Saucepans

There are lots of items in the Museum that can help us learn about Roman cookery.

There are the pots, pans and utensils that have survived from Roman times and these give us a good idea of what a well equipped Roman kitchen might have looked like.

We also know about the kinds of food that Romans ate because recipes were recorded by Roman writers. To be honest I prefer solid old fashioned cooking like soups and stews. Wealthy Romans ate delicacies like flamingos, snails and stuffed dormice. These were often served with a strong fish sauce called garum. The thought of it is enough to make me feel really unwell!

Ordinary Romans did not get the chance to eat such fancy food; instead they probably ate lots of porridge and bread made from wheat, as well as vegetables and plain meat. In the Museum you can see the sort of equipment that was used by the Romans to make flour for their bread .

This is a rotary quern; basically it is two round stones used to grind grain into flour. It is quite simple to use: you pour the grain in the top and turn it by the handle to grind the flour.

Source : THE MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES

These are probably going to be the most important purchase a cook will make. There is so much rubbish out there and millions of pounds spent to beguile you into buying them, so here you really do need some help. What you want is something solid and reliable, and I have spent years searching out what I've now finally come to believe is the best.

There is no doubt that heavy-gauge aluminium is the very best conductor of heat - no sticking, no catching, no scorching when making omelettes and sauces. I would banish the traditional non-stick brigade entirely, having suffered so many peeling, scratched and useless non-stick non-starters.

Manufacturers needn't talk to me about being careful - you know, never having the heat high and using plastic spoons and forks etc. I am a cook and if I want to sear a steak, I want the pan to be blasting hot and I don't want to then turn my steak over with some flimsy plastic fork that the heat will melt.

Fortunately, about three years ago, I discovered a range of pans produced in Germany, made from heavy-gauge aluminium but with a non-stick surface called titanium, which is forty times harder than stainless steel. So, at last, high heat, no problem; metal utensils, no problem. Expensive, but one purchase is for life, so cheaper than a long line of dismal failures. All the pans, including the frying pans, have lids. And even the handles can withstand an oven temperature of up to gas mark 10, 500°F (250°C) which means the frying pan can then double up as a shallow casserole or a roasting tray.

Source : Delia Online Cookery School

Q. Is there a difference between copper pots and pans and the regular stainless steel variety?

A. When it comes to cookware and bakeware, there are two main types of materials to consider. Nonreactive metals such as stainless steel have no negative reaction to the foods cooked in them, while reactive metals such as aluminum, copper, and cast iron react to certain types of foods, especially those that are acidic. These foods may become discolored or taste metallic when cooked in pots made of such materials.

Most home cooks use stainless steel cookware due to its availability and reasonable price. Stainless steel has many advantages: Besides being nonreactive, it doesn't corrode, is easy to clean, and doesn't scratch or dent easily. One major downside, however, is that it doesn't conduct heat well.

Copper, although more expensive than stainless steel, is preferred by many culinary professionals for its sturdiness and excellent heat conductivity. Because of its reactive nature -- which can result in toxic reactions with acidic ingredients -- copper is often lined with tin or stainless steel. Copper's disadvantages include a surface that is not nonstick, must be polished, and needs to be relined about every 10 years.

An option that offers the best of both materials is clad metal stainless cookware, which has a core of aluminum or copper placed between two thin sheets of stainless steel.

Source : How Stuff Works

Please don't throw away that old cast-iron skillet that was your mothers or grandmothers! Clean it! As long as it has no cracks or nicks, you can clean, season, and use it.

I personally have five old cast-iron pots - a 10-inch and a 12-inch skillet, two large griddles, and a Dutch Oven. I love my cast iron pans!

There are several reason that people rave about their cast-iron cookware. Besides being an ideal heat conductor, cast iron heats evenly and consistently, it is inexpensive and will last a lifetime (actually several lifetimes) with proper care, and it is an old-fashioned way to cook fat free. (See Cooking with Cast Iron below on the left.) When well seasoned, a cast-iron pan will be stick resistant and require no additional oil.

The benefits of cast-iron pans are terrific: Foods glide out of it as from no pan made with Teflon; it goes from stove to oven; no special utensils are needed to cook in it; it won't warp, and cleanup is a cinch. It's time people realize the culinary wonder that a cast-iron pan can be!

Professional chefs consider cast-iron pans to be precision cooking tools, as these dependable pans enable precise control of cooking temperatures. Their heat retention qualities allow for even cooking temperature without hot spots.

Cast-iron pans can be used on top of the stove or to bake in the oven. All our grandmothers had cast iron skillets and stove-top griddles. In fact, your grandmother swore by it and the pioneers depended on it.

Source : What's Cooking America

Kitchen utensils trace their roots to the Stone Age when humans used stones as hunting tools. However, it was only during the Middle Ages when kitchen utensils came fully into use. They were specifically used during the 12th century in the House of Nemanjic, which was a Serbian ruling dynasty.

Since then, kitchen utensils have been produced in almost all parts of the world. In regions like England, the manufacturing of kitchen utensils boomed during the 16th century. Places like Birmingham and Sheffield became especially well-known for creating these types of kitchen tools. The trade of making cutlery then became divided in Sheffield when different trades emerged, such as razormaker, awlbladesmith or shearsmith. By the 18th century, forkmakers also become distinct in this area.

During the 19th century, kitchen utensils such as knives were created from welding a strip of steel to a piece of iron. During this time, quality kitchen utensils were made of silver, which was very common for affluent individuals.

Currently, stainless steel is widely used for making kitchen utensils as it can be easily be cleaned and is also ideal to reuse. Also, plastic kitchen utensils are very popular and widely used today because they can be disposed of after use. Plastic utensils are commonly used in fast food restaurants as well as for airline meals.

Source : History Of Cooking Utensils