Cooking? What You Need to Know About Calphalon Cookware

Of all the cookware brands on the market, Calphalon Cookware represents one of the top choices of experienced cooks and seasoned chefs. This line of pots, pans and baking utensils not only has eye appeal, it is top quality to boot and lends itself well to gourmet cooking.

All cookware has it’s positives and drawbacks, and that is true of Calphalon, as well. If you are considering acquiring Calphalon and paying the price, the article below will fill you in on the product’s features. The bottom line is that you can hardly go wrong with Calphalon as an alternative to stainless steel cookware.

Before getting started with the article, however, you should know that one way to save a bundle when you go to buy Calphalon is to shop the auctions on eBay. You can follow this link to browse among a large selection of Calphalon Cookware listed daily on eBay.

Calphalon Cookware Offers a Stainless Alternative

Some people prefer the durability and looks of stainless, others find Calphalon cookware offers its own special brand of beauty and plenty of perks, as well. Considered by many to be a viable rival to the classic cooking material found in many homes and professional kitchens, Calphalon cookware offers many of the advantages of stainless without some of its disadvantages.

The trademark of Calphalon pots and pans lies in its hard-anodized surface. This electro-chemical process hardens aluminum, actually making it stronger than stainless. The end result is a pan that’s beautiful, durable and darn hard to beat.

Here are some commonly asked questions about Calphalon cookware and the anodizing process itself:

What is hard-anodizing?

This process involves taking aluminum and putting it in an acid bath where it undergoes chemical changes. The final product results when aluminum mixes with oxygen to create aluminum oxide. A pan that has undergone this process will typically be about 30 percent hard than steel.

Why consider this process?

Hard-anodized pans are very durable. They do not chip, peel or stain easily. They also offer an interesting visual appearance that’s a matte cross between stainless and cast iron.

Will this finish cause problems with food?

No. The end result of this process is a product that is nontoxic, doesn’t peel and does not decompose. The only thing that can really damage it is extremely high heat.

What happens with stuck on food?

The reality is Calphalon cookware and other similar products are very difficult to manage to get food stuck on. The fairly nonporous material that results from the chemical process makes sticking difficult to say the least.

How do you clean this type of pot or pan?

Generally all that is necessary to clean this type of cookware is soapy water and a nylon scouring sponge. It can even withstand scouring powder without losing its looks if food is stuck on particularly hard.

Is this type of pan versatile?

In that it can withstand temperatures very well, yes. But, it is not recommended for use in food storage. The fact of the matter is, it is almost never a good idea to use a pot or pan for storing food. Since they aren’t air tight, bacteria can grow. Really, it’s never recommended that food be stored in a pan.

Is this cookware expensive?

The answer to that is yes and no. The price tag on Calphalon cookware tends to be pretty high, but considering the durability, many feel it is worth every penny. These pans, like stainless, are very difficult to damage or destroy. This means one set can last a lifetime. With this in mind, many people feel a purchase of this type of cookware is an investment, so they expect to pay a bit more on the front end.

Calphalon cookware offers an interesting alternative to stainless. Providing a surface that is stick resistant, a look that is very attractive and durability that is simply hard to match, this type of cookware is fast becoming a popular choice for many cooks and chefs.

Still looking for the perfect cookware? Try visiting http://www.cookwareanswers.com a website that specializes in providing cookware advice, tips and resources to included information on calphalon cookware

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May 23 2008 | Calphalon Cookware | No Comments »

Coffee Cake is a Tasty Treat with a Rich History

As you are getting your morning caffeine fix, have you ever wondered how coffee cake came to be? After all, it often doesn’t have coffee in it. It tastes just fine without java. Somebody had to come up with it, didn’t they?

Like most foods, coffee cake is an item that evolved over hundreds of years and across continents. People had been preparing honey cakes since biblical times. Gradually the French came up with galettes, the forerunner of the ubiquitous Christmas fruitcake. Galettes also lead to the invention of sweet yeast rolls that eventually resulted in Danish coffee cakes, which really did contain coffee, by the way.

The custom of eating some sweet yeast bread while drinking one’s coffee probably began in the 17th century in Europe. Dutch, Scandinavian, French and German immigrants all brought a recipe for some sort of breakfast bread when they came to North America. All the recipes used flour, eggs, yeast, sugar, nuts, spices and dried fruit and probably were more bread- than cake-like. Over the years, people experimented with those recipes and began adding creamy fillings, cheese, yogurt and sugared fruit.

For some reason, the Dutch and Germans in New York, New Jersey and Delaware became particularly famous for their coffee cakes. Their recipes from the colonial times are very similar to those used today. Meanwhile Scandinavians had introduced their versions as well as the concept of the coffee break — for which we are all ever grateful. The British have their own version that includes toffee.

By 1879, coffee cakes were well-known in America and there were already countless recipes for crumb cakes, streusel cakes and streusel/crumb-cake combinations. Streusel cakes have that swirl of cinnamon/brown sugar throughout the center while crumb cakes have a topping of crumbly flour, sugar and butter and cinnamon. However, food purists know that most Americans have these terms confused. Streusel (pronounced STROI-zuhl in German) means “granules” and actually refers to the crumb topping, not the swirl. Whichever way you pronounce it, the effect is still the same — delicious.

Many of today’s coffee cakes are made with a Bundt pan (a ring with a hole in the center). The Bundt pan is actually a fairly recent innovation: It was created in 1950 by H. David Dalquist of Nordic Ware. Two of his customers, Jews, told him how they missed the heavier European cakes they had grown up with but needed a cake pan with a hole in it. The holes allowed heat to penetrate the heavier batter and did not leave unbaked dough at the center. The women showed Dalquist a ceramic kugelhopf pan and he made a similar version in all-purpose aluminum. However, while kugelhopf pans are spherical with folds like a turban, Dalquist introduced fluted folds into the fluted edges and patented the design.

Coffee cakes are a delicious way to start your day and a delicious accompaniment to any beverage. Next time you have a slice, think of the rich history you are sampling.

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May 20 2008 | cooking | No Comments »