Quick Large Pot Question

I need to buy a pot only to cook pasta and some soups in, I'm trying to figure out the best size to cook generally no more than 1lb of pasta- any help?

Figure a generous amount of water for a lb. of pasta (5-6 quarts). To have some room in the pot, I'd recommend an 8-quart pot with a lid and two looped handles, in this style (but not necessarily that material).

Best,
Michael

eatchicago wrote:Figure a generous amount of water for a lb. of pasta (5-6 quarts). To have some room in the pot, I'd recommend an 8-quart pot with a lid and two looped handles, in this style (but not necessarily that material).

Best,
Michael

Exactly what I needed, thanks!

Amazon's having a big sale on cookware, including some nice choices in the 8-qt. range. (I would go with stainless or enamel over non-stick, or else make a point of religiously stirring only with wooden spoons.) I agree with Michael, even if you could get by with a smaller one, a good 8-qt. stockpot will be a handy tool for life.

Mike G wrote:Amazon's having a big sale on cookware, including some nice choices in the 8-qt. range. (I would go with stainless or enamel over non-stick, or else make a point of religiously stirring only with wooden spoons.) I agree with Michael, even if you could get by with a smaller one, a good 8-qt. stockpot will be a handy tool for life.

I'm getting a 10qt only because I have to buy a circulon elite. We're moving into a place where we have to do a full kitchen remodel and we're going to use a single induction burner for that time. Thus I wanted to make sure I had the right size for us to have pasta or soup

Hi,

A 2.5 gallon pot is pretty big. For everyday, I have a 5 and 7 quart pots that fit under my cook top. My 3.5-4 gallon stock pot has to be kept in a separate location due to its size.

For canning, my 7-quart pot is the perfect size to fill a container load of 7-quarts. It is the minimum size I would buy today.

Regards,

One question you might want to consider is what do you value more: low price or versatility?

If low price is what you want, consider an aluminum pot from a restaurant supply store. You cannot find anything cheaper. The big drawback is that it reacts with acidic ingredients. So no tomato sauce.

If versatility is important, get an 8, 12, or even 16 qt stainless steel stockpot with an aluminum disk bottom. The aluminum disk is important for even heating if you want to saute vegetables or meat before adding liquid. Don't worry about the aluminum core if all you want to do is heat liquids.

My normal pasta pot is an All-Clad 8qt stockpot with a lid. It also does a great job at making soup and moderate amounts of stock from scratch. It also does well as a deep fryer. I'm going to be getting something larger, though, to make larger quantities of stock. The 16 qt is probably too large for everyday pasta. Depending on how much stock you make from scratch, I'd go with the 8 or 12 qt.

You might also consider the 12qt stock pot with accessories from All-Clad. This has a strainer for pasta and a steamer insert. I'm pretty sure you can find this for $100 elsewhere, or $120 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond (and then you can use one of the ubiquitous 20%-off coupons).

I like the idea of using a short, wider pot for cooking noodles. One wide enough to hold the uncooked strands sideways, to eliminate the need to carefully tuck in the ends sticking out of the water as it softens. I haven't found the right one for the right price yet, though.

Darren72 wrote:One question you might want to consider is what do you value more: low price or versatility?

You can get both low price AND versatility in the same package. I also think that a 12 qt pot is the best size for soups, stocks, pasta, and huge batches of yogurt. Go with Calphalon anodized aluminum, which has the benefits of all-aluminum pots and can handle acidity because of the anodization.

I thought it was a steal at $50 when I bought it, but it's now priced at $70 at Amazon. The pricing on this fluctuates wildly, like anything else on Amazon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it went back down to $50.

kanin wrote:

Darren72 wrote:One question you might want to consider is what do you value more: low price or versatility?

You can get both low price AND versatility in the same package. I also think that a 12 qt pot is the best size for soups, stocks, pasta, and huge batches of yogurt. Go with Calphalon anodized aluminum, which has the benefits of all-aluminum pots and can handle acidity because of the anodization.

I thought it was a steal at $50 when I bought it, but it's now priced at $70 at Amazon. The pricing on this fluctuates wildly, like anything else on Amazon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it went back down to $50.

Just a note that if you're talking about large pots in general you're right, the particular induction burner I'm buying tends to be really picky about the types of pots it works with (not all induction burners work with all ferromagnetic pots for some reason) so I'm limited to circulon elite to be sure I get the right thing.

Circulon Elite 8-quart wide covered saucepot

I find this a very handy size and shape, although mine is a battered old cast aluminum job made by West Bend. (I would call it a dutch oven, but Circulon doesn't.)

The Amazon link above has the Circulon pot at $79.99 today with free shipping. I saw the same pot elsewhere for $160.

The cookware limitations are one reason why induction doesn't appeal to me.

yah, that's the major aversion to induction.

kanin wrote:

Darren72 wrote:One question you might want to consider is what do you value more: low price or versatility?

You can get both low price AND versatility in the same package. I also think that a 12 qt pot is the best size for soups, stocks, pasta, and huge batches of yogurt. Go with Calphalon anodized aluminum, which has the benefits of all-aluminum pots and can handle acidity because of the anodization.

I thought it was a steal at $50 when I bought it, but it's now priced at $70 at Amazon. The pricing on this fluctuates wildly, like anything else on Amazon, and I wouldn't be surprised if it went back down to $50.

This depends on your definition of "cheap" and how much you want to spend. I should have been more specific: An all-aluminum 12qt stock pot will run you less than $20. I don't have much use for an all-aluminum pot, so this isn't for me.

I'm not a big fan of anodized aluminum, although they do represent a good compromise between versatility and price.

jpschust - The 8qt All-Clad is wider than it is taller. This can be a good thing if you want to promote evaporation when you make a stock. Other brands to consider are Demeyere, Paderno, Sitram, and the Calphalon Tri-Poly. The latter is probably the least expensive.

Darren72 wrote: I don't have much use for an all-aluminum pot, so this isn't for me.

I'm not a big fan of anodized aluminum, although they do represent a good compromise between versatility and price.

Not for jpschust, but for folks who can use any sort of pot, if you're looking for good performance and low price, cast aluminum is very good. The West Bend pots I mentioned above (no longer made) have lasted us more than 25 years. They aren't so pretty as they were, but despite years of dishwasher cleaning and being only moderately careful about utensils, they're still in usable shape. They're lightweight but they transfer heat very evenly and as well or better than copper-core stainless, they don't warp and they're easy to clean.

You won't want nonstick pans for all uses, of course, but with a couple of supplementary pans and a supply of wooden spoons and silicone spatulas, they'll work for most things you want to cook and they are much less expensive than stainless-clad copper.

For those looking for induction ready cookware, take a magnet with you. If the magnet sticks to the bottom of the pot/pan, it should work on your induction cooktop. Your cooktop's manufacturer will recommend specific brands but you're not limited to that brand alone.

There are many conversations about induction cooking and equipment at the Home Forums on GardenWeb. The Appliances forum will have most of the discussions. Cookware is kind of slow but has some information.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/