Kitchen Utensils List And The 80-20 Rule
Many of us would be surprised to see a complete kitchen utensils list – the kitchen couldn’t possibility hold them all! Of course, because of ever evolving manufacturing techniques and the diversification of our society, we have more and more choice available. In addition to this, our own cultures have been ‘infiltrated’ by other cuisines, some of which necessitate other styles of kitchen utensils. Nevertheless, there is a powerful case for acquiring a sold basic set of kitchen utensils and applying the basic mechanism of the 80-80 rule. What is the 80-20 rule? This general law governs all activities, human and otherwise. For kitchen utensils purposes it means that 80% of all our cooking needs can be done with only 20% of our entire stock of kitchen utensils. Now there’s a thought!
Whatever Your Basic Needs, Go For Quality! We could categorize our kitchen utensils list into storing, handling and cooking. Pans and pots come in various sizes and in a great range of materials. It becomes quite obvious that material quality is directly related to cost, but not always. The very latest aluminum frying pan might be twice as expensive as the traditional heavy iron variety, but that doesn’t mean that it’s twice as good. Cast iron spreads the heat throughout the whole area of the pan, and so cooks evenly and gently. Cheaper (and thinner) materials tend to allow the cooking heat to concentrate in one area so there is a bigger danger of burning. Mind you, if you are cooking eggs in hot oil taking just one or two minutes, then a thinner pan is ideal – it warms up quickly and makes a sizzling sound!
Heavy iron and ceramic earthenware is also great for enclosed pots with lids, for baking and stewing in the oven. The large mass of material encases the food and permeates it with heat from all directions. Simple clay pots are also used in this way. Many types of enclosed cooking pots have been adapted to our modern living style by fitting with low power timed electric elements. These electric pots can be set to begin cooking in the afternoon and provide us with a welcome meal at the end of the day.
Some people swear by copper pans, and they can cook extremely well. Still, there are problems with this material. First of all, pans made from copper are expensive and they can be quite heavy. In addition, they must be cleaned well to remove the build up of toxic elements. Acidic foods can’t be prepared with copper pots and pans.
The use of antique pans is quite a two edged sword. On the one hand, they can cook beautifully if put to the right use. On the other, they may be prohibitively costly and not really flexible. For instance, a modern utensil can be used in a couple of ways, because of our modern manufacturing processes. We can efficiently vary the thickness of the metal used to make our pots and pans. This wasn’t true a century ago.
A basickitchen utensils list is essential when setting up a new kitchen. Take a look at Sid’s site for further information about a kitchen utensils list.
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