an oven. Others are made of metal – things like roasting pans, Cake tins etc. Its amazing how many of these you collect.
Cooking “devices”. Generally this would refer to a “Stand-alone” cooker (Gas or Electric) and these usually have 1 or 2 ovens along with a hob with 4 or more rings. The alternative would be a split level cooker where the hob is separate and the oven(s) are at counter top height. Then you have things like Aga cookers, which can be Gas, Electric or solid fuel / wood burning. Some Aga and similar “Stoves” can also be used to heat radiators (central heating).
Other cooking devices would include the Microwave oven, Air Fryers, Toasters, Sandwich makers, Slow cookers, Rice cookers and the electric grills etc. You could spend a small fortune on these devices, some would be used a few times and then put in a cupboard to be forgotten about 🙂
If you are just starting out maybe living alone or you’re setting home as a couple, the above info can be helpful but most of it is the stuff you acquire over time.
The modern Air Fryers will cook most of what you want. The addition of a Microwave and a 2 or 4 ring hob should cover all of your cooking needs. Air fryers come in many guises. Some are very low cost but still work quite well. Some are £200+ pounds and these are more like a counter top oven, some include a spit roasting option where you can spit roast a 1.5Kg chicken in about an hour and it will come out nice and juicy. If the Air Fryers appeal to you, have a good look at what is on offer to make sure it will do what you want. We actually have 2 Air Fryers, one has a spit roasting option and the other is a huge box that can be used as a Microwave or an Air Fryer or an Oven. We don’t tend to use the gas oven much now but still find we need the (gas) hob to cook veg or gravy.
The way we cook and the cooking devices have changed a lot over the past 50 years. For us the Microwave was a game changer and we think we would struggle without one. The Air Fryers are also game changers and we’re still learning how to get the best use out of them.
Cooking for a crowd!
Bringing it all together. Most of the time you will manage with what you have and keep adding stuff as you go along and you might manage fine preparing and cooking TV type dinners because you don’t have a dining table*.
*Dining Table. We have always thought that having meals sitting at a dining table is always a the best option because you are sitting around a table and can converse without the interference of the TV, it also means that you are sitting in a position that aids digestion. You are sitting there for the sole purpose of eating together.
Sometimes, you might want to invite family and / or friends and that can put the cat amongst the pigeons! Panic stations 🙂
- We need a (bigger) dining table.
- We need more chairs.
- We need more plates.
- We need more cutlery.
- We need Wine or other glasses / vessels.
Oh dear what have we done 🙂
Don’t panic, you can usually arrange to borrow something like a trestle table along with folding chairs. The plates, cutlery and glasses can be borrowed or hired. Obviously make sure you can do this before inviting people round.
The actual cooking for a crowd is not all that different to cooking for say 2, it’s just larger quantities of food. Let your oven do the work, even if its only to keep cooked food hot.
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). A roast of any meat along with roast roots and boiled / steamed veg and a bucket of gravy is so simple. Do as much prep as possible the day before so that the “golden hour*” before serving is just finishing off whilst allowing you to have a chat with your guests.
* Golden hour. If you have done as much prep as possible and then cooked the meat on the day. The meat often needs to rest e.g. a roast turkey needs an hour or so resting after cooking. While the meat is resting, you use this time to cook the veg and make the gravy etc.
If you might find it useful to prepare a “Cooking Plan” which would show :-
- Time to serve the food
- Time to put oven on
- Time to cook the meat – allowing for resting time
- Time to cook the Roast veg
- Time to cook the Greens
Without a “cookin plan”, you might get stressed but there isn’t really anything to stress about. The cooking plan should help you ensure you don’t forget to cook the cabbage or sprouts for a week lol.
Enjoy your cooking and have fun, experiment a little and if its edible thats a bonus 🙂
Jacket spuds (with choice of filling) or egg, chips n beans will always be a simple and quick meal.