Types of Cooking Pots

Stock pots range in size from six-qt. home stock pots to 200-qt. or larger commercial pots. Their thin, flat bottoms, tall sides and carbon steel or stainless steel construction make them ideal for boiling large amounts of seafood such as shrimp and crab or for making fish stews and chowders. They often come with a flat lid and an inner strainer basket. The basket is most often used when frying whole turkeys.

When you buy a set of cookware, it usually includes one-, two- and four-qt. saucepans. Saucepans have higher sides than skillets, but not as high as stockpots. They are used when boiling vegetables, making gravy or spaghetti sauce or to cook pasta. The two-qt. pan is often used to make hot cocoa and pudding. According to S. R. Brubaker of Chef Home, "It is in small pots that braises, roasts and fricassees turn into ambrosia."

Every kitchen needs a cast-iron skillet or two. Cast iron is an efficient heat conductor, according to Linda Stradley of What's Cooking America. Cast-iron skillets need to be seasoned before the first use and after each use for the lifetime of the pan. Properly maintained cast-iron cookware can last several lifetimes. Do not use soap or allow water or acidic foods to sit in a cast-iron skillet for more than the time it takes to eat your meal.

Dutch ovens have been a mainstay of the kitchen since their invention in 1704 by Abraham Darby. Darby was a metalworker from England who traveled to Holland to learn how to cast metal in dry sand molds. Dutch ovens typically have three tiny feet on the bottom of the pan. The pans were originally used for open-hearth cooking and would be set in the coals of the fire.

Without Dutch ovens, the American West might never have been settled. Pioneer housewives made everything from pies and cobblers to roasts and stews in their Dutch ovens. The upturned lid could be used as a griddle while a savory dessert bubbled away in the pan underneath. No chuck wagon could survive without its precious Dutch ovens. Cooks could roast a chunk of wild game with root vegetables and a cup or two of water to make a rich stew. Cookie would usually have several of these pots so that beans could soak in one while bread baked in another.

Although you can melt chocolate and make puddings without a double boiler, it is a bad idea. One drop of water in a batch of chocolate can turn it into a glob with all the palate appeal of raw liver. By placing the chocolate in the top section and heating water in the bottom, the chocolate will melt into a smooth liquid that is easily poured into molds or drizzled over a dessert. Puddings made in a double boiler are less likely to scorch.

Norman Rockwell's Thanksgiving painting of Grandma serving a turkey from a huge roasting pan recalls days when the extended family sat together on Sundays and holidays. Grandma, Mom and all the aunts produced delectable meals from their speckled enamelware roasting pans. Roasting pans work best with larger cuts of meat such as roasts and shanks of beef, pork and lamb. Whole turkeys, ducks, pheasants and other game birds can be cooked along with stuffing and root vegetables for a one-pot meal.

Wok cooking became popular after President Nixon's 1972 trip to Beijing sparked an interest in Chinese culture and cooking. Woks had rounded bottoms when they were first introduced, so they did not heat evenly on electric stoves. After flat-bottomed woks appeared, stir-frying became a must-learn cooking technique. Stir-fried foods are cooked faster, locking in essential vitamins and minerals while preserving flavor and texture. Grace Young's book, "The Breath of a Wok," details its author's lifelong fascination with this vital piece of cookware.