Any serious cooks out there to recommend some good cookware..?

I am looking at getting some new cookware for our kitchen. I am one of the most fussiest and passionate food person and having more of a difficult time selecting the cookware than I have ever had with selecting an IP… no exaggeration..! I started looking at Boxing day and still cant make up my mind.

I love slow cooking with lots of herbs/ spices and food cooked at slow heat for the flavours to really get absorbed – so looking at something with a ceramic coating overall, perhaps some clay based, non-stick and very very heavy.

I looked at Bessemer and like their range however compared it to Le Crusset and Emile Henry and very confused if the super expensive French cookware is any better to Bessemer (Aus made).

Bessemer doesn’t make Tagines, which I am very inclined to get as part of the set. Le Cruesset and Emile Henry do however the Tagines are very small and only enough for a serving for 3-4 people… however being very social we have dinner parties where we invite between 20-30 people and do a lot of cooking over the weekend, hence size of pots are very important to cater for large gatherings.

Other thing with Bessemer is that the cookware has too many casserole and baking ware with large capacity however not much in cooking pot range.

Are there any specialist stores which might stock all of those brands so I can go have a look and get some advice rather than finding bits of them everywhere with some on direct mail order, ebay, etc.

Harris
 
I love slow cooking with lots of herbs/ spices and food cooked at slow heat for the flavours to really get absorbed – so looking at something with a ceramic coating overall, perhaps some clay based, non-stick and very very heavy.

How about a good old slow cooker? Set in the morning, forget until night.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
How about a good old slow cooker? Set in the morning, forget until night.

Cheers,

The Y-man

thats what we are doing at the moment on scanpans... Pressure cooker tenderises the food too quickly and doesnt give the ideal mix of flavours. Clay / ceramic tend to capture the heat and spread it very slowly and evenly within the whole pot.

Have found a couple of forums on cooking and posted there as well.. hopefully will get some responses from there.

Thanks
Harris
 
thats what we are doing at the moment on scanpans... Pressure cooker tenderises the food too quickly and doesnt give the ideal mix of flavours. Clay / ceramic tend to capture the heat and spread it very slowly and evenly within the whole pot.

Have found a couple of forums on cooking and posted there as well.. hopefully will get some responses from there.

Thanks
Harris

We use an electric slow cooker.... they are like a rice cooker, except bigger and have a heavy ceramic bowl
e.g.
http://www.breville.com.au/products_detail.asp?prod=408

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Have you considered the thermo pot ? It does this
"cooking with lots of herbs/ spices and food cooked at slow heat for the flavours to really get absorbed "
very well but is not ceramic coating as you have specify though.
I used to have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker but now use this pot a lot. Great for casserole, stew and soup. Save cooking time and keep food hot for picnic or party at friend's etc coz it cooks while is the boot of the car....

http://small-appliances.wowshopper....der-cookingpots-tiger-nfa-thermal-cookers.htm
 
Last edited:
Have you considered the thermo pot ? It does this
"cooking with lots of herbs/ spices and food cooked at slow heat for the flavours to really get absorbed "
very well but is not ceramic coating as you have specify though.
I used to have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker but now use this pot a lot. Great for casserole, stew and soop. Save cooking time and keep food hot for picnic or party at friend's etc coz it cooks while is the boot of the car....

http://small-appliances.wowshopper....der-cookingpots-tiger-nfa-thermal-cookers.htm
I haven't come across a thermo pot before, but it may fit in well with the lifestyle I follow.
Some WEB advertising states the food continues to cook for a further 10 minutes ,yet other advertising states this could be 3 times longer at 30 minutes.
What have you found?
Can you overcook the food ?
Are the differences between presussure cooking , which I do a lot with vegetables in particular, and a thermo pot ,a little better or hugely superior?

What drawbacks might there be?
 
redsquash,

With pressure cooker you have to be "there" all the time. With thermo pot you are only in the kitchen for 10/15 mins. Thermo pot cooks in lower temp so preserves the flavour much better. You can think of it as a slow cooker but does not need electricity. The only energy it needs is the 10 mins or so on the stove at the begining ,to bring to boi evenly.

I have the 6litre Tiger brand. It continues to cook for hours not minutes.Yes you can over cook your veg in it it if you don't want them too soft but carrots, potatoes etc are OK.
For example to cook soup/broth with pork bones/ribs, carrots, potatoes, beetroot, peas, onion, I put all in the inner pot+water, bring to boil, put in salt, pepper to taste, skim the "dirty" froth etc , put lid on, wait for it to boil evenly for another minute or 2, then take it off the stove, into the outer pot.
That's it.
If i do this at night before bed I can have hot soup/casserole ready for me in the morning. If I cook in in the morning, after the initial 15 mins as I describe above, I can then put it in the car, go shopping for 5, 6 hrs and then drop by a friend's party in the afternoon/evening with my casserole still hot yummy ready to eat. This feature is unique.

Drawback is it does not cook "quickly" as the pressure cooker. And it is quite expensive, (in the high $200). I heard some cheaper brands may not keep the heat/cooking long / well as the Tiger.
Asian people particularly Chinese use this pot a lot coz the Chinese believe in the health benefit of drinking soup (they have so many different types of soup for different seasons, benefits etc).
 
Hi Harris,

My hubby was a chef and he recommends the best thing for you to do is go into a commercial cookwear supplier/hospitality supplier, as they have big showrooms and usually qualified staff to help you with your decision.

In Perth we get all our cooking gear from Gibpat....don't think you would have one in Melbourne, but sure to have something similar. Here's a link to their website as they have an online catalogue.

www.gibpat.com.au

have fun

sq:)
 
Thanks guys for the responses.

I got a number of responses from a couple of cooking forums and the recommendations from experienced & very fussy cooks/ chefs is as follows in order of preference:

1- Le Crusset

2- Fissler

3- Emile Henry

4- Bessemer

5- Le Chasseur

6- Mario Batali


Melbourne doesnt have any outlets that would stock majority of european cookware under one roof, hence would probably go with either Le Crusset or Fissler.

Thanks again !

Harris
 

Have you tried "The Essential Ingredient" in Prahran, or "Chef's Essentials" in Moonee Ponds?

Regards,

Tracey in Brisbane
 
Definitely Le Creuset. I love my large stockpot - it cooks the best curries - and the more I use it the better it gets. It cooks the best Lamb shanks.
 
Just adding my vote to those who voted for Le Creuset - first came across it in a holiday house we rented years ago and have been a huge fan ever since. As Pushka says, it cooks great curries and casseroles!

Cheers
LynnH
 
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