What do you think the cooking process, as well as the taste and attractiveness of the finished dishes depend on? Every experienced housewife knows that 99 percent of success is laid at the very first stage of cooking - choosing high-quality cookware.
Low-quality cookware, from the cheapest market segment, can “reward” the prepared food with an unpleasant smell or even taste; any food will stick to such a pot or frying pan, so you will have to cook in a large amount of oil, which is certainly harmful to health!
That is why it is very important that your kitchen utensils are environmentally friendly, durable, multifunctional and of high quality. In this article, we will discuss how not to make a mistake when choosing a large saucepan made of stainless steel, what qualities you should pay attention to first and what pitfalls there are in the household market.
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Properties and characteristics of large stainless steel pots
And at the very beginning, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the most basic properties that a high-quality saucepan made of stainless steel must have.
Such dishes will be extremely resistant to various types of scratches. And it does not matter at all what they were made with: a fork, a knife or the blades of an immersion blender. All thanks to the high strength and durability of such material.
Stainless steel is, of course, resistant to large temperature fluctuations. Therefore, it can withstand heating on a gas or electric stove and cooling in a refrigerator or even a freezer.
Important! It is important to note that you should not put a hot pan in the refrigerator. This may adversely affect the operation of the electrical device.
Pots made from this material do not deform upon impact and are not subject to rust or any other type of erosion.
This type of pots has a thick bottom, which gives them a number of undeniable advantages. For example, uniform heating of the entire bottom surface. This allows you to avoid a situation where the food is burnt on one side and still raw on the other.
Another advantage of cookware with a thick bottom is the fact that it is much easier to maintain the temperature in such containers.
Are you for a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition? Do you hate cooking food with carcinogenic vegetable and animal oils? Then such containers for cooking are ideal for you! After all, you can easily cook food in them without using oils, stew vegetables in their own juice, while preserving all their useful properties.
It is also important to note the fact that in high-quality stainless steel cookware it is possible to prepare a whole range of different tasty and healthy dishes!
These pots are made of innovative and universal material. That is why they are suitable for all existing types of stoves: from a regular gas stove to a super-technological induction stove.
Advice! Have you ever had a situation where you have a couple of minutes left before your dish is ready, but you waste electricity or gas because your cookware doesn't hold heat at all? Buy a stainless steel container and save money by turning off the stove much earlier!
Pros and cons of large capacity saucepans
Everything in this world has its undeniable advantages and its significant disadvantages. And, of course, a large saucepan is no exception.
There are situations in life when having a large-capacity saucepan in your household arsenal is simply necessary. At home, such cookware can be useful, for example, if your family is very large and there is a need to cook a large amount of tasty healthy food every day.
A similar situation arises in the conditions of a hike, when it is necessary to cook soup for the whole detachment. In various establishments where cooking is provided, large-volume pots are also used, in some cases exceeding even 30 liters!
It is important to understand that the larger the capacity of the cookware, the higher the quality requirements for the product. After all, while all the contents are heating up to boiling temperature, the food on the lower layers may already start to burn, and we don’t need that at all!
The main advantages of large-capacity pots for cooking:
- The ability to cook a large amount of food at once.
- The ability to cook those dishes that are characterized by their feature of increasing in volume many times under the influence of high temperatures. A large capacity container for their preparation will ensure reliability and a guarantee that the half-cooked food will "run away" from the stove.
Disadvantages of large cooking pots:
- The larger the pan, the higher the risk of food burning.
- There is a high risk of not being able to handle such a large pan and getting burned.
Choosing the Volume of a Large Stainless Steel Saucepan
The only basic recommendation when purchasing kitchen utensils, when preparing first courses and compotes, is the following: one person needs 1 liter of the finished dish. A 10-liter saucepan is the most convenient of all large saucepans for use at home if the number of family members exceeds 7 people.
The purpose of large-capacity pots
In fact, huge pots are rarely used by housewives in everyday life. Here are the situations in which a container with a volume of more than 15 liters can be useful:
- Sterilization of two or three three-liter jars when canning.
- Pickles are also prepared in large pots.
- Cooking food in field conditions for a large number of people.
- Cooking for large families.
- Stewing and marinating meat.
- Salting lard.
Lids for huge pots
Manufacturers produce lids for large stainless steel pots from two materials: glass and stainless steel. A glass lid allows you to visually determine the moment of boiling and the intensity of boiling. A steel lid needs to be lifted. A stainless steel lid is more practical in maintenance and has no service life limitations.
The durability of a glass lid correlates with the cost of the saucepan - starting from the middle price category, glass lids also last a long time. The material of the lid does not have a noticeable effect on the boiling speed and cooling speed. The main thing is that the lid fits tightly to the walls of the saucepan!
In conclusion of our article, let's talk about the most important thing - the proper care of a large stainless steel saucepan.
In fact, stainless steel care is quite simple and does not require any particularly complicated tricks. Real stainless steel with a high quality rating is easy to clean from minor dirt using water and a small amount of detergent. Believe me, you really only need a couple of drops! The whole secret is in the non-stick properties and the ability to cook without using oil.
But in the life of every housewife there comes a day when the saucepan after another cooking session is in a terrible state. But even in this case, there is a way out! After all, stainless steel can be cleaned not only with a classic foam sponge. It can withstand even heavy artillery - a metal sponge. It is hard to believe, but after such cleaning there will not be a single scratch on the dishes.
Please note! Over time, indelible white stains may appear on the bottom, inner and outer walls of the saucepan, which cannot be removed by anything. At the same time, the material may also become dull, especially in areas of contact with high temperatures and aggressive chemical cleaning agents. Of course, this will negatively affect the appearance of the dishes, but they will continue to perform their functions perfectly!
