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Professional Cookware Sets
Finding professional cookware sets does not have to involve a long, arduous trip to the nearest upscale cooking palace, or even to your nearest mall. You can find all of the professional cookware that you need without ever having to leave your home. As more and more people shop online, it becomes easier to find quality professional cookware. Whether you are shopping at a major online retailer like www.cooking.com or www.SurLeTable.com, or even just picking up a quality piece from an Ebay™ auction, finding what you want, and most importantly what you need, does not have to be a hassle.
What are the Professional Cookware Options?
There are many options available to the professional cook. Whether you are a part-time caterer, or the executive chef at a major hot-spot, it is important to use the cookware that best suits your needs and budget. While it is certainly possible to get some great pots and pans at low prices, it is true that you get what you pay for. Brands like All-Clad™ (http://www.all-clad.com/collections/Stainless-Steel/) and Calphalon™ are considered by many to offer the finest in stainless steel cookware. While Calphalon™ (http:// www.calphalon.com) is the less expensive of the two; it is still certainly a quality product itself.
It is still true that copper cookware is the best, most even conductor of heat available in the kitchen. The greatest difference between the two, however, is price. It is possible to get a great stainless steel sauté pan for fewer than 100 dollars. For a comparable copper pan, you can expect to pay as much as 275 to 300 dollars.
Considering Professional Cookware Materials
Professional stainless steel cookware may, for example, allow you to cook very acidic foods in a neutral environment. Professional stainless steel cookware heats evenly, and retains its heat longer than less expensive aluminum pans. Many have a layer of aluminum sandwiched between the layers of steel, in order to heat more rapidly. The aluminum in Professional stainless steel cookware is completely encased in the stainless steel, so the entire pan is non-reactive. Using a non-reactive pan is essential when working with very acidic foods, such as lemon juice or tomato sauce.
Having said that, when it comes to pure aesthetics, there is no comparison between the two. Having copper cookware hanging from a pan wrack in your kitchen is worn as a badge of honor by not only professional cooks, but those who want to look professional, as well. After all, nothing says affluence and grace better than indulging in copper cookware.
Of course, copper cookware is not just for looks. The copper professional cookware sets are the cream of the crop. They distribute heat quickly, evenly, and are completely without “hot-spots.” When you are using copper cookware, trace amounts may react with food. This allows, for example, egg-whites to rise to a lighter consistency. Meringues may be made with ease and confidence in a copper pan. However, the downside is keeping them clean. While many stores will try to sell you expensive cleaners for your professional cookware, it is not necessary. If you find your copper pots and pans getting spotty, simply make a paste from baking soda and water, let it stand for 10 minutes, then rinse it thoroughly. This will restore the luster to the finish, and the copper professional cookware will last for generations.
Specialty Professional Cookware
While it is true that stainless steel and copper rule as kings of the kitchen, there is certainly a very old, very reliable contender for the throne. While its weight makes it unlikely ever to unseat its lighter cousins, cast-iron cookware definitely deserves honorable mention among the heads of state of professional cookware. It is absolutely impossible to find professional cookware that heats more evenly, retains heat longer, and provides better caramelization of food than the cast-iron offerings of companies such as Lodge™ (http:// www.lodgemfg.com) or Le Creuset™ (http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/). Of course, when a typical 10 inch sauté pan may weigh as much as 6 to 8 pounds, it is easy to see why cast-iron has not quite found popularity, yet.
No matter what type of cookware you are looking for, it is important to buy quality pieces. Even if you can only afford to buy them one at a time, a quality piece will never wear out, and it will never break. Therefore, no matter how long it takes you to collect them; you will still have your first piece. Just as important as what you buy is where you buy. Even if you buy what seems to be a quality piece from a less than respectable dealer, you have probably wasted your money. It may be a factory reject, or it may have been damaged and repaired. Know what you are buying, and know from whom you are buying it. Check out your retailer, online or in-person, before you buy.
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