Top Cookware Sets Blog

Adding Pull Out Shelves to existing cabinets will add value to the kitchen area and possibly the entire home. Many homeowners find it difficult to organize the pantry and kitchen cabinets because these cabinets are dark deep areas and difficult to arrange by nature.

Pull out shelves can be installed in kitchen and pantry cabinets without any modifications to the cabinet itself. A custom made to fit pull out shelf will fit in the cabinet opening allowing free access to organize and store all your kitchen goods.

Pull out shelves have been around for decades. These kitchen and pantry shelves have been given many names, pull out shelves, slide out shelves, roll out shelves, shelves that slide out, slide out drawers, etc. Whatever you want to call them, the main purpose is to give access to cabinets from the outside rather than crawling inside.

Calling these shelves, drawers is a little misleading as drawers will have a facing that matches the front of the kitchen or pantry cabinet and the facing closes onto the cabinet face front. Pull out shelves are designed to be installed inside the cabinet and are covered when the cabinet door is closed. By designing your cabinets with pull out shelves you get the convenience of a drawer without the expense of removing the existing doors, modifying the cabinet frame, and adding drawer fronts. And slide out shelves are attractive enough to show visitors to your home.

Most realtors will tell you that a kitchen with pull out shelves tends to attract buyers. The kitchen remodel will add and retain the most value to any home upgrade or remodel. With pull out shelves installed, you get the value and convenience in one package.

When looking for kitchen slide out shelves keep two main things in mind, the construction of the pull out shelf and the weight capacity of the slide. Companies the cut labor costs will surface mount the bottom to the shelf. This practice was common years ago and many can remember drawers that had the bottoms sagging down that required continual maintenance. A kitchen slide out shelf should have the bottom captured with a dadoe groove that adds strength to the entire shelf. Some manufacturers cut production costs by installing slides that are not rated for the application. Drawer slides have two ratings: static and dynamic: static is the weight capacity of the slide when the drawer or shelf is sitting inside the cabinet, dynamic is the slide weight capacity when the drawer or slide is pulled out. Look for a shelf that has a rating of 100 lbs. static and 75 lbs. dynamic. Keep in mind that the weight capacity will not include the weight of the pull out shelf itself. A slide that has a rating of 75/50 works well for cutlery drawers but will break down when loaded with pots, pans, and heavy cookware.

Installing pull out shelves is not limited to the areas where there are current shelves. Most base kitchen cabinets have two shelves (the bottom of the cabinet and a shelf in the middle). Although installing pull out shelves in these two areas is the most common application, you can stack 3-4 shelves in a base cabinet if your storage needs call for it. Pantry cabinets and base kitchen cabinets can also be fitted with pilasters that allow you to add numerous pull out shelves and adjust the vertical placement of the shelves as you desire. Pilasters also allow the shelves to be moved if storage placement changes.

Slide Out Shelves LLC
http://www.articlesbase.com/kitchens-articles/cabinet-pull-out-shelves-add-convenience-and-value-727732.html

It could just be that when you speak to a person and tell that you do all your cooking on an induction stove you will be asked the question what an induction stove is. A lot of people may have heard of it but probably have never cooked on one and may even not understand the principle behind it. We can put cooking stoves in to 2 major categories namely gas and electric. There used to be 3 but coal/wood these days are only use for barbecues or some other type of outdoor cooking but for day to day cooking we use either gas or electricity.

Electric stoves can be divided in 3 sub classes, they are:

. The classic and still popular stoves with coil elements
. The halogen heaters
. The induction stoves

With a halogen or coil element stove they produce the heat
that gets transferred to the pot, pan, cooker etc. etc. and then to the contents of those, with induction it the other way around. When your cooking on an induction stove the pot or pan is the one generating the heat. When you hear this for the first time it might be a bit confusing to you but it is not that hard to understand. Ones you understand the principle behind induction cooking and you get your first experience with this type of stove you will probably never want to cook on anything else again.

An electric stove with a coil or halogen works in such a way that once you turn the stove on the element (the coil or halogen) will start to heat up. It does not matter if there is a pot or pan on that element or not it will heat up either way. That heat is then, like we said before, transferred to the pot or pan and then to the food. When you take the pot or pan of the element it will remain hot until you turn it off, then it will slowly start to cool but this will take some time. You can also login on to www.apples-recipes.com. With induction cooking the element will start to produce a high frequency electromagnetic field which passes right through the pot or pan. The pot or pan must be made out of magnetic material. This electric (magnetic) current that circulates is what generates the heat. This is the big difference between induction cooking and the other two types of electric cooking.

Now that the pot or pan is heating up that same heat is transferred to the food or liquid that is inside it. The moment you take the pot or pan from the stove (element) the magnetic field that was circulating is broken and stopped and immediately the generation of heat stops as well. With a coil or halogen element you have to turn the element of to stop the heat generation, with induction cooking there is no heat as long as there is no electromagnetic field circulation. The only heat you will feel when you take the pot or pan from the stove is the heat that was transferred from the pot or pan into the surface of the stove, not the element it self because that never produced the heat.

There is one thing that you have to keep in mind when you would like to start cooking on an induction stove. You can only use steel or iron pots because the material needs to be magnetic in nature. So all your aluminum, copper or Pyrex cookware would be made obsolete once you start cooking on an induction stove.

But if you are used to cooking electric then you will find that once you cook with induction you will probably not be going back to that halogen or coil element.

Surender Kumar
http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/some-principles-behind-induction-cooking-682615.html

An experienced cook who knows his way around the kitchen knows that the saying “a workman is only as good as his tools” goes for kitchen work as well. I have a secret weapon – www.CooksPlus.com. CooksPlus is an online and brick and mortar store that specializes in everything to do with the kitchen – kitchenware, bakeware, small kitchen appliances, cutlery, and just about anything else you can think about. CooksPlus features all of the big brand names, and only the very best quality products.

I’m all about high quality products, because I figured out a long time ago that it’s worth the money to invest in high quality, and brand name items. It’s also worth the time to do some research. For example, why is cast iron (including enameled cast iron) better for some things, and copper for others? How are you going to decide if you need a cast iron cookware item, or a copper cookware item, or whether you may need both? Something to think about and hopefully this article can help.

Both copper and cast iron cookware are known for good heat conduction, which is a very important feature to consider when making this choice. But the heat conductivity of copper is different from this property in cast iron cookware. Copper pans respond a lot to heat change, whereas cast iron pots and pans don’t change heat so quickly. What this means is that copper cookware will heat and cool very quickly, but cast iron cookware takes a while to heat up, and then holds on to the heat for a long time. With an iron pot or pan you can even turn the temperature way down, and the pot will keep cooking the food for you for a long time. The result of this difference between copper cookware and cast iron cookware boils down to this question: Do you need that feature of variable heat cooking? This is the key point makes copper cookware the logical choice, if it’s a feature you need. On the other hand, copper is more expensive than cast iron. So if you don’t really care about fast changes, stick to the iron pots and pans.

In either case, you’ll want to see what they have at www.CooksPlus.com; a great assortment of all types of cookware, bakeware and other kitchenware items.

temp_112556
http://www.articlesbase.com/kitchens-articles/comparison-of-cast-iron-and-copper-cookware-734509.html

We want to buy a new stove and have always been a fan of smooth-topped electric stoves, even though most people enjoy the gas stoves better. We have a gas stove currently. Can we replace our gas stove with an electric one or do we have to go with a gas stove?
Hmmmm…Will a voltage tester tell me if I have a 220 volt plug?

You don’t need a voltage tester. A 220 receptacle is about 3" long, and has 3 "odd" shaped holes. It can extend away from the wall.

Does a lamp you have plug in the one you have? If yes, it’s a 110.

We are due to move house in the next 4 weeks and have a collection of antique china, cutlery and other pieces. It has been handed down our family but has no sentimental value to me as I tend to treasure photographs and memories more than anything. We will have no space to store it at our new home and I am wondering where the best place to sell these types of things would be. Any knowledge welcome?

Contact your local auction house/auctioneers and they will sort it for you from there.

Someone told me that aluminum cookware can ultimately contribute to dementia. That sounds a little extreme and I don’t know if it’s true (hopefully not because I’ve been using that kind of cookware since 1990…)

But if you go with an alternative, should it be teflon coated? Old fashioned cast iron cookware? What (if anything) would be a healthier option?

Old-fashioned cast iron or steel pans would be best.

I use tephon coated for frying, but hardly fry stuff anymore. I had a hard time trying to find stainless steel cookie sheets, had to buy them online.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3864.htm

Aluminum Cookware
Aluminum is in air, water, soil, plants, animals, foods and household products. More than half of all cookware sold today is made of aluminum, usually coated with nonstick finishes or treated in some way to harden the structure and make it more scratch-resistant.

There is no evidence that aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease as was once suggested by researchers. However, for those who would like to avoid exposure to aluminum, the best way would be to avoid antacids containing aluminum and to use deodorants (which generally do not contain aluminum) rather than antiperspirants.

Many over-the-counter medicines contain aluminum. One antacid tablet can contain 50 milligrams of aluminum and a buffered aspirin tablet may contain about 10 to 20 milligrams of aluminum.

In contrast, a person using uncoated aluminum pans for all cooking and food storage every day would take in an estimated 3.5 milligrams of aluminum daily. However, storing highly acidic or salty foods such as tomato sauce, rhubarb or sauerkraut in aluminum pots may cause more aluminum than usual to enter the food and is not recommended. (These foods will also cause pitting on the pot’s surface.)

Anodized Aluminum Cookware
The anodization process hardens the surface of aluminum cookware making it non-stick, scratch-resistant and easy to clean. Manufacturers claim that a final stage in the anodization process seals the aluminum, preventing any leaching into food. This cookware doesn’t react to acidic foods, so these pots and pans are top choices for cooking rhubarb and sauces with tomato, wine and lemon juice.

Cast Iron Cookware
This all-time classic is strong, inexpensive, and an even conductor of heat for browning, frying and baking foods. Cooking with cast iron also provides a source of an important nutrient. Foods cooked in unglazed cast iron may contain twice the amount of iron they would otherwise.

Cast-iron utensils should be handled differently from other utensils. To prevent rust damage, the inside of cast iron cookware should be coated frequently with unsalted cooking oil. It should not be washed with strong detergents or scoured and should be wiped dry immediately after rinsing.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/ask_treehugger_16.php

Aluminum exposures from cookware, of which more than half is made of aluminum, is not well studied, but is thought to be a relatively minor source of aluminum exposures. Exposures to aluminum through food can occur when aluminum leaches or otherwise dissolves from the cookware into the food. Leaching is most likely when the foods being cooked or stored are highly basic (like baking soda) or highly acidic (like tomato sauce, lemon juice, oranges, or vinegar). For example, tomato sauce has been shown to contain 3-6 mg aluminum (per 100 g serving) after cooking in aluminum pans, which translates into about one-tenth of the typical daily intake. This leaching of aluminum with acidic foods does not happen with aluminum cookware that is anodized, or electro-chemically processed to seal the aluminum in the cookware. Clemson University Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center tested different cookware types, and found anodized aluminum cookware to be safe. Regardless, it would probably be wise to store tomato sauce and other acidic foods in something other than an aluminum pot.

I have a cabinet in my kitchen above my stove ,I want to get an over the stove microwave, but from the top of the stove to the top of cabinet is 29 in i was told it had to be 30 in.What can I do?

It depends entirely on the Manufacturer’s Installation Specifications. Some Over-the-Range microwaves are 12" -13" in height, and manufacturer specs may allow as little as 15" clearance. But remember that you will have only have 15"-16" clearance for your cookware, too limiting a space to really cook in.
Also, the floor of the microwave should be no higher than 3" below the user’s shoulder height. Most Over-the-Range microwaves will be at 56" or higher, too high for most users. Removing hot materials that are above shoulder height causes the vessel to be tipped forward, spilling hot liquid on the user.
The microwave is often the major cooking appliance for children (after-school snacks, popcorn) and definitely dangerous at this location. Plus, a secondary cook may be assisting by using the microwave, and interfering with the primary cook using the range.
If you can plan any other space (below counter top at least 20" above the floor, or countertop height) avoid the very dangerous location above the range.

I’m in the market for kitchen cutlery, any suggestions?

I purchased a set from the Ronco guy. It really is the best I have ever had. I have had it for 5 years now.

What is your favorite brand of cookware and why? Which brand do you hate and why?

I purchased an entire set of stainless steel Calphalon at a local department store. The series was called "Cooking with Calphalon" and I found out very quickly that it’s the low-end of the product quality spectrum. I was excited to see Calphalon at an affordable price. Sadly, you get what you pay for. One day I hope to have a higher-end set of Calphalon. That would be great.

Someone already mentioned La Creuset cookware. It’s cast iron covered in porcelain enamel. Fantastic cookware, but fantastically expensive.

I obtained one piece of Circulon cookware from a friend and I’ve loved it since the day I got it. It browns beautifully…I’ve never had a cooking mishap in that pan. Just like every other brand, there is a low-end and high-end product line.

And – you can never go wrong with good ol’ cast iron. For the right things, of course.

In my opinion…if you’re ever in doubt — always consult Williams Sonoma. I LOVE that store. I trust just about every brand they sell!

When it comes to designing a green kitchen, evaluating stove cooktops for their energy efficiency can cause you to make a decision between convenience or your preferred method of cooking and being eco-friendly. But, if you really want to conserve energy and help to reduce your carbon footprint, your stove cooktop is something you need to consider in your kitchen design.

Unless you are going to cook in your fireplace over an open flame, you’ve got to consider the energy usage of the model of stove or cooktop that you buy. Most cooks prefer a gas cook top. With gas, the heat is easier to control and this can make cooking a lot easier.

However, gas stoves are powered by natural gas which is a fossil fuel and, as we know, fossil fuels are not that environmentally friendly. On the other hand, the electricity that powers electric cook tops comes mainly from coal burning power plants which, once again, are not that environmentally friendly. So, what’s an environmentally sympathetic cook to do?

When it comes right down to it, choosing stoves and cooktops that are practical and good for the environment boils down to one thing – the efficiency of energy usage.

Which Stove Cooktops Are Most Energy Efficient?

When looking for energy efficiency, the electric cooktops are going to beat the gas ones hands-down. They are simply more efficient, so if the environment is tops on your list, go with electric.

But, there are many different types of electric cooktops that you’ll need to evaluate for your green kitchen. In today’s electric cooktops, there are many choices between the surface elements. These include induction elements, halogen elements and the traditional electric coil that seemed to be almost old-fashioned today. Each of these has it’s advantages and disadvantages and they are not all equal when it comes to energy efficiency.

Needless to say, the newer technology cooktops are going to be more costly but they will also be more energy-efficient. The induction stove is the most energy-efficient because it transfers energy electromagnetically right to your pan. Of course, these are the highest priced.

The ceramic glass cooktops that use halogen elements are the next best when it comes to using energy, however if you don’t have very flat pans, you will be wasting energy because they do not work efficiently if there isn’t good pan to cooktop contact.

The least expensive – the electric coils are also the least energy-efficient not to mention the least attractive so please cross these right off your list when shopping for new cooktops for your kitchen!

When considering stove cooktops for your kitchen, you’re going to have to weigh your budget with your desire to lower your carbon footprint. Just like most things in life, you have to compromise to achieve your goals. Going with a higher-priced and more efficient model might cost you more upfront but can save on your energy expense as well as your impact to the environment over time.

Sunny Miller
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/green-kitchen-guide-to-energy-efficient-stove-cooktops-725233.html