Be money wise in the kitchen

There was a time when I drooled my way through the Williams-Sonoma catalog. Wow, I wanted - needed - it all. But these days, I am better able to temper dreams with realities - I don’t really bake all that often. Making the perfect meringue isn’t a top priority. I can’t afford the next new fad. I don’t make enough ravioli’s - actually, I don’t make any. Why should I when they sell perfectly good ones.

You simply do not have to pay $100 for a good pot, pan or knife. Period. And until you really do have a need - not want or fantasy - for that giant KitchenAide stand mixer or other gizmo, save some money.

Here are a couple of suggestions on how you might decide which item to buy based on your own realities:

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When to splurge or not: pots and pans

I walked through Williams-Sonoma the other day here in Reno, Nevada, browsing at all the really fine cookware on display. Flicking over a price tag or two, I never cease to be amazed at the prices they ask for a frying pan for crying out loud.

$150? Nice work if you can get it.

It’s just a freaking frying pan.

But, I’m a cook. I love it. The very act of creating food is like art and touches my soul. And therefore, I can very occasionally justify the cost of a pot or pan. Preferrably on sale. At a deep discount.

I have come to the conclusion that buying just one really good pan - price be damned - is more important than having the modestly priced sets from Costco.

The great pan can be made to sing.

The cheaper versions are just an approximation, an imitation - like fake ingredients. They just don’t quite satisfy the deeper part of hunger.

Here’s a small primer on buying those pots and pans - and getting your money’s worth.

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Regardless of the kind of cookware you buy, there are a few things that hold true; you want the cookware you select to have thicker bottoms, with good heat distribution, and made of a material that won’t chip or peel.

A pot that has good conductivity will create even temperatures on the bottom of the pot as well as up the sides of it so that the food cooks all the way around.

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