Cookware or cooking tins comprise a wide variety of vessels and containers that are commonly used in food preparation and cooking found in the kitchen area. These are intended for use on top of the stove or range top. These cooking containers or vessels are sometimes very confusing especially when one is not too familiar with their appearance and uses. Here are some common ones and their features.
- Frying pans or skillets are used for pan frying which needs a flat heating surface and shallow sides. Those with gentle, rolling slope are called omelet pans and those that are ribbed; letting fats to be drained are called grill pans.
- Saucepans or saucepots are cooking containers with sides equal in size to its diameter often used for simmering or boiling and have one long handle; but the larger pots usually have two handles close to the sides. A different kind of small saucepan is used for heating milk and is referred to as milk pan and this is equipped with a lip for pouring the heated milk. For making sauces, Windsor pans with sloping sides and saucers with rounded sides are used as these pans makes the sauce evaporate quickly and stirring and mixing is done easily than on pans with straight sides.
- Sauté pans, used for sautéing, have a large surface area for easy mixing and tossing of the food. It may have straight vertical sides or flared or rounded ones.
- Stockpots are large pots with sides as tall as their diameter and used for cooking large amount of food for a banquet allowing stock to simmer for extended periods of time.
- Woks are pans that are very wide resembling a bowl, with one or two handles at the rim commonly used only for stir-frying, but can also be used for steaming and deep-fat frying.
- Braising pans are large, wide, shallow and oval or oblong-shaped pans, providing the needed space for cooking roast such as chicken, pork, beef or turkey. They are also called roasting pans and are usually equipped with handles for easy handling especially since this type of cooking commonly involves huge and heavy amount of meat. These are also equipped with a cover for preserving flavor, liquids and nutrients found in the food.
- Casserole pans, as the name implies, is used in cooking casseroles, and is made of glazed ceramics or pyrex. It resembles roasters and Dutch ovens and can be used in the oven, just like bakeware muffin or pie pans for baking cake or pie.
- Dutch ovens are pots that are heavier and deeper, having a heavy lid, and are designed to be use on the range top to simulate oven cooking. It is used for stewing, braising, cooking soups using low heat and slow cooking. It is typically made from cast iron and is measured by volume.
- Griddles, characterized as flat plates of metal are used for frying, grilling and making breads cooked in pans such as pancakes, tortillas, chapatis and crepes. It can either be shaped as round or square with a single handle. Some of these pans also have ribbed area and can also be used as a grill pan. Together with fry pans, these are also available in electric varieties which are permanently attached to a heat source, similar to a hot plate.
These are commonly the cookware or cooking tins used in traditional and modern cooking and knowledge of these common vessels and containers is needed to attain well-cooked products.
