[Sca-cooks] If you only had one cooking pot

[Judith L. Smith Adams]

My #8 cast iron chicken fryer, the first pot I ever bought (for about $10 new), source of endless batches of term-paper popcorn, now aged to a glossy black satin surface with all the best properieties of teflon but it doesn't wear out!  Big enough for soup and chili and chicken and dumplings for a crowd, but not entirely ridiculous for a single over-easy egg...  I have wa-a-a-y more pots 'n' pans than I "need," but this is the best-loved...  I got by for my first three or four years in the kitchen with the chicken fryer, a pyrex lid, a 2 1/2 quart non-stick saucepan, and an 8 quart nonstick stockpot.  
   
  This was all the batterie I owned the year I deboned a capon, restuffed the intact skin with the brandied ground meat and strips of dark meat and ham and carrot and I forget what-all that would look decorative when the thing was sliced... This was poached in broth made from the bones and decorated with flowers cut from carrot slices and stems of green onion, the broth clarified and made into the aspic that anchored the decorative bits and enclosed the whole in shiny transparency...  Transported the beast across town on a hot (102F) day on ice in a foam cooler... where it was served for lunch and consumed in less than five minutes... All glory is fleeting...   
   
  In the years since, in an antique mall, I found a well-seasoned 12-inch round griddle that I paid a lot of money for and love nearly as much as the chicken fryer.  Quesadillas, English muffins and crumpets, pancakes, grilled sandwiches... 
   
  Got a screaming deal on my Dutch oven, but it hasn't gotten as much use yet - I have one in enameled cast iron that I use a LOT, though I suspect the black iron will go camping...  But it has a domed lid, and what I really want is the kind with the top that holds coals...
   
  Two insanely costly but my-god-can-they-cook heavy-copper/steel-lined windsor saucepans used mostly for (very) small batches of chutney, jam, etc.  Also pans of choice for the rare occasion on which I make hollandaise (me macho and don't need no stinking double boiler... for hollandaise, anyway)...  If I ever have a place with a garden, I'll grow tarragon for bearnaise, and use the pans more often (salivating at the thought).  And I COVET a 5 or 6 quart version of these for everything from sautes to bigger batches of preserves, but doubt I'll ever see that much money...  These days, if I had that kind of funding, I'd probably invest it in a European vacation :-, but if I were starting over, this is one I'd save and plan for...  still might.  Really heavy copper really is different...
   
  In non-stick anodyzed aluminum, two skillets, a small saute pan, and a 3-quart saucepan for omelets and rice and reheating soup and parboiling onions and peaches and tomatoes, and all that quick and dirty cooking we do...  
   
  A lot of old Farberware - stock pots from 4 to 16 quarts, a saute pan for when I want a good fond, my favorite just-for-one tiny sauce pan for morning oatmeal...
   
  A couple of enameled cast iron saucepans and a small covered casserole, all of 'em used mostly to boil eggs or serve up a cheese fondue/Welsh rabbit/rarebit (not so fashionable these days, but tastes as good as it ever did!)
   
  Nary a wok, though I've had several.  Currently holding out for one in cast iron from wokshop.com, where the price is right...
   
  Love my kitchen stuff...
  Judith    

Sharon Gordon <gordonse at one.net> wrote:
  If you only had one cooking pot, what is the most versatile to have?

It seems to me that a metal of one of iron with metal handles is one of the
most useful. But I can't decide if it's better to have a soup kettle, a
dutchoven with the sort of lid you can put coals on, or a wok?

Non SCA people might choose a small titanium pot for its light weight which
is a good point for modern backpackers. But for maximum food quality and
cooking versatility, the iron ones seem more flexible to me.

What would you choose, and what size do you think is best for people cooking
for a small family and sometimes contributing a dish to a group meal?

Sharon
gordonse at one.net


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