Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES) and rustless steel, is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 10.5% chromium and usually nickel, and may also contain other elements, such as carbon, to obtain the desired properties. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion results from the chromium, which forms a passive film that can protect the material and self-heal in the presence of oxygen.
A wok is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan of Chinese origin. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in Greater China, and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as being popular in other parts of the world.
Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware and bakeware.
A Dutch oven or casserole dish (international) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminum, or ceramic. Some metal varieties are enameled rather than being seasoned, and these are sometimes called French ovens. The international name casserole dish is from the French casserole which means "cooking pot". They are similar to both the Japanese tetsunabe and the sač, a traditional Balkan cast-iron oven, and are related to the South African potjie, the Australian Bedourie oven and Spanish cazuela.
Brillo is a trade name for a scouring pad, used for cleaning dishes, and made from steel wool impregnated with soap. The concept was patented in 1913, at a time when aluminium pots and pans were replacing cast iron in the kitchen; the new cookware blackened easily. The company's website states the name Brillo is from the Latin word for "bright", although no such word exists in Latin. In Spanish the word brillo means the noun "shine"; however, German, Italian, French, and English do have words for "shine" or "bright" beginning with brill- deriving from Latin words for beryl.
Chore Boy is a brand name for a coarse scouring pad made of steel wool, copper wool or non-metallic terry cloth and all-purpose sponges. It is ideal for cleaning BBQ grills, cookware, glassware, oven racks and stove burners. During the first half of the 20th century, the product was marketed under the name Chore Girl.
Induction cooking is performed using direct electrical induction heating of cooking vessels, rather than relying on indirect radiation, convection, or thermal conduction. Induction cooking allows high power and very rapid increases in temperature to be achieved: changes in heat settings are instantaneous.
Le Creuset is a French-Belgian maker of cookware. They are best known for producing enameled cast-iron cookware. The company first manufactured their products in the town of Fresnoy-le-Grand in France in 1925, which are similar in function to a Dutch oven but with T-shaped handles. The Le Creuset Dutch oven is on display in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. as a part of the recreation of the chef Julia Child's kitchen. It has been widely reported to be her favorite cooking pot, though specialist sources hold that it was the Dutch oven of Le Creuset's less-remembered competitor Descoware that was her real favorite. The company also makes many other types of cookware and bakeware, from fondue-sets to tagines.
Heavy-duty cookware made of cast iron is valued for its heat retention, durability, ability to maintain high temperatures for longer time duration, and non-stick cooking when properly seasoned. Seasoning is also used to protect bare cast iron from rust. Types of cast iron cookware include frying pans, dutch ovens, griddles, waffle irons, flattop grills, panini presses, crepe makers, deep fryers, tetsubin, woks, potjies, and karahi.
Meyer Corporation is a cookware distributor based in Vallejo, California, United States, whose parent company is Hong Kong-based Meyer Manufacturing Co. Ltd. It is the largest cookware distributor in the United States and second largest in the world. The company was founded in 1981. Cookware labels or lines for which Meyer is the parent firm include Circulon, Anolon, the now-defunct Steelon range, NapaStyle, SilverStone, Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Cake Boss, Ruffoni, Ayesha Curry, Joe Wicks, Breville Cookware, Prestige and BonJour. Meyer owns the license for cookware produced under the Farberware label in addition to producing private label cookware for Macy's and Sur La Table.
Lagostina is an Italian manufacturer of cookware, cutlery and other kitchenware. They are also an important manufacturer of pressure cookers. Lagostina was founded in 1901 in Omegna, Province of Verbania, Italy, as a family business initially focusing on stainless steel flatware.
Vita Craft Corporation is a manufacturer of multi-ply stainless steel cookware and other cookware products. The cookware is manufactured and sold in the United States, but the majority of sales are from the Asian and European markets. Japan alone accounts for about 80% of Vita Craft's revenue. In Asia and Europe, Vita Craft is sold in department stores. In the United States, Vita Craft is sold door-to-door, at food-related events and conventions using a direct selling model. Imura International USA Inc. is the parent company of Vita.
Emeril John Lagassé III is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003. He is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style. He is of Portuguese descent on his mother's side, while being of French heritage through his father.
A non-stick surface is engineered to reduce the ability of other materials to stick to it. Non-stick cookware is a common application, where the non-stick coating allows food to brown without sticking to the pan. Non-stick is often used to refer to surfaces coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a well-known brand of which is Teflon. In the twenty-first century, other coatings have been marketed as non-stick, such as anodized aluminium, silica, enameled cast iron, and seasoned cookware.
A kitchen utensil is a small hand-held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils are made for each task. A general purpose utensil such as a chef's knife may be used for a variety of foods; other kitchen utensils are highly specialized and may be used only in connection with preparation of a particular type of food, such as an egg separator or an apple corer. Some specialized utensils are used when an operation is to be repeated many times, or when the cook has limited dexterity or mobility. The number of utensils in a household kitchen varies with time and the style of cooking.
Revere Ware is a line of consumer and commercial kitchen wares introduced in 1939 by the Revere Brass & Copper Corp. The line focuses primarily on consumer cookware such as skillets, sauce pans, stock pots, and tea kettles. Initially Revere Ware was the culmination of various innovative techniques developed during the 1930s, the most popular being construction of stainless steel with rivetlessly attached bakelite handles, copper-clad bases and rounded interiors for ease of cleaning. Over the next 40+ years, Revere Ware would introduce new series to position itself in competition with other manufacturers at various price points, or for specific specialty markets. In the early 1960s the profitability of Revere Ware began to level off. Coinciding with new series introductions, cost-cutting measures were implemented in the manufacture of the traditional cookware. The bakelite handles were changed from two piece to one, and the thickness of utensil walls and copper cladding were reduced.
A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 20 to 30 cm in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared, more vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan. While a sauté pan can be used as a frying pan, it is designed for lower heat cooking.
Seasoning is the process of coating the surface of cookware with fat which is heated in order to produce a corrosion resistant layer of polymerized fat. It is required for raw cast-iron cookware and carbon steel, which otherwise rust rapidly in use, but is also used for many other types of cookware. An advantage of seasoning is that it helps prevent food sticking.
