Baking mats are non-stick floppy “plastic” sheets that you put on top of a baking tray before baking, instead of greasing the tray or lining it with a cooking paper. They prevent the food item being baked from sticking to the pan. There are various makes and brands, which can be made of food-grade silicone…
Cookware
Baking Stones
Baking stones are used as a baking aid in modern gas and electric ovens. They are porous, and so absorb condensation from what is baking on top of them, causing a crisper crust. They need to be thoroughly heated in advance of using. You put what you are baking right on top of them.
Blowtorches
A kitchen blowtorch can brown one area of food, without heating the rest of the food, or the physical vessel the food is in or on. The classic home use is for caramelizing the top on crème brûlée.
Caja China
A Caja China is a very large, covered, outdoor oven. It is heated by hot coals placed on top the cover. Despite its name, its origins are actually Cuban.
Cast Aluminum
Cast aluminum cookware can be cast through die casting, mould casting, or sand casting. Die casting is the most usual. It allows for thicker cookware than sheet aluminum, and thus provides longer heat retention, similar to that of cast iron.
Cookware
Cookware is anything you cook in, whether in the oven, on top of the stove, over a campfire or in a microwave. At a minimum, such items need to be heat resistant. For stove-top use, they need to be flame-resistant as well. For microwave use, they need to be microwave safe. Various materials can be…
Cooling Racks
A cooling rack is a slightly-raised rack that you put hot baked goods on straight out of the oven, either still in the pan or removed from the pan. The rack allows air to circulate underneath, which helps prevent condensation which could cause baked goods to develop soggy bottoms.
Frying Pans
Frying pans are wide, shallow pans with a long handle and sloping sides. If it has straight sides, then technically it’s classed as a sauté pan.
Girdle
A girdle is like a griddle, in that it’s a flat cooking surface, but instead of being set on top of the heat source, it’s hung over it. A girdle was used for “baking” items such as bannock and scones. You cook the items on it, as you would a pancake.
Heat Diffuser
A heat diffuser is a flat, round metal object designed to fit on top of a stove burner. It reduces the intensity of the heat that reaches the bottom of the pan, and provides more even heat distribution. It takes the place of a double-boiler. You put it on top of the burner, then the…
Pans
The role of cooking pans is to contain food over heat, and deliver heat from the outside heat source — burner or oven — to the food inside. In general, pans are used for solid ingredients.
Pie Plates
A pie plate is a dish used for making savoury or sweet pies in. Generally, all are oven safe, though they may be used for pies that are no-bake as well.
Pie Racks
A pie rack is a vertical tiered rack designed to hold pies in their pie plates straight out of the oven. It allows several pies at a time to cool without burning or damaging a work surface.
Pizza Stones
Pizza stones are for use in home ovens to help pizza crust develop a crispiness and puffiness that approximates that of pizzas from pizzerias.
Pizzelle Iron
A pizzelle iron is a kitchen tool used to make pizzelle. You can get stove top ones, or electric ones.
Pots
A pot is a vessel that you put stuff in for the purpose of cooking, storing or preserving. In North American culinary usage, generally only the cooking sense is used. In the UK, the additional storage and preserving sense of the word is used as well.
Pyrex
Pyrex® is a trademarked brand name of glass stovetop and baking ware. There is also labware such as beakers, test tubes, etc, for laboratory use. The disadvantage of glass cookware is that it does not conduct heat as well as metal does. The advantages of it are that it looks more “sanitary”, is more resistant…
Rotisseries (Non-Electrical)
Non-electrical rotisseries were mechanical devices used before the advent of electricity to turn meat while cooking over a fire.
Waffle Iron
A waffle iron is a kitchen tool used to cook waffles with. It is a two-sided device that folds so that one side goes over the other, to form and mould the waffles. The standard pattern is of the mould impressed in the batter is honeycomb.
Wok
A wok is an all-purpose pan. It can be used for braising, deep frying, frying, roasting, stir frying, steaming and stewing. In northern China, a wok is more likely to be used for braising or stewing than for a quick stir-fry.