Cookware Gallery
Archive for the ‘Stock Pots’ Category
Inquiring Minds
On occasion, those who visit us ask good questions worthy of sharing. Here’s one from Mike:
“What is the thickness of the bottoms of your cookware? What is their makeup beside the surgical stainless, e.g., nickel, titanium, etc.”
Good questions.
#t304 Stainless Steel is a century old—still the safest, most hygienic non-porous, nontoxic surface available for cooking. #t304 was developed to avoid both erosion and corrosion—an 18/10 blend of chromium and nickel. We all have concerns about nickel in our diet, but the nickel in Stainless Steel is bonded to the iron atom undisrupted by temperatures that exceed the melting point of steel.
The Maxam Family of Brands utilize a base plate that will vary in thickness depending on the number of ‘elements’ (or layers of heat conductive metals like cooper, aluminum, titanium, up to 12 different layers of metal). Heat conductive (or soft) metals naturally erode, corrode, leach into and taint foods. An obvious health hazard.
Maxam base plates double insulate these heat conductive metals from the cooking surface—both by the encapsulating plate itself, and by the multiple layers of Stainless Steel between the base plate and the cooking surface.
To answer specifically, the thickness of the base plate varies between ¼” and ½”. Base plates do not add significant weight to pots & pans. Utensil weight comes from the # of Stainless Steel Plies used in fabrication. 9-plies of Stainless Steel, for example, offers relatively heavy cookware (without greater heat-retentive benefit in my opinion). 5-Ply is the minimum # of Stainless Steel layers needed to assure desired heat retention and thus waterless cooking efficiency and performance.
Hope this responds to your questions. I’d be delighted to chat at your convenience, or visit us on our blog where many more questions are answered.
Respectfully,
Steve Denning
1-866-200-1973 – toll free
Maxam, Chef’s Secret, HealthSmart, Precise Heat, Wyndham House, Yorkville–Quality to last a Lifetime–ChoiceCookery
Backpacking Means Traveling Light!
Backpacking is a time-honored tradition that places man in the wilderness with nothing but his wits and what he brings with him. Unlike camping, when backpacking you’re often separated from civilization by several miles of wilderness. It’s important to travel light to preserve your physical condition in case of an emergency, and for the general purpose of comfort. For backpacking you want to carry equipment that is designed for backpacking specifically; for example, backpacking stoves are made of lightweight metals, and gasoline for the stoves can be carried in a small plastic container.
It’s also important to avoid carrying heavy equipment like a stainless steel stock pot and pans, books, and excess clothing. You can save a lot of hardship and even increase your movement on the trail by traveling without the weight!
Caring for a Cast Iron Stock Pot
Synthetically coated cookware from the store (such as a Teflon pan) is convenient at first, but such cookware does have a flaw. When that nonstick surface is chipped or damaged, there’s nothing to do but purchase a new pan. This is not the case, however, with cast iron pans.
A permanent nonstick surface can be formed on cast iron stock pots, but it must be “seasoned” in order to achieve that effect. The act of seasoning also prevents rust from forming on the cookware.
To season:
-Coat the pan in a non-liquid grease/oil.
-Bake for 15 minutes in a 250 to 300 degree F oven.
-Remove from oven and remove excess grease. Bake for an additional two hours.
This is why some people believe washing cast iron pots diminishes the quality of the pot and the taste of the food. The coating is actually a protective layer to stem harmful rust, and it also adds flavoring to the food.
Cooking for 40
During my last semester of college, one of my friends thought it would be a great idea to host a big home-cooked meal for our 40-member service organization. Everyone was eager to attend. We divided up the dishes between a few of the senior girls and I wound up making vegetarian matzo ball soup.
The day of the event I borrowed my father’s giant 30 qt stock pot to make enough soup for the crowd. With the help of my roommate, carrots were chopped, celery, onions, potatoes, tomatoes–all simmering in what seemed like gallons of vegetable broth and my special blend of seasonings. Our small home filled with the tangy sweet scent of vegetable and spice.
Everyone enjoyed the hot soup and we all had a blast negotiating the logistics of fitting 40 people into one college apartment.
Yam & Ham Bone Soup
Roasting a sliced ham is always opportunity to plan a host of meals to follow. We carve prime cuts from the bone for separate storage–another ham dinner, breakfasts (egg & ham on muffins or omelets for example), lunch plate sandwiches and so forth. We also freeze at least 2 cups diced ham for savory rice, egg and veggie bowls prepared weeks or months later.
During dinner, the ham bone and trimmings slow cook (low heat) in 2 to 3 qts of water. After dinner, bone and grizzle are easily removed and a variety of veggies are prepared and added to the broth. Split the broth for two soups prepared later: navy bean & potato for example, and a tasty yam & ham to include:
- 4 cups chunked yam (sweet potato)
- 1 cup thick diced celery
- 1 cup carrot (thick diced or baby whole)
- 1 cup snapped green bean
- ¾ cup red sweet onion
Allow soup to stew in a covered pot (@ 20 minutes at low simmer) until yam chunks soften slightly—avoid overcooking. The blend of yam and brushed molasses from the ham roast lends a mild sweetness sure to please—especially the kids. The orange colors of carrot and yam are vibrant and inviting.
Be Creative:
Russet or new red, or a more exotic variety and color of sweet potato for change–from a basic recipe awaits a world of tastes to explore using unique vegetable and spice combinations.
Storage:
Stainless Steel bowls are ideal freezing containers—chemically inert, no metal taste to foul foods, easily thawed by simply placing the bowl in or atop a standard Stainless Steel stock pot for quick steam heating. A few Stainless Steel Waterless cookware sets include bowls with lids–the Chef’s Secret KT28 for example, or consider a complete Chef’s Secret Stainless Bowl Set .
The Bottom Line:
Savor the versatile goodness of a single ham over many different meals, over many different days.
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Waterless Cooking – Corn on the Cob
Local organic corn is ripe and plentiful from summer to fall—sweet, juicy and nutrient rich. Savor nature’s best efforts while still on the cob, cooked with the care these healthy vegetables deserve (boiling draws nutrients from vegetables—minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes–precious nutrients that shouldn’t be poured down the drain with the waste water).
Waterless Cooking
Sizing the right waterless pot or pan to food being cooked is important. A good Rule-of-Thumb is to loosely fill as much of the inner utensil as possible. Doing so aids three important waterless cooking fundamentals:
- assures ample water from the natural fluids in the food being cooked
- efficiently creates a vapor seal
- effectively regulates cooking time and temperature
Corn on the Cob provides an excellent example of cooking vegetables waterlessly while demonstrating ideal pot sizing based on the number of ears to be served at the dining table—small family, large family, the neighborhood.
Pot Sizing
For those who boil corn routinely, consider this novel and nutritious approach. Stand cobs on end in a waterless stock pot uniquely designed to lightly cook without adding water (or oils, fats, grease, aerosol sprays, etc.). Cut the stalk end and ear tip off more-or-less flat, halve the corn. Halves stand up snuggly in the pot with room at the top for the waterless lid.
2qt waterless pot easily accommodates 3 cobs (6 halves) – small family
4qt waterless pot holds 6 cobs (12 halves) – large family
8qt waterless pot holds 12 to 14 cobs (no need to halve) – the neighborhood
Cooking
Turn stove to medium low and place the appropriate sized pot on the burner to preheat. Shuck, rinse and halve cobs, then stand them up in the pot. Cover. Cooking time varies depending on stove top type and preference: rare: 4-6 minutes; well done 10-12 minutes.
Dining
Taste the natural, sweet, juicy, unadulterated flavor of corn prepared waterlessly before salting or layering with butter/margarine. Fats, oils and unnecessary salts are best moderated from a healthy diet.
ENJOY ho
nest goodness, the way Mother Nature intended her vegetables to be served, fully appreciated, fully valued, fully themselves. Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Men in the Kitchen
Times change and so do we (…the good news). More and more men are finding their way into the kitchen these days. Rightly so. Food is a wondrous and f
ascinating venue so little appreciated if one’s habit is to take the kids out to eat when the usual chef is elsewhere.
Imagination is one of the 12 qualities of childhood but for men in the kitchen, it’s an essential ingredient. A freshly seasoned imagination is even better if taste is on the menu. That’s why it’s important to have a youthful imagination join in the fixing.
Cooking doesn’t have to be a passion; it doesn’t have to be a chore either. Like any household duty, cooking is what we make it. Might as well have fun, get a little strange and enjoy the journey with our kids. In this way, we find what is best in the family kitchen–sharing our time, our curiosity, our joy and our love together.
So locate that ‘Joy of Cooking’ recipe book, change things up a little and discover your child’s imaginative tastes. A culinary delight just might be the outcome.
(btw, the 12 Qualities of Childhood are these: playfulness, curiosity, imagination, wonder, creativity, inventiveness, sensitivity, flexibility, vitality, humor, joy, and a truly unadulterated wisdom. These are the natural success skills every child is endowed with. Honor these natural skills by engaging and supporting them at every opportunity.)
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