My kitchen is the heart of my home. My friends all like to hang out in there instead of in my more spacious living room.
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My kitchen is the heart of my home. My friends all like to hang out in there instead of in my more spacious living room.
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A matter of prideI have to be honest. When friends praise my kitchen, I can't help but strut a little. I get a real warm glow of pleasure when they admire the objects I've lined up on the shelves. I've taken great care to create what I consider my ideal kitchen, and their praise is my just reward. It seems I'm not the only one on a quest to create their dream kitchen, and like me lots of people are more than ready to spend good money on THE cookware, something to be admired on the shelf or on the stove. Copper v. cast ironHow often have we admired genuine copper saucepans, or those fantastically-shaped jelly moulds and other copper kitchenalia? The copper saucepan was and still is the essence of luxury. Copper is a good heat conductor and this makes copper saucepans the best cookware of all. Alas, they need hours of maintenance, and keeping up that shine takes plenty of elbow grease and they are very dear. At the other end of the scale lies the cast iron skillet. Heavy, black and about as utilitarian as it gets, this is the long-lived cookware that can be safely used for decades. Strangely, cast iron saucepans, enamel coated or not, now top the list of desirable cookware. A cast iron skillet is perfect for frying or saute-ing meat. A cast iron frying pan adds extra pleasure to the making of a frittata or oven pancakes. Your soups, stews, sauces and roasts always come out best when cooked in a cast iron Dutch oven – the perfect fit of the lid prevents steam from escaping and adds to the flavour. And if you're a fan of campfire cooking try a Dutch oven with legs, known as a 'spider'. How much is too much?Top of the list of cast iron cookware comes Le Creuset. This is a French brand, and anything that connects food with the word “French” must surely be the best. Cast iron and enamel coated, these saucepans combine tradition, like the Dutch oven, with a modern-looking use of bright colours. They can go on for decades unscratched. The occasional chips in the enamel serve only to give them an air of longevity, and are regarded by owners as badges of long service. However, as with anything that comes with such high expectations, LC products don't come cheap. Only all-copper saucepans are more expensive. But while copper is a mark of high status for people who can leave the actual cooking to somebody else, LC cookware is for those who enjoy cooking on a daily basis. Is it worth it?LC can be regarded as 'status' ware, the best cast iron enamel coated cookware on the market, but shop around and you can find similar products that are just as good. If you're looking for that sparkle of admiration in your guests' eyes as they check out your kitchen shelves, an LC casserole will do the trick. But if you really want to impress your guests, look out for the sort of cast iron, non-enamel coated cookware sold in estate sales, auction websites, antiques stores and the occasional yard sale or flea market. These second-hand cookware pieces will bring you the flavour of long service that will never fail. Cons: Heavy and expensive. They don’t heat evenly. Cast iron saucepans/skillets need to be seasoned even if they come pre-seasoned. Seasoning is not a thin layer of oil, it’s a thin layer of polymerized oil. In a properly seasoned cast iron pan, each time the oil has been rubbed and heated repeatedly, the oil is broken down into a plastic-like substance bonded to the surface of the metal. This procedure gives the pan its non-stick properties. Pros: They maintain the heat for long time once heated up. This is important when searing meat. When cooking, not only the surface in contact with the pan is heated up, but also half way thought the food. This is ideal for roasting meat and vegetables. And the more you use it, the better it gets! To avoid the seasoning process, which takes time and care, you can choose an enamel coated cast iron pan. 5 tips for keeping your cast iron pan in shape
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AuthorI love cooking, and when it comes to quality I'm quite fussy. Archives
February 2018
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