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cookware

post #1 of 11
11/15/06 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
hi,
I was wandering if someone out there could help me understand a question, I have asked before but for some reason i still dont understand. Maybe to everyone this seems stupid, but i am getting confused and it isnt clear to me like it is to everyone else. Any suggestion would help. My question is this ,brown the roast in a dutch oven when brown take out of pot put aside then add ketchup, worshire sauce and something else to pan ,then add roast back to pot. The part i dont understand is why they first say a pot then refer to it as a pan? I am getting confused on pot ,pan. YES I KNOW WHAT A POT is typical and a pan is ,but the way it is said here is throwing me off. Also can anyone tell me why some people refer to skillets as pots. FOr instance a pot rack refers to all cookware? How do you know when someone is talking what they mean when using the information i have given? Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Mumu:confused:
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post #2 of 11
11/15/06 at 11:57am
Doesn't seem a bit stupid to me. :D They're not TRYING to make it confusing; they just don't realize that's what they're doing. :look: So a lot of recipe writers will say pot, then pan, then skillet, then pan again, all meaning the same thing!

Don't let it get to you. ;) Just figure they're referring to the first piece of equipment they told you to use. So if they're telling you to brown the meat in a Dutch oven, then take it out, add something else to the pot, and put the meat back in the pan, they really just mean that same Dutch oven. If they're really polite, they'll tell you to use a DIFFERENT or CLEAN pot or pan or skillet or whatever.

Hope this helps! :D
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post #3 of 11
11/15/06 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 

cookware

thank you!
but still wandering how do you know what people mean in a receipe or even talking to you so you dont look stupid when you reply? Like if someone says hand me a pot are they talking about a traditional pot or are they refering to any piece of cookware? See thats where some confusion is, again please dont think i am stupid just trying to understand. Any replys will be helpful .
How does anyone else understand this when their reading a receipe or just in converstation, do you know what they mean.

thankyou again,
mumu:confused: :o
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post #4 of 11
11/15/06 at 1:10pm
mumu,

There are several levels of cooking, skill, and experience. Most well written recipes will be specific as in "6 qt stockpot", "9 in saucepan" etc. If the recipe you have is not specific, then make an educated guess based on your experience and apply it to the recipe. If you are not comfortable with this, consider finding another recipe that is more specific.

As discussed in your previous posts Understanding Cooking Terminology and Question on title cookware "pot" and "pan" are terms that are generic - like if someone asks you to hand them that flower. Which flower? What color, What size? How many petals? From what country? Grown in what soil? With what fragrance?

If someone tells you to hand them a pot and you don't know which to hand them, then ask them to be more specific. They most likely have a specific item in mind in their head which will work best for what they are trying to accomplish. If you don't know, you don't know. Everyone has to start somewhere. With experience, you will learn that certain items are better than others for specific tasks, techniques, and tools. Read the information at the link MikeLM provided for you in the second thread above. Watch cooking shows, take cooking lessons, learn.
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post #5 of 11
11/15/06 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 

cookware

thankyou.
AS i said before i did ask this question and still dont quite understand.I was hoping someone out there could maybe tell me how they understand it and maybe the LIGHT will come on. Have been watchig cooking shows and reading different cookbooks but still wandering? To me this is very frustrating trying to figure out ,so thats why i asked again. thankyou for your time again. Still would like to hear from others who could poss. help!

Thanks
mumu
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post #6 of 11
11/15/06 at 1:21pm
I believe this was addressed at your previous thread: Question on title cookware. To be more specific: Common Names

To answer in the most simple of ways: because people were raised that way.

Think of it this way, all skillets are pans but not all pans are skillets.
All cabernet is wine but not all wine is cabernet.
All peppercorns are a spice but not all spices are peppercorns.

To me, a pot rack is simply a rack which holds pots. It does not automatically mean that any items of cookware are included.
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post #7 of 11
11/15/06 at 1:23pm
mumu,

I have a question for you.

Have you thoroughly read this thread?
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post #8 of 11
11/15/06 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 

cookware

thanks mudbug,
What i meant on the pot rack was (pot) here refers to cookware.(right)? (Holds cookware.)

mumu
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post #9 of 11
11/15/06 at 2:35pm
That is correct mumu. I notice you did not answer my question above.... ;)
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post #10 of 11
11/15/06 at 2:49pm
Thread Starter 

cookware

yes mudbug i did!
mumu
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post #11 of 11
1/24/07 at 3:59pm

cookware

When reading a recipe that states use a Dutch oven, then says something about a pot, a pan, whatever; all you have to do is apply Ocham's Razor. To understand the recipe, is the simple idea of using the same piece of cookware that you started with (Dutch oven) logical in it's context? Would the recipe make more sense if you assumed that every time the recipe used a different term, is that more logical than using the same item?

I have never seen a recipe that will tell you to begin with one particular piece of cookware, then switch to another without specifically naming that piece(i.e. an 8 qt stockpot). There is no sense, in cooking, in the laboratory, or any other skill or craft to make things more confused than necessary.

This is cooking, not rocket science.
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