gastrosurf
Posted 11.09AM
Mon 30 Jun 2008
Hi Sommersunshine
Just a few thoughts on your most recent post:-
Most pans these days are made to a standard size, and so swapping the lids around is easy enough - I prefer glass lids because it's much easier to adjust the heat to the right temperature when the lid is left on.
Lids without any vent at all, which work to keep the heat and steam in, are usually made for steamers or slow cookers.
A well fitting lid with no vent at all will bounce up and down as soon as the contents of the pot gets to a high simmer - and be more likely to boil over.
One of the great advantages of Hard Anodised pans is that they are so much easier to wash up than other types. But they can get marked on the outside, and the exterior anodising is not usually as durable as the inner coating. However, leaving the pan to soak in soapy water after use for 10 minutes or so, and using a HA cleaner every now and then, should keep them looking good. In hard water areas they sometimes get a white'ish watermark, but the HA cleaner (or even a wipe with a little vinegar) should remove any build up.
Salt should be added when the water is near boiling, so that it doesn't float to the bottom of the pan, which can lead to marking or pitting.
Stainless Steel pans can be a little harder to clean, but SS is extremely durable and you will have to work very hard with an aggressive SS pot scourer to mark SS. It also has "self-healing" properties if scratched - more info on that here:-
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Prestige do a specialist SS cleaning fluid, and it's great for removing stains and discolouring.
I use those fibrous green (non-metallic) pot scourers on the outside of my SS pans and a fairly aggressive SS wire pot scourer on the inside - which works fine. On HA I use the green fibrous ones all over. But imo, soaking prior to washing is the best way to clean and maintain a pan.
I love HA pans because they are so easy to wash-up, but really, SS and copper with an inner thermal layer of aluminium makes for the ultimate pan.
Whenever you see some of the world's top French chefs working in their kitchens, you will often catch a glimpse of their copper clad pans hanging up in the background - but then they do have Kitchen Porters to keep the copper gleaming!
Just had my marko mail arrive, and they have a five piece Circulon 2 set of pans for £59.99 + vat. (4 saucepans and a skillet).
You will need a makro card though - or shop with someone who has a card.
