Pots, Pans and Purpose — Cookware Essentials
by Claire Walsh
Assessing and upgrading cookware where you need to will revitalise the home kitchen. Edit, then purchase with purpose in mind — you’re looking for a near-daily companion, so it’s worth investing in the right tool for the job.
If you want to start afresh, the Made In Small-Spaces Set is worth it: these pans are made in America, and reputable chefs and cooks rate them. If you are looking for a small saucepan for heating liquids: enamelled, or perhaps the dimpled texture of Japanese lightweight Yukihira saucepans.
Do you need Alessi’s big stainless steel pot for pasta, with a nesting colander insert? Quite probably. Frying pans are very personal for home cooks. It can get contentious. De Buyer’s non-stick pans come highly recommended; Ruthie Rogers says all her chefs at the River Café use them at home; the handles come in bright colours and don’t cost a fortune.
How about another Dutch oven? There is a whole world of interesting shapes and colours to be stalked on resale sites. Revive their surfaces with a mix of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) and dish soap. Le Creuset’s La Mama range, designed for the brand by Italian legend Enzo Mari in 1972, is so characterful. Set a search alert on eBay!
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Claire Walsh is Design Editor at Patter. Based in Los Angeles, she has contributed to titles including Wallpaper*, Elle Deco and Sight Unseen, and is the founder of Domestic Goods. @domesticgoods
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