The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 45

one.Thegoodnewshereisthatwhenitcomestostockpots,
the absolute cheapest will do. You’ll never be doing
anything in here aside from boiling or simmering vast
amounts of liquid, so all you need is something that will
hold water and stay level. You shouldn’t have to spend
morethan$40orsoonone.
8.SomethingtoRoastIn
Decent roasting pans are expensive; there’s no two ways
about it. Just like with skillets, the best roasting pans are
made with layered metals—stainless steel sandwiched with
analuminumcore.Whenchoosingaroastingpan,Ilookfor
one that I can use directly on a burner on the stovetop as
well as in the oven, something with comfortable handles,
andsomethingthatisthickenoughthatitwon’twarpunder
theheatoftheovenortheweightofaturkey.MyCalphalon
panislargeandsturdy,andithasaniceU-shapedrackfor
holdinglargeroasts.It’sabout$140,andIuseitabouttwice
ayear,whenIcookbigroastsonholidays.
Wanttoknowthehonesttruth?Icouldeasilylivewithout
it.What I couldn’t live without is a heavy-duty aluminum
rimmedbakingsheetwithawirecoolingracksetonit.It’s
lighter and cheaper, stores right in the oven, and has the
addedadvantagethatit’sshallow,makingitmucheasierfor
hotairtocirculatearoundthefoodthat’scooking.It’swhat
I use for roasting the other 363 days of the year. Mine has
seen countless roast chickens, and it is warped and bent
beyond belief, but it still does its job just as well as it ever
did. I bought it for about $10 at a cooking supply store,
along with a rack that cost another $5 or $6. (You can get

these pans online as well—they’re called half sheet pans.
NordicWaremakesafineoneforabout$15.)

HOWTOBUYANDCAREFORA
WOK
Agoodwokisoneofthemostversatilepansinthekitchen.
TherearethosewhoarguethatonaWesternstove,withits
flat, relatively low-output burners, a regular nonstick skillet
is a superior vessel for stir-frying; they may have even
showedyousomefancychartsprovingthataskilletgetsto
a higher temperature and maintains its heat better. This is
utter and complete nonsense. All the charts in the world
won’t tell you as much as your mouth, and the fact is, stirfries do taste better when made in a wok, because a good
stir-fry is not simply about the temperature the metal
reaches.It’saboutcorrecttossingandaerosolizationoffats
andjuicesastheyleapupbeyondtheedgesofthewokand
aretouchedbytheflameoftheburner.It’sabouttheability
to rapidly heat and cool a piece of food as you flip it over
andoverthroughthedifferentheatzonescreatedbythepan
as (much as flipping a burger frequently will improve its
cooking—seehere). It’s about wokhei, the slightly smoky,
charred, metallic flavor that only comes from a seasoned
cast-iron or carbon steel pan heated to ripping-hot
temperatures.
I digress. Obviously, woks are the best choice for stirfrying, but they’re also the ideal vessel for deep-frying,
steaming, and indoor smoking. My wok is by far the most
commonlyusedpaninmykitchen.