In the last article , I discussed a few ideas to consider when buying cutlery for your college kitchen.  Today, I will give you simialr tips for pots and pans that shoudl be equipped in every kitchen.  

    Now that might seem like an obvious point, but it is a point that needs to be examined. When you are outfitting your kitchen, the essentials vary depending on what kind of cooking you plan on doing.

    For the person who throws a Hotpocket in the microwave before class, I recommend going with the bare essentials. And I do mean bare. Every kitchen needs two pans: a two-three quart saucepan and a 10-12 inch fry pan . Whether or not the fry pan has a non-stick coating is up to you and your style of cooking.

    Non-stick, or NS, cookware deserves a bit of expounding. In my experience, the majority of people who own NS cookware, such as Teflon, don't understand it. Over the past two years, I have seen more NS pans returned to Williams-Sonoma than any other pans. Why?

    Two reasons: NS pans require the use of wooden or silicon coated utensils. If metal is used on a Teflon pan, the coating is scratched off, and unfortunately the scratched off area often will get in your food. No one wants to be eating Teflon. The second biggest reason pans are returned is the over use of heat.

    A stove eye should be set to high in only a very limited number of circumstances, circumstances that the normal college student will not encounter. Nine out of Ten times, medium-high will get the job done, and you wont burn the bottom out of your pan.

    Pans, those with non-stick coatings and those without, should be hand washed. Hand washing with warm soapy water doesn't take long, and it extends the life of your pan for many years.

    The kitchens of those who only cook a little should have the two pans mentioned above and a sauté pan.

    Sauté pans come in a variety of sizes, and I recommend getting a four-quart pan with a lid. A sauté pan is one of the most versatile pans in a cook's arsenal because it can perform a number of functions. Shaped like a fry pan with three to four inch sides that stand straight up, the pan can be used for sautéing vegetables, making pan sauces, cooking meats, and a host of other possibilities.

    For those who cook on a regular basis, I would recommend pans, which cater to their own cooking interests, but I strongly suggest getting either a six to eight quart stockpot and a cast-iron fry pan.

    Stockpots are great for college students. By definition, a stockpot is used for creating mass quantities of food such as chili, soups, etc. These foods are often very cheap to create and last a long time.

    Cast-iron fry pans are a great addition to every serious cook's kitchen. They are cheap, usually around 20$ for a 12 inch, excellent conductors of heat, and they can go straight from stovetop to oven. Most higher end pans made by All Clad, Le Creuset , Calphalon , etc. are capable of stovetop to oven transfer, but lay outside of the budget constraints of college students. Cast-iron pans fulfill this role affordably. Cast iron pans can also be used as an indoor grill of sorts.

But where do you begin to find the pans, and what should they be made of?

Well if you want to buy the highest quality consumer grade pans, I recommend the All Clad brand. But since we are college students what cost corners can we cut?

    Unless you cook delicate sauces or need very delicate heat control, the material your pans are made of won't matter too much. So I suggest looking into stainless steel. Stainless steel is a decent conductor of heat, and is usually more tolerant to the wear and tear of a kitchen.

    Target offers several options for cookware that are affordable, and meet our needs.  Within the Knoxville area, Homegoods carries a large selection of discount pots and pans.

    Next article I will attempt to unravel the mystery of electrics, and kitchen gadgetry.