Cookware Gallery
Archive for January, 2011
The Other White Meat
Pork is an enjoyable source of lean protein with varied and tasty menus. In posts to follow, we share a few of our favorite stovetop recipes—ham, country ribs and chops. We do so, as always, with a focus on good taste, cost, nutritional value, and a healthy appreciation for where the food we eat comes from.
Overview:
Today’s American and European pork generally contain half the fat they did in 1980. The cuts most enjoyed come from pigs typically slaughtered at six months, at an average weight of 220 lbs. As a breed, pigs use muscle intermittently (compared to other red meat sources like cattle or sheep) and thus produce a pale meat (15% lower in red muscle fiber) with a much favored tenderness.
Pork’s historical taboo tends to reflect pigs themselves—difficult to herd, voracious and indiscriminate eaters that readily decimate all matter of field (especially eco-fragile areas like the arid Middle East, historical homeland of Jews and Muslims). Today’s pig farms have alleviated much of this concern as well as the ‘unclean’ harboring and transmission of pork-related parasites of old.
Like cattle, hog farming has industrialized in the last century and now poses new challenges typical of mass meat factories–abuses of animal diet, antibiotics and inhumane treatments:
On January 11, people from across the US and Canada packed the New Bern, North Carolina Riverfront Convention Center to discuss strategies for combating pig factories and promoting humaneness and sustainability in pig farming—click here to read the good news.
Your sources of meat products remain an ethical, nutritional and of course economic choice. Consider pork during spring and fall when local farm abundance reduces price points. Pork freezes well: $10 to $12 dollars of pork provides amply 10 to 12 separate meals for an average family. A large ham shank, for example, serves a family well:
- Prime slices of ham for dinners, with eggs for breakfast, mid-day sandwiches;
- A variety of Ham Bone soups easily prepared and parceled for freezing;
- Diced ham with egg and spiced veggies over rice is a favorite of ours.
A favorite flavor at our home is molasses-brushed sliced ham shank (inside and out) cooked stove-top in a dutch oven or roaster with shank bone, scrap meats and drippings saved for a variety of soups to follow. In an upcoming post, we prepare a basic yam & ham bone soup. Yummy!
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
The Diversity of the Frying Pan
Of all of the options available today in cookware, it’s my opinion that the frying pan is the ultimate cooking tool for preparing almost any meal in the kitchen. Think about it. With a deep-set frying pan you can boil water, sauté anything, fry-up meat and veggies as well as create the most delectable sauces. It’s more challenging to create a list of meals you can not prepare in a frying pan.
My favorite dish to make in a frying pan is spaghetti because it couldn’t be simpler. I purchase noodles that cook in the microwave within a few minutes inside a steam pouch. Then, while my noodles are cooking, I brown some hamburger meat in the frying pan with a clove of garlic and a small yellow onion. I then strain the excess grease and add a jar of marinara sauce with a pinch of sugar and oregano and mix them together. Once the noodles are finished, I add them to the frying pan as well and mix all of the ingredients around. And there you have it, spaghetti in minutes!
A Lifetime Guarantee
In a previous post, we observed that a cookware warranty is only as good as the cookware it warrants.
A warranty assures that cookware free of defect will outlast the warranted period. It not, then it is replaced. As a measure of this assurance, we heard from users who are enjoying a life-long friendship with their cookware, a friendship with pots and pans they are not about to give up just because a knob or handle has failed after decades of service. (See A Lifetime Of Value)
A lifetime of trouble-free use, it is fair to say, is a true measure of cookware value and a telling demonstration of manufacturer confidence in product durability and quality craftsmanship.
And yet it is no surprise to receive queries like Debbie’s: “Do you still honor your LIFETIME Guarantee? I have a set that I purchased over 30 years ago and it is now time to replace the entire set.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
January 5, 2011
TO: Debbie
FROM: ChoiceCookery
Hi Debbie,
Thank you for contacting ChoiceCookery.
Congratulations on 30+ years of service from your Stainless Steel cooking utensils, a wise choice those many years ago. Given the years, we are interested in hearing about your cookware.
It has been our experience that knobs and handles eventually wear or break after years of use or incidental mishap, yet the cookware itself continues to perform like new. If this is your circumstance, we can help you contact the appropriate manufacturer for knob/handle replacements. These attachments are usually not covered by warranty but are of little cost and easily attached at home.
It is likely the manufacturer warrants your Stainless Steel cookware against defect in material and craftsmanship for your lifetime. Years of normal wear is not considered a defect but rather a validation of warranty protection against such defect.
If your cookware brand is part of the Maxam family of brands, we will of course service the warranty. Let’s first determine the manufacturer of your cookware (usually engraved on bottom or side of utensil) and move forward. We look forward to your reply.
With Respect,
Steve / ChoiceCookery.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
January 7, 2011
TO: Steve
FROM: Debbie
Hi Steve,
Defects? So in other words there is NOT a LIFETIME Replacement Guarantee if I am understanding you correctly. Is that it?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
…to be continued:
Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Are Cookware Warranties for Real?
Cookware warranties generally guarantee utensils to be free of defect in material and workmanship for a period of time. These warranties commonly exclude damage caused by misuse, accident, ordinary wear or product alteration.
In practical terms then:
- What does a cookware warranty really warrant?
- How does this guarantee actually work?
- How is a warranty claim processed?
- Is there a cost?
- What’s ‘limited’ in a Limited Lifetime Warranty?
- What happens if…?
Over the next month or so, let’s explore cookware warranties in the words of real users, keeping a keen eye focused on the actual value of a Warranty—especially a Limited Lifetime Warranty, a type of warranty offered by a few Stainless Steel waterless cookware manufacturers and supported by reputable dealers.
First, it’s important to understand that a cookware warranty is only as good as the cookware it warrants.
It’s of little value, for example, to warrant cookware that’s recycled or simply tossed in a landfill after 3 to 5 years of use (synthetic cooking surfaces like Teflon applied to low grade single ply metals come to mind). If cookware doesn’t last, it’s no bargain in dollars or good sense. Reasonable to assume its warranty (if there is one) has no real value either.
It’s equally important to share a healthy understanding of what cookware value really means. For this reason, we ask you to read or revisit the following article which explores value in the words of life-long users of quality cookware: A Lifetime Of Value …hosted at ezinearticles.com
Reader responses to this brief article have been many, but a consistent theme is cited by Kathleen: “Your cookware article was the first one I ever read that I feel it is not just a sales pitch. I actually know that the facts are true.”
In our next Blog, ChoiceCookery responds to a warranty question from a user (below). The query (from the Contact Us page at ChoiceCookery) begins an informative correspondence between user and company about cookware warranty and value. Enjoy what you learn along the way:
Date: January 4, 2011:
From: Debbie
RE: Do you still honor your LIFETIME Guarantee? I have a set that I purchased over 30 years ago and it is now time to replace the entire set. Thank You.
* * *
In the meantime: Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
Preparing Your Child for College
When your child ventures off to college for the very first time, it’s important to help prepare them for life as an adult. After all, you won’t be there to wash their clothes, prepare their meals or tidy their bedroom so it’s key that these young adults learn the ways of the real world before leaving the nest. With the basic necessities and some simple instruction, they’ll be skilled – somewhat – for life on their own in no time.
For starters, it’s vital that you equip your child with one of the many cookware sets available like nonstick stainless steel pots and pans. This will ensure that they are able to cook for themselves without having to use an iron to make a grilled cheese sandwich. Next they’ll need laundry detergent and dryer sheets to keep their wardrobe fresh for all of the new friends they’re about to make. Finally, it’s important to make sure they have some antibacterial cleaning wipes, a mini vacuum and may a duster to keep their room – well, not spick-and-span – but at least cleaner than it would be without these supplies.
The Cookware Challenge
Finding the right cookware for your kitchen can be a challenge indeed. And once you’ve found the perfect kitchen accessories for your lifestyle you then have to consider the price. A lot of premium cookware can carry exorbitant price tags. This is especially the case with copper core, stainless steel pots and pans. Fortunately we don’t always have to pay high prices for quality cookware and accessories.
Finding good cookware online is now easier than ever. With discount and closeout deals you can equip your kitchen with top-quality cookware at a fraction of the price. Don’t let another meal suffer under the yoke of poor quality kitchen utensils and cookware. Do yourself the favor of spending some time looking for great online deals and you’ll be glad you did.
Follow Us!