Shopping for pots | Imamother

Amarante

Wed, Mar 22 2023, 12:19 pm

Is this going to be used for soups and sauces or for other stuff.

The reason I ask is that you don't need the highest quality pot for making soups because the liquid provides the even source of heat. When you are cooking braised food, you do need a pot that provides even heat up the sides as well as the bottom - which is when you want something that is clad on the sides as well as the bottom.

Cladding is when stainless steel "clads" a core of aluminum. This is because aluminum is highly conductive of heat but steel/iron isn't but it retains heat well which is what you need for a good braising pot/pan. That is why Le Creuset or similar enamel over cast iron is the ideal pot for braised meats and stews.

With a large stock pot, ideally you don't want a heavy pan because the weight of the pan when filled with lots of liquid makes it very heavy. Restaurants actually use aluminum stock pots because they are relatively light weight and perfect for soups or stock.

But in terms of your question, Cuisinart, Faberware will be fine. You might want to make sure it has a heavy clad on the bottom because that way the heat on the bottom is evenly distributed with no hot spots.

Amarante

Wed, Mar 22 2023, 6:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

thanks. I dont want to use aluminium, its unhealthy.

I just want a regular good all rounder quality pot. in the uk.

Clad pots are steel over aluminum and are light weight as I explained.

The ones that are stainless up the sides are not fully clad as they are lighter weight.

Because of the way soup and other liquids are cooked, you don’t need the highest quality. Pasta pots are the same as you are just boiling liquid.