Kitchen Cookware

Baking can be a truly happy experience, bringing back memories from childhood, thanks to our olfactory senses. From cakes, muffins, meat pies, and lasagne to breads, pancakes, tarts, and brownies, baking can be a fun thing to do, especially if you and your family are food-lovers.
However, baking can be a cruel pastime and when results don’t go according to plan, such as a case of a cake not rising or having a soggy bottom, it is particularly annoying. But this may not be your fault. As Delia Smith said: “….there is a lot of pile-it high, sell-it-cheap rubbish out there, that claims to be baking equipment…” and “…tin size is where 99% of cake making goes wrong….”
Hence, to avoid turning a great dish into a heartrending failure, here are a few tips and pointers that will help you select the ideal bakeware.

The Materials
Bakeware comes in various sizes, shapes and materials. Each material will have a varying effect on the dish. Some of the materials available are anodized aluminium, silicon, non-stick, and glass, stainless steel, stone and tinned steel.
Hard Anodised and Silver Anodised bakeware – for those who bake regularly.
Anodized aluminium comes in two varieties- silver anodized and hard anodized. Made of aluminium through an electro-chemical process, which hardens its outer surface, anodized bakeware is rust, peel and blister resistant, and is highly durable. Hard anodized bakeware is ten times harder and hence more durable than silver anodized, but both are excellent conductors of heat, owing to the presence of aluminum. This property ensures quick and even heating, essential when wanting the best results when baking and it is generally agreed that this type of bakeware is amongst the best available. Furthermore, both can be used on the hob. However, as with most high quality cookware there is a slight downside. Avoid using sharp knives on anodized bakeware as this might lead to scoring and this kind of bakeware is not dishwasher friendly. You will have to hand-wash it with hot soapy water. Food particles on its surface can be removed by soaking it in water.
Checkout the wide range of silver and hard anodized bakeware such as pans, trays, moulds and dishes from Silver wood, or take a look at the hard anodized bakeware from Mermaid.

Silicon Bakeware
Oven, microwave and freezer friendly Silicon bakeware is comparatively a new addition to the kitchen range, but has caught on soon enough because of its easy storage capability and durable nature. With a capacity to withstand temperatures ranging from 40 to 580 degrees F, silicon bakeware transfers heat to the food without absorbing it. The second food is out of the oven, the bakeware stops the cooking process, avoiding further browning at the bottom or edges. Flexible and bendable and made from silicone, silicon bakeware is mostly used as moulds and can be used in dishwashers, freezers and microwaves making them extremely versatile. However, when putting them in the oven, it is likely you will need at least a traditional baking tray to put the mould on and you can’t use them on the hob. Jamie Oliver and Bakers Pride have an assortment of moulds for muffins, loaves, cakes, and tarts.

Non Stick Bakeware
Non-stick bakeware can be made of both aluminum and steel, but characteristically has a non-stick coating applied to allow food to be easily removed from it. Such a bakeware is suitable for baking items like layered cakes, cupcakes or muffins where the food has to be served after removing it from the baking dish. This bake ware can provide excellent results, but the non-stick coating will wear with use and hence lose it’s performance over time and they can be susceptible to hot spots. Anolon and Bakers Pride series of bakeware include loaf pans, cake tins, pizza pans, roasting pans, muffin cups and springform pans of the non-stick variety. If you are someone who does not do too much baking and do not want the expense of the hard anodized and silver anodized bakeware, this may well be the solution for you.

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