Love the Pan You’re With! By Britt Allgood
M
y dad told me a long time ago, “Don’t buy cheap tools!” I didn’t understand him at the time but as I got older and hopefully a bit wiser, I realized what he meant. Little did either of us know that that lesson would spill into all parts of my life - including my cooking. I remember growing up that Mom only had a few pieces of matching cookware. I think it was a Paul Revere Ware set of copper bottom pots and pans. She still has a few of those pieces today. The rest of her cookware is a hodge-podge of cast iron skillets, bakeware, and miscellaneous pots and pans picked up over time, or as the need arose. My cookware, many pieces my wife owned when we met, is or rather was a matched set of anodized aluminum pots and pans. They worked well but I had a few pieces that I refused to give up including my large stockpot and my cast iron. Yes, I can be stubborn that way. But through wear and tear, some pieces had to be replaced and now my cabinet
looks more and more like my Mom’s. The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Lesson learned
As I search for replacement pots and pans, I recalled Dad’s lesson. I stopped looking at the lowest prices and started looking at the quality of the items. Customer reviews and discussions with other foodies help me – they are invaluable when determining the items of lesser quality. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go looking to buy the most expensive things, and rarely do I. Every day my email inbox is full of promotions from various suppliers of all things cooking-related. A few clicks and I’ve scanned what’s available and ask myself if I need anything. Most of the time I don’t but occasionally I see something that I’ve longed to add to my cookware arsenal and if the quality and price are right, well you know.
Cleaning and care of non-cast iron
Cookware is something that most of us use every day, or at least I hope we do. It should be cleaned and cared for just like any other tool or item that gets regular use. That cleaning and care will vary depending on the types of cookware you have. Anodized aluminum cookware for example should only be cleaned with a non-metallic brush, dish sponge, or nylon cleaning pad with a mild soap, baking soda, or Bartenders Friend. These pans are porous and should never be run through the dishwasher or you run the risk of destroying the anodized surface. Non-stick pots and pans are generally made of aluminum and coated with a non-stick material like Teflon. They should be cared for similarly to anodized aluminum but remember they are softer and can be warped. The manufacturers may say that the pan is dishwasher safe but do you want to risk it?
Cast Iron Cleaning and seasoning
Cast iron requires an entirely different approach to care and maintenance. Cast iron is extremely porous and requires “seasoning” and I don’t mean with salt and pepper! With proper care, a cast iron pan will perform just as well if not better than many modern pans and can last for generations to come. There are several steps to clean and season a cast iron pan the first of which is washing.
Ditch the soap
The only time you should use soap on a cast iron pan is cleaning just before seasoning. Even if a new pan says that it has been pre-seasoned for you, go ahead and wash it and put it through the seasoning process. There’s no telling what the pan has encountered during packaging, sales, and shipping and sales. Just for peace of mind, wash it.
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JUNE - JULY 2021
Purchase Area Family Magazine
Read online! issuu.com/purchasefamilymag
