Choosing Your Pots and Pans

When it comes to cooking, the tools that you use to prepare food can often be just as important as the ingredients themselves. It is important that you select the right preparation tools to ensure that your recipes turn out the way they are meant to.

There are many different tools that you need for cooking, and many different choices that you can make for each of these tools. Your pots and pans are kitchen staples that you will be using all the time; and as such they should be carefully selected. There are different kinds of pots and pans that you will need to have in your kitchen, but with so many to choose from, it can often be difficult to know what to pick.

The kinds of pots and pans you'll need are dependent on several things. To decide which ones are best for your kitchen and cooking needs, use these guidelines to help you:

• Sizes. You will need a few different sizes of pots and pans for cooking. Consider buying a set of pots and pans, so that you will have all the sizes you will need in one package. Buying this way might not allow you to get exactly what you want or in the quality you need, though. You can also buy individual pieces so you are able to select each and every pot and pan yourself.
• Only what you need. Buy only what you know you will use. (Some pots and pans look neat, but if you never use them, then you don't want them taking up space in your kitchen.) You don't need to buy a huge assortment of pots and pans in every single shape and size. Instead of purchasing many lower-quality pieces, you may want to invest in just a few high-quality ones. A few good pots and pans should be enough.
• Materials. Do you prefer stick or non-stick coating on your cookware? Depending on what you intend to cook, you will have to choose what kind of surface you want. Think about the type of material that the pots and pans are made of. Certain materials conduct heat better than others. For instance, copper will heat up better than other materials like stainless steel. You should take this into consideration when making your decision. Some materials also last longer than others, or require a certain amount of maintenance.

In many cases, it is true that a higher price means better quality. An inexpensive set of cookware might be tempting, but if you are looking for pots and pans that will last for a long time then buy the best you can afford. Hopefully, you will be using these pieces for years to come, and the quality of the cookware really does affect cooking. With the right set of quality pots and pans, you will be ready to cook great dishes according to your cooking needs.