Why Great Cooks Need Great Cookware
I love to cook, and I spent years with el-cheapo cookware that let me down more often than not. I thought non-stick cookware was the answer until I realized that the non-stick properties of the cookware kept delicious particles from sticking just enough to make succulent gravies and sauces. The thinness of cheap cookware creates hot spots, where a small section of the pan gets super hot and creates scorching . . . not at all what you want when your mother-in-law is coming for dinner!
What's Wrong With Cheap Cookware?
Nothing . . . If You Like Aggravation!
A problem with cheap cookware is that often all the heat stays on the bottom of your pan, but never moves up the sides, creating uneven cooking. As well as creating uneven cooking, heat that's directed only at the bottom of your saucepans causes them to boil over more easily.What else is wrong with cheap cookware?
Let me count the ways:
1) Food sticks and scorches, especially when you're trying to make dinner to impress someone special (trust me on this one!)
2) If you're using cheap cookware, you're probably cooking with a nasty, old scratched up non-stick fry pan. This is really unhealthy!
3) Cheap cookware reacts with acidic foods such as tomatoes and citrus. Weird metallic taste in your citrus-based sauce? That's why.
4) El-cheapo cookware stains easily, and is harder to get clean.
5) It either a) takes way too long to heat up, or b) heats up so fast that you need to keep the fire department on speed dial.
Is Aluminum Cookware Dangerous?
Is the Hype True?
Aluminum and anodized aluminum cookware have excellent heat conductivity, are lightweight and are inexpensive compared to other cookware options.Keep this in mind: Aluminum is a very common cookware material in commercial kitchens.
However, the use of aluminum in cookware is controversial. Some studies have inferred that aluminum from cookware leaches into food, and this leaching contributes to Alzheimer's disease.Other studies dispute the correlation between cookware and high aluminum levels in the brain.
Keep this in mind: Overall, the amount of aluminum that is absorbed from cookware in a day is very low,less than the amount that would be absorbed from the amount in an antacid tablet.
An option in aluminum cookware that has been deemed safer is anodized aluminum cookware. Anodized aluminum cookware has undergone a process to make its outer surface both less reactive to alkaline and acid foods, as well as harder to provide greater scratch resistance.
If you are shopping for cookware on a budget, don't overlook the anodized aluminum cookware option. It's lightweight and has great heat conductivity.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Great Budget Cookware on Sale Now
Great X-mas Gifts for the Cook on Your List
You can get some great savings and be the most popular gift-giver on your favorite cook's list! A win-win situation!
Then, you can ask that same cook on your list to test out their brand, spanking new cookware and create a delectable dinner for just for you.
Here's some great cookware picks for the budget conscious:
Then, you can ask that same cook on your list to test out their brand, spanking new cookware and create a delectable dinner for just for you.
Here's some great cookware picks for the budget conscious:
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set
Amazon Price: $119.99 (as of 01/06/2010) 
KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 12-Piece Nonstick Hard-Anodized Cookware Set
Amazon Price: $164.99 (as of 01/06/2010)
Calphalon Commercial 9-Piece Hard-Anodized Cookware Set
Amazon Price: $169.99 (as of 01/06/2010)
Rachael Ray 10-Piece Hard-Anodized Cookware Set, Orange
Amazon Price: $160.48 (as of 01/06/2010)
T-Fal Initiatives 10-Piece Nonstick Inside and Out
Amazon Price: $59.99 (as of 01/06/2010)
Want to Give an Extra Special Gift?
If your looking to buy an extra special Christmas gift for the cook on your list this Christmas, look for these features in top-quality cookware.Look for cladding when buying cookware. Stainless steel is a wonderful metal for durability, non-reactiveness to acids, and stain-resistance, but it is a poor heat conductor.
In cladding, a metal that is an excellent heat conductor such as aluminum or copper is sandwiched between layers of stainless steel for good heat conduction and even hating. This "sandwich" is not only placed on the bottom of a pan, it is also placed up the sides of the pan for more even heating of food. Only premium quality cookware features cladding.This type of construction where stainless steel is bonded to aluminum or copper is referred to as "tri ply".
Look for handles that don't heat up that are riveted to the pan. Ergonomic design is a must for user comfort as well.
Many of these features are present in All-Clad and Calphalon cookware, choices of many professional chefs and serious home cooks.
All-Clad: What Makes It So Special
Come and visit the All-Clad factory to learn what makes All-Clad the choice of cooks for lasting cookware.
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All-Clad--The Cadillac of Cookware
Give All-Clad for an Extra-Special Christmas
You can't make a cook more excited than to give a gift of All-Clad cookware this Christmas. All-Clad's made- in- the- U.S.A craftsmanship and quality ensures that your gift will be treasured to years to come by your favorite cook.
All Clad 12 Inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan with Lid
Amazon Price: $179.99 (as of 01/06/2010)
All-Clad Stainless 9-Piece Cookware Set
Amazon Price: $569.95 (as of 01/06/2010)
All-Clad Stainless 12-Inch Fry Pan
Amazon Price: $96.06 (as of 01/06/2010)
All-Clad 99009 Stainless-Steel 6-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker
Amazon Price: $199.99 (as of 01/06/2010)
All-Clad Master Chef 2 7-Piece Cookware Set
Amazon Price: $339.95 (as of 01/06/2010)
What's Your Favorite Cookware Brand?
Tell Us About It!
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- TeaLady TeaLady Nov 16, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
- Thanks for your comment on my Sweet Potato Pie lens.
I Tweeted this lens.
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- LHSStuntman LHSStuntman Oct 18, 2009 @ 8:40 am
- Absolutely wonderful. Once I make some money article marketing and get out of college, there is no way I'm buy crap cookware. I love cooking, but I hate wanting to tear my hair out.
by norje
I spent years cooking both professionally and as a serious home cook. At home, I put up with poor quality cookware for years until the day that the ha... (more)
