• Tips and Techniques
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• Cookware & Bakeware
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When you're buying cookware, heavy is better than light. But be careful about how heavy. A hot cast iron pot full of stew might be almost too much to lift from the stove for some people. So when you're buying, go for heavy, but make sure you can lift it hot and full of food. Without a doubt, copper is the unbeatable metal for use in cookware. But it tarnishes easily, so unless you’re into polishing, avoid copper pots. Good ones are expensive too.

Cast iron is great. Once it is hot, it stays hot. It’s particularly easy to maintain a steady heat on a gas stove with cast iron. And because its base and sides are usually the same thickness, it heats up more evenly. Food left in the pot even will stay hot longer than in other kinds of pans. There is a problem, however. Cast iron should be “seasoned” before use. Seasoning coats the cookware, prevents rust and creates a natural, permanent, almost non-stick cooking surface.

Seasoning Tip: Coat the pan with a solid vegetable shortening like Crisco, bacon grease or lard. Put the pan in an oven that’s been pre-heated to 225°F for 15 minutes. Then remove it, wipe out any excess grease and put it back in the oven for an hour or so. You can repeat this several times or just start using the pan. The longer you use it, the better it will be seasoned.

If you're not into seasoning, consider buying enamel-coated cast iron, which will give you the heating efficiency without the work.

Most of the “gourmet cookware” you find in the high-end stores and Internet sites are a sandwich of metals with a core of aluminum (and sometimes copper), an inner face of stainless steel and an outer face of stainless steel, anodized aluminum or copper.

The inside stainless steel layer makes clean up and care simple, while the aluminum or copper core distributes the heat evenly. The outside layer is more cosmetic than not. If you want shiny, go for stainless. If you want the gray muted tones that some think say “serious chef” go for the anodized. If you want the look and bother of copper (and you can afford it) go for it.

Non-stick pans are great for frying eggs and cooking omelets and for helping you limit your intake of fats. They also make for quick and easy clean-up. The problem with non-stick pans is that they don’t lend themselves to browning food. Browning adds to the flavor of meats and it leaves a caramelized residue behind that gives flavor to sauces and gravies.

Here is a short list of the kinds of pots and pans you should have.

• 2- and 4-quart saucepans with lids
• 8-inch and 4-inch skillets (for frying and sautéing)
• 8-inch non-stick fry pan with lid
• 8-quart stockpot (for cooking pasta, stocks, and lobsters)
• A roasting pan (make sure it's not a non-stick if you want good gravy)
• A Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid for stewing and braising

If you’re just starting out and don’t want to spring for all your cookware at once (and are smart enough to pass on that complete set for $30 that is so thin you can almost see through it), start with an eight-inch cast iron skillet (probably less than $10) and a two-quart saucepan (stainless steel with an aluminum core) with a lid (around $15).

Then, as your wallet can handle it, add a non-stick skillet for about $25 and a six-quart stockpot (from the same collection as your saucepan if you’re into matching stuff) with a lid, which will set you back about $35.

Next, get a roasting pan. You can pay upwards of $200 for a roasting pan and you might want to when you hit your stride as a cook. For beginners, spend about $25 and get a Granite Ware roaster. (If you vaguely remember the black, porcelain-on-steel, specked-with-white flecks-roaster that your grandmother had, you’ll know what a Granite Ware roaster is.)

The last piece to get is the Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy metal cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. A five-quart one should be big enough. A cast iron one is about $30 - $40.

These will get you started and could be all you ever need, if cooking turns out not to be your thing. If it does, you’ll figure out what to buy next.

Bakeware describes the pans you need for baking. They are usually aluminum or glass. And the aluminum can be nonstick as well. Heavy aluminum with a non-stick coating is best. Unlike in cookware, in bakeware, non-stick is a good thing. It’s easy to clean and won’t warp when heated.

Use glass bakeware to cook casseroles and such that are made with eggs or with acidic ingredients such as tomatoes and lemon. If you use metal, the pans can react with the foods and cause them to discolor. Since there are a variety of shapes and styles of bakeware, beginners should start off with a few simple ones—a cookie sheet or two and a pizza pan—and, as their baking repertoire grows, add some special pans.

Get a cookie sheet with low sides and it can do double-duty as a pizza pan. Actually, for pizzas, get a screen. Short of your own pizza oven or a pizza stone (which is really hard to master) a screen will give you the best crust.

When you want to try your hand at bread—which is usually the first baking foray developing cooks take--you’ll need at least two loaf pans. Go for the 9x5 inch size since most bread recipes are for two loaves. Then again, you could just buy a bread making machine and let it do all the work.

If you decide to bake a cake, you’ll need some round cake pans, at least two to start. Go for a nine-inch, that’s what most recipes call for. If you’re into one layer cakes, go for a rectangular one, about 13x9. Get one with a plastic lid and you can save the left over cake in it as well. If you’re going to do cupcakes, you’ll need some muffin pans. Get the size that matches the size of cupcakes you want.

When you get real adventurous and want to tackle a pie crust, get two 9-inch glass pie pans.
(Note: pre-made refrigerated pie dough makes a real good pie crust.)

Also, invest in some cooling racks. Baked goods need to have air circulation on the bottom to prevent them from getting soggy while they’re cooling. Get at least two.