Kitchen Pans & Bakeware

I am doing a project on improving cookware and would like some input as to what problems you find with the items you currently use to cook with

The biggest problem – or nuisance – is that pots and pans invariably have handles which are the same size as the pan. They could easily be made to be removable – clip on – and thus take up HALF the storage space.

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I noticed ppl. have a collection of things in the kitchen we never use anyway (choppers/food processors,bread makers, special pancake "poppers," rotisserie, george foreman grills…). Was wondering what is bought in abundance for the kitchen but hardly used in your region?

most:microwave

Least:the rest

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My sister is graduating college and moving out totally on her own at the end of the semester, so I was thinking I would get her some kind of kitchen thing to go with her main gift. So, for like $10, what in your kitchen could you not live without?
Ah, I suppose I should mention she does have basic cooking supplies, like a can opener and spatula… so I guess I'm thinking of something more unique?

Cast iron skillet with lid or clay roaster

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Camping out in nature doesn’t always have to equate to roughing it. Whether you’re a car camper or a backcountry minimalist, there are a variety of items you can purchase to make camping more relaxing. This guide will cover a range of items you can add to your camping gear to make trips more comfortable.
Tents and Sleeping : Having a restful sleep is important regardless if you’re camping or not. There are varying sleeping pads and mats available to help you sleep comfortably in the outdoors. Mattress pads also elevate and insulate you from the ground, helping you stay warm on cold nights. Foam and inflatable mattresses come in several lengths and thicknesses, and in lightweight to extra thick mats. If using inflatable mattresses, consider purchasing a 12V or rechargeable air pump; they’ll save you time when setting up your sleeping quarters.
For those with room to spare, a cot can be an excellent add-on. You can even get organizers to hang off the cot’s side to keep personal items within reach. Don’t forget a pillow. Camp pillows feature a soft casing (often flannel). Small models are available with the space-conscious camper in mind and can be compressed when packed.
Small accessories can help make your tent more comfortable, especially in rainy weather. Portable, battery operated lights and lanterns, small radios, and fans are some examples. Look for these accessories in models that can be hung from the tent’s ceiling or suspended another way so you’re not forced to hold them. A deck of cards, a small board game and a book are good to have too in case you get caught in a day-long downpour.
It’s a good idea to bring some extra supplies for your tent, especially tent pegs. A mallet for driving in and removing stakes is another timesaving device. Finally, a spare piece of carpet, or an actual mat, is handy to leave outside your tent door to hold footwear and wipe muddy feet.
Food and Camp Cooking:I find everything tastes better outdoors, from strawberries to bologna sandwiches. Consider expanding your camp kitchen accessories and treating yourself to a little outdoor luxury. One of my priorities camping is a reliable coffee maker. Percolator models are the norm at many camps, but I’ve had success too with paper filters and a kettle. Drip style, portable models are also available. You can also indulge in a specialty coffee with a portable, espresso maker.
You may be surprised what’s available to add a little class to camp drinking. For the romantic, there are shockproof wine glasses. A quality stainless steel, travel mug and/or thermos can be a real perk to keep drinks insulated and at the right temperature (either hot or cold) for several hours. Flasks are also useful for other adult beverages.
A variety of dishes are available for serving your meals. Utensils are items that can add some refinement to outdoor dining without cramming your pack. Make sure you pack the necessary utensils on a trip. It may be fun to pan-flip the odd flapjack over a bed of coals, showcasing your cooking talents to friends, but when your food supplies run short it’s better to use a spatula and not risk ruining a meal. Also, pack a sharp, fillet knife if you plan on eating the occasional fish on your trip, but clean fish well away from your campsite.
There’s a variety of collapsible tables on the market for eating and cooking on. These can come in handy if suffering from a sore back. They prevent you from needing to lean over to cook or eat your food.
The lines between outdoor and indoor cookwear can really become blurred for the individual with enough room to transport whatever they choose. Cast-iron gear comes in many models, such as: pans, Dutch ovens, griddles and pots. For pack-weight conscious campers, lightweight, stainless steel cook sets are available. In most cases, cast-iron is intended to be used over a fire, while stainless steel is for cooking over a camp stove as steel tarnishes if used over a wood-fire.
Don’t forget an outdoors cookbook. They’re filled with great meal ideas for the outdoors, that can be both entertaining to prepare and delicious to eat. Plan your meals before you leave, so you can pack the necessary spices and ingredients. Treat yourself to some specialty sauces in the backcountry and purchase small, carrying containers for them if tight on space.
Finally, you’ll solicit a lot of attention from scavengers of all sizes, from ants to bears, when you bring food to a campsite. To discourage unwanted wildlife guests: keep your camp clean and properly hide your food.
Campfire Comfort:Sitting around a campfire during the evening is a classic camping image. Yet outdoors temperatures can quickly cool and sitting on a log can become uncomfortable after a while. So why not be prepared to enjoy an evening blaze?
Sturdy, portable chairs have replaced aluminum lawn chairs. The new models feature durable materials, stronger frames, and some even have headrests and drink holders. Better yet, many are collapsible, folding into their own carrying case for easy transport. To stay warm at a fire, a small fleece blanket can block out a night’s damp chill.
Clothing:Without listing all the clothes to bring camping, some are worth repeating in this guide. Light weight towles must be a part of your camping gear..!. Carrying a vest camping can help regulate your temperature, whether you’re stationary or active. Convertible pants are also extremely useful, letting you easily switch from pants to shorts. A hat keeps you warm and provides protection from the sun. A bandana should accompany you on every trip. These simple squares can serve numerous functions from head protection to a washcloth. Sunglasses are also important to provide protection from UV rays. Round out your list with long and short sleeve shirts and pants, and carry clothes you can layer.
Just make sure you don’t overlook your basic needs when adding a little luxury to your next outing

If you have any questions regarding buying Camping Accessories Projects feel free to visit our site UltraLightTowels.com

Brand is a personal choice, i like all-clad. But All-Clad can reall break the bank if you get a full set. About $1500. All you really need is an 8" skillet, a 12" skillet with a lid, a sauce pan with a lid and a 4qt stock pot with a lid. Make sure that what ever set you get is oven safe. I use a circulon 12" skillet with metal handels for a roasting pan. Its pretty much my all puropse pan.

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Are you sick and tired of not knowing what to bring or what to
cook when you go camping? Do you either pack the entire kitchen
(including the sink) or you bring the absolute minimum and then
have to use a fork as a spatula or two spoons as tongs?

If that sounds even the slightest bit familiar then you are in
the right place. Over the past decade or so I have refined a
list of 7 things that I use every single time I prepare for my
next camping trip.

These strategies are relevant whether you are car camping,
primitive camping, RV camping, scout camping or large group
camping. You can very easily apply them across any type of trip,
which is what really makes them worthwhile.

So here they are:

1. Plan the Meals – Okay common sense right? Well If I didn’t
include this as the first and most important item I would get
hollered at! But seriously, if you don’t plan the meals ahead of
time not only do you not know what you’re going to eat you also
have no idea what to pack as far as cooking gear is concerned.
Do you need a spatula or tongs? Do you need a strainer or a
frying pan?

2. Plan the Gear – This follows directly from number 1. Now that
you know what you are going to eat for the trip you can now
figure out exactly what utensils, pots, pans, containers and
other miscellaneous cooking gear you need. And more importantly
what gear you don’t need! My family and I do a lot of tent
camping which means that we take my wife’s SUV, so we have a
very limited amount of room that we must pack all of our “stuff”
into. If I only need a 2 quart pot and a small frying pan well
guess what, the 9 other pots and 4 other frying pans stay at
home!

3. Plan the Condiments – Have you ever went camping and once you
get there you realize that you don’t have ketchup, mustard or
relish for your nice, hot and juicy steakburger you just cooked
for yourself? Have you ever went camping and it took you 10
minutes to find the garlic powder because it found it’s own way
to the bottom of the box you keep all your spices in? There is a
fine line between having too many spices/condiments and not
having enough but you have to walk that line. Even if you have a
40 foot Class A Mega Super Duper Motor home, you only have so
much space. Sit down and look at the recipe’s you are going to
use and then figure out what spices/condiments you can bring and
which ones to leave at home.

4. 10% Above – Get 10% more food then you think you should take.
If your family usually eats 4 hamburgers, take 5 or 6. If they
usually eat 6 pieces of Corn on the Cob take 8. I don’t know for
sure what it is but whenever you go camping everybody seems to
be HUNGRY all the time. It might be because they are running
around doing more stuff or it might be something in the air, I
don’t know.

5. KIS – Keep It Simple. Realize that you are going to be in the
middle of the woods. Is it possible to cook a Rack of Lamb with
Herb-Dijon Nut Crust, Parisienne Potatoes, Green Beans Wrapped
In Carrot Ring and Pureed Sweet Potato Basket? Yes it is
technically possible. Should you attempt it? Heck NO! Don’t get
me wrong, I’m not saying to plan 3 square of milk and cereal. I
am saying to remember where you are going to be and the mostly
primitive cooking tools you will have at your disposal. 6. Test
Runs- If you are planning on cooking on a campfire, or using a
new grill, or cooking in your RV for the first time on your next
trip…Don’t Do It! Always, always, always do a test run at home
before you get out there. Build a little fire in your backyard
and figure out if you need some charcoal to bolster the wood
fire and make it cook more evenly. Make sure you know how to
hook up that new grill and where the hot spots are. It is really
not a lot of fun to get out into the woods somewhere and burn
your dinner to a crisp or have it sitting in the bottom of the
campfire because of a “equipment malfunction”. So always do a
test run.

7. Try a new Treat – Remembering strategy number 6, my family
always tries a new treat whenever we go camping. Whether it be a
new recipe for our green bean casserole or a naughty little
after dinner snack, we try something new every time. This
doesn’t have to mean something exotic that you’re not sure the
animals would even like. Just look around on the internet, there
are a ton of campfire / Dutch oven recipes out there for you to
try.

Well that’s it, that’s my list of 7 Need to Know Campsite
Cooking Strategies. This is not a wish-list or a group of things
I pulled out of thin air. I use this list each and every time I
plan a trip for my family, my friends and my troop. This list if
used properly will keep you in good stead for your trips. You
won’t run out of food, you won’t eat bland food, you won’t bring
home a ton of unused and possibly spoiled food and most
importantly dinner won’t be a chore while camping.

What heats up fastest? What is best for scraping of cooked on food?

Heating up a pot/pan quickly isn't exactly the way to good cooking. Most people use way too much heat when cooking which causes food to stick.

Copper bottom stainless steel is the ultimate cooking vessel, however, there is much to be said about high heat cooking with cast iron.

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The market is filled with numerous varieties and brands of cookware to choose from that we often get confused on which ones to buy. Often, we purchase an entire set of cookware, without even knowing the different functions of the other pots, pans, etc. and what they really ought to be used for. So, we end up with a lot of clutter and unused cookware in the kitchen which is a complete waste of precious money aside from the fact that it will be occupying valuable space.

Before you go on buying any cookware or a cookware set for that matter, you should assess your needs on whether you need to buy only a few pieces or your requirements need for you to have a complete set. I will mention here some of the most common cookware and what they are basically used for so that you would know which ones to buy and which are more useful on your end.

Skillets or popularly known as frying pans are shallow and are best used for sautéing vegetables as well as searing and cooking meat. Pressure cookers are useful in tenderizing meat and it easily cooks the food. Stock pots are used for making soups and stocks. Casserole pans are used for making casserole. They are commonly made of Pyrex or ceramic. The great thing about casseroles is that they double also as a serving dish. A wok is popularly used in Chinese type of cooking. This is used for stir frying vegetables and small pieces of meat. It cooks food in high heat with little amount of oil. If you enjoy making grilled sandwiches, pancakes or French toast, why not opt to buy a griddle. The most popular types of griddles are the electric ones and those that are Teflon coated. A double boiler is one that is made of two pots with a smaller pot sitting on top of a larger one that is filled with water. If you enjoy grill food, you could also purchase an indoor grill that saves you the expense of an outdoor grill. It also offers the advantage of being less messy. Saucepans are deep round pans used for creating sauces, stewing and simmering.

If you want to have one of each kind you could choose to go for cookware sets. It is usually cheaper than if you were to buy all the items on the set individually. But I would suggest that if you wouldn’t have any use for the other kinds; purchase only the ones which would be highly useful for you.

i have trouble arranging the lids especially? any helpful hints in arranging pots and pans???

Go from the largest pot on the bottom, to smaller pots as you go up. They fit inside one another. My range has a drawer on the bottom so that's a great place for covers.Frying pans same thing, largest to smallest fitting the smallest as you graduate to the top….What else can you do other than fling them in wherever. I mean get real……….

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