Should you buy cast iron, copper or stainless steel? How do you store them? And what about seasoning? Here is everything you need to know
Choosing the right pan can be a mind-boggling task. There’s a plethora of options, from stainless-steel skillets to heavy cast-iron pans, non-stick products coated in PTFE chemicals to carbon steel, blue steel, copper, ceramic and enamel, to name just a few. Are some materials and styles better to cook with than others? Do you need to tailor your pan to the type of hob? And once you have selected your cookware, how do you take care of it properly? Here is everything you could possibly want to know about pans.
Don’t cook it too quickly – and skim, skim, skim, says our expert culinary panel
Why is my chicken stock always cloudy? Ryan, by email From broths and risottos to sauces and braises, there’s no question that a good, flavourful stock will stand you in good stead. “It’s an underestimated kitchen job,” says Adam Byatt, chef/owner of Trinity, in southwest London, and author of Trinity: The Cookbook, which is published next week. “I love stock: it’s wholesome and fruitful, frugal and delicious.”
Ryan’s clarity issue, Byatt says, is “only ever caused by cooking the stock too quickly or by allowing the fat to boil back into the base liquid”. So it’s crucial to take things low and slow. You will also need a pan that’s “big and heavy enough to give the bones enough room for movement, as well as a very fine sieve for straining the stock”.
Social media ‘chefluencers’ and open restaurant kitchens have made chefs more visible and inspired aspirational gadget-buying
The Duchess of Sussex is no ordinary home cook, but when Meghan appeared on Instagram this week at a hob presided over by a special pot filler tap, it spoke to a shift in the everyday kitchen – the rise of “cheffy” kit.
Whether you sizzle, sweat, wet-fry or oven-cook, enhancing the savoury flavour of your mushrooms will depend on the variety, says our panel of fun guys
How do I cook mushrooms at home so they have the umami you get in restaurant dishes? John, by email
For Chantelle Nicholson, chef-patron of Apricity in London, boosting the savoury side of ’shrooms comes down to three main things. First, they hold a lot of water, so “you need to cook that out of them, so heat is super-important, as are fat and salt”. Tomás Gormley, chef-owner of Cardinal in Edinburgh, adds that he can “almost guarantee” that John isn’t using enough of the latter: “As a rule, I use 1.5% of the weight of whatever I’m seasoning. With mushrooms, especially, season early, before they hit the pan, to draw out their moisture. That resulting mushroomy water then cooks the mushrooms while it’s reducing and concentrating the flavour.”
But there are so many varieties of mushrooms out there, and they all behave in different ways, so John needs to be using the right ones for the job. “If you’re making a soup, puree or paté, field, portobello or button mushrooms are fine,” Nicholson says. “But if you’re looking for a delicious sauteed mushroom, say, ideally you need something with less water content – chestnut, shiitake or blue/grey oyster mushrooms. Heat oil in a pan, then add the shredded or sliced mushrooms, and season with fine salt straight away.” Nicholson would be inclined to toss in a bay leaf and some thyme or sage, too, and maybe a smashed clove of garlic. “Cook over a high-ish heat until lightly golden, then add a bit of butter and keep cooking until golden. If you want to enhance the flavour even further, a splash of dry sherry works really well.”
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