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Pots or Pans what makes it

 
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mumu33



Joined: 14 Jul 2006
Posts: 51

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:00 pm    Post subject: Pots or Pans what makes it Reply with quote

I understand that pots and pans are dertermined by the number of handles they have and deepness,however it seems that the people who sell them dont always use the correct terms. For example,"a pan set" includes both pots and pans or in other words cookware that is shallow and deep with handles of one or two. Now i understand a pan set typically includes thesae types of cookware.However some sellars sell the exact same thing but call it a pot set.So what i cant understand is how the people can use the terms pots and pans as a group term or interchangablly when the actual defintion states that they are completely different. SO how do you know when a receipe or something is talking about a pot and pan?
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pot or pan - does it matter? As I understand the definitions - it's just a matter of handle types. The shape of a pot or pan makes a big difference, but for any particular cookware shape, it usually comes in both pot or ban. Take for instance, a sauce pan - which is usually of medium depth (approximately the same as the radius). Many pots come in this shape as well, but are a little less easy to use due to the lack of a long handle (pan) for holding the pot in place while stirring. Will a pot (short handles) work just as well? If the materials and quality of design are the same, then yes - you can use either. No need to worry about specifically if you are using a pot or a pan.
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 4:21 pm    Post subject: why pots are pans Reply with quote

I would like to know why when using a pan of any type they say hold the handle to hold the pot in place,why are they now are refering to pan here as po t ? Please explain .
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:32 pm    Post subject: why pots are pans Reply with quote

sorry everone on the above post this is not what i was going to ask. Submit buttton got hit before i could stop it .
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NEWBIE 8
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 9:01 pm    Post subject: POTS OR PANS Reply with quote

hI,
i am just starting to cook and i have a qustion about cookware. Where i am from a pot is a deep pot with two side handles, but alot of ads
seem to call a cookware set pots refering to the whole set . And a skillet

which i know as pan a pot. Please explain?
Thankyou
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DrBiggles



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 356
Location: Richmond, CA

PostPosted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:31 am    Post subject: Re: Pots or Pans what makes it Reply with quote

Hey Everyone,

Pot or pan? You're all so right! How could I have been so blind? I've been living in a cave for the last 42 years and you've enlightened me!
Thank you so much!

I've thrown out all my pots, pans, skillets and fry pans. There's clearly no way I can go on another moment until I understand whether a pot is a pot or a pan is a pan! Have you any idea of the consequences of frying a pork chop in a skillet versus a fry pan ?!!?!? I've surely failed my family and face. Just last night I boiled my homemade noodles in a pan when I clearly should have been using a pot!

The horrors. I don't know what I was thinking the other day when I needed to boil water for my coffee and mistakenly used a wine glass. Jeez, what I was thinking? Of course I should have used a brandy snifter, der.

Well, thank you so much for this thread, it's really cleared a lot up and maybe next time I won't be using a pot when I clearly should have been using a pan.

Good thinking!
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NEWBIE 8
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:28 pm    Post subject: POTS AND PANS what makes it Reply with quote

Dr.biggles,
sorry if u find these questions funny! But i am just starting off in cooking and it bothers me when i dont know exactally what i am learning. For instant when people call a skillet or frying pan a pot when i know it as a pan, i like to know why they use the term pot. If you never ask questions (dumb or not ) u never learn anything.

Newbie Sad Sad Sad
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Michael Chu



Joined: 10 May 2005
Posts: 1654
Location: Austin, TX (USA)

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To summarize - it seems that there is no clear distinction between pots and pans. In general, if the cookware has a long handle (regardless of the shape of the actual vessel) it is a pan. If it has no long handle, then it is generally referred to as a pot. However, people are used to calling shallow cookware pans and deep ones as pots. Still, in common language, the terms can be thought of as interchangable.

More often than not, whether the cookware is a pot or pan has little effect on the food you are cooking except in a few cases (like making risotto without a long handled pan). Generally, it's the shape of the actualy pot or pan that is most important - and a recipe will generally tell you if you need a skillet or a deep stockpot.
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newbie 8
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 7:06 pm    Post subject: question pots and pans Reply with quote

Thankyou Mr. Chu.
I was beg. to think that they were interchangable.

Again thanks,
newbie Big smile Big smile
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DrBiggles



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 356
Location: Richmond, CA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:42 pm    Post subject: Re: POTS AND PANS what makes it Reply with quote

NEWBIE 8 wrote:
Dr.biggles,
sorry if u find these questions funny! But i am just starting off in cooking and it bothers me when i dont know exactally what i am learning. For instant when people call a skillet or frying pan a pot when i know it as a pan, i like to know why they use the term pot. If you never ask questions (dumb or not ) u never learn anything.

Newbie Sad Sad Sad


A rose by any other name is a rose. What will help you more than learning the name of something is to think about the item or items you wish to cook and how best to execute said task.
Let's take an example here. Let''s say you want to make one of those fancy Cuban type sandwiches. The ingredients you can google easy enough, but many people will offer up using a Panini Grill. What the HECK is that? It's just a name. What you need is a device that will allow you to cook the bread until toasty on your stove-top, put some grill marks on it and allows you to put a weight of some kind on top of it. Now all of a sudden we realize that maybe we don't need this specific device that we may or may not ever use again. Check out your local well stocked hardware store and you could find a nice cast iron Lodge pan that's called a Grill Pan. And for 25 to 30 bux you'll have something that can be used for many other things as well. As far as the weight needed? A clean garden brick (25 cents) with several layers of foil wrapped around works great!
One does not necessarily have to listen to advertising and misleading information to get the job done. Look in to the foods you enjoy and how they're prepared. Then go to a local store and put your hands on it and see how it works. Sure you'll buy a few dumb things that don't work out the way you thought. But everyone does that more than a few times in their lifetime.

Pot defined:

metal or earthenware cooking vessel that is usually round and deep; often has a handle and lid

Pan defined:

cooking utensil consisting of a wide metal vessel

And that's all there is to that.

Biggles
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NEWBIE 8
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:43 pm    Post subject: question pots and pans Reply with quote

Drbiggles,
If u never cooked before its really hard to know how something is cooked. And i believe knowing your cooking utensils or cookware is important., so
when someone gives u a receipe u have some idea on what to use. I just felt your previous comment was rude to a newbie.

Newbie
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DrBiggles



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 356
Location: Richmond, CA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:40 pm    Post subject: Re: question pots and pans Reply with quote

NEWBIE 8 wrote:
Drbiggles,
If u never cooked before its really hard to know how something is cooked. And i believe knowing your cooking utensils or cookware is important., so
when someone gives u a receipe u have some idea on what to use. I just felt your previous comment was rude to a newbie.

Newbie


Hey Newbie,

It was very rude. Spiky too. It's hard to describe, but it completely sent me over the edge. The initial post was about the definition of pot versus pan and an advertisement and what manufacturers or stores are calling pots, when they're really pans.

And it got worse for me post after post. They're just pots and pans. Don't get mired by the small things. Grab a metal container, throw some food in it and start cooking. It was the same when I used to help out in the instructor in a photography class. The students would whine about not having 'that' lens or 'that' body. It's not about the equipment (unless you're an equipment hound), it's about the Art. It's about the food.

Look, the weekend is coming up. Do you have any time? Find yourself a recipe, look for ingredients that make you smile. Find a recipe that will cause you to visit at least 2 different grocery stores. Get your ingredients together. Prepare your recipe to the best of your abilities and most of all, have fun. Take notes and see how you would improve it next time, do things differently to make it easier or just didn't like it after all. Then post your results and questions in the food related forum. There are some great cooks here and you'll end up learning an awful lot. Comon, I triple-dog dare you.

Biggles
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NEWBIE 8
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 3:19 am    Post subject: POTS AND PANS what makes it Reply with quote

biggles,
ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT MAKE ME LAUGH, and its people like michael chu who understand!
Enjoy your weekend, for I ENJOY EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE!

And that is that!


NEWBIE javascript:emoticon('Big smile')
Big smile
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DrBiggles



Joined: 12 May 2005
Posts: 356
Location: Richmond, CA

PostPosted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 9:13 pm    Post subject: Re: POTS AND PANS what makes it Reply with quote

NEWBIE 8 wrote:
biggles,
ITS PEOPLE LIKE YOU THAT MAKE ME LAUGH, and its people like michael chu who understand!
Enjoy your weekend, for I ENJOY EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE!

And that is that!

NEWBIE javascript:emoticon('Big smile')
Big smile


Well now, that sounds better. I'm expecting about 360 pounds of charcoaled maple and apple wood. Not just smoking chips or little chunks. These are full on hunks of wood made for cooking. So, I'm thinking I may do a highly spiced pork shoulder smoked in applewood for a dozen hours or so this weekend. I can hardly wait.

Biggles
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