Have you ever wished you could put together gourmet meals the way the pros do it? Would you like to blend together foods to get the perfect taste, texture and color? It is not only important to get the right blend of foods, herbs and spices, but to consider the kitchen essentials cookware which your food will call its home during the precious time of its creation. It is important to consider the type of material from which your kitchen essentials cookware was made. How should you know when to choose a pot or pan made of copper, cast iron, aluminum or stainless steel?

Some knowledge is necessary when stocking your home with the right kitchen essentials cookware for your home. Below you will learn about the most popular materials which are used to make cookware. If you lack prior knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of materials that can be found in a kitchen, you can use guides like this to help you.

Copper Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The Advantages 
Copper is an excellent conductor of heat and as a result, heats up and cools down very quickly and easily. When you change the temperature on your stove, the temperature of your pot will change immediately with it, making copper pots and pans the perfect tool for those of us who value precision in our cooking.

Copper Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The Disadvantages 
Copper is highly reactive with food, so it usually has to be lined with less reactive metals such as tin or stainless steel. Unfortunately, tin is not very durable, causing your pot to see the end of its days prematurely and copper pots lined with stainless steels are usually very costly, making it impractical in most home kitchens.

Cast Iron Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The Advantages 
Cast iron pots are usually very inexpensive and extremely durable. When well seasoned, it has a great non-stick surface. These pots are very good conductors of heat. If you are looking for a pot that you can put on the stove and in the oven, a cast iron pot may be perfect for your needs. My mother makes the most amazing curried chicken in her cast iron Dutch oven, making me a strong believer in the magic of cast iron cookware!

Cast Iron Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The Disadvantages 
Cast iron pots are extremely heavy, so it is important to exercise caution when lifting them, especially when filled with hot food! To upkeep the high quality of the pots, they require care and maintenance.

Stainless Steel Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The AdvantagesStainless Steel pots are durable and require little maintenance. They are extremely hard, have a smooth surface and are overall quite attractive.

Stainless Steel Kitchen Essentials Cookware- The Disadvantages 
Stainless Steel pots are poor conductors of heat and as a result do not heat up evenly. They have a relatively high cost for the quality. These pots will discolor with high heat and prolonged exposure to salt may cause pitting.

Aluminum Kitchen Essentials Cookware 
The greatest advantage to aluminum cookware is its affordability. However, it is important to note that all aluminum pots are not created equally. There are three common types of aluminum cookware, thin gauge aluminum, heavy gauge aluminum and dark anodized aluminum. Let us explore each type:

Thin Gauge Aluminum- 
These pots have poor heat distribution and dents easily so it may be the wrong choice for your kitchen.

Heavy Gauge Aluminum- 
These pots are slightly better and heats up quickly and evenly.

Dark Anodized Aluminum- 
These pots are the best of the three types of aluminum. It is smooth and has a non-stick surface. It is more durable than the other types of aluminum.