stock pot size
What's the size of your biggest stock pot?
Mine is about 7 quarts, which seemed huge when I fist bought it. But now I like to make big batches of veggie broth and freeze it, since I make soup at least once a week. The veggies alone take up so much space in the pot, that there's just not enough room to make several batches at once.
What size stock pots do you use for this, and what kind? I feel like I don't need a Le Creuset or something fancy for this one...
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8 Comments:
i have a 20 quart stockpot that i bought for about 25 bucks at a macy's sale. the best pots for stock are narrower than they are wide. you don't need a really fancy pot, but you want to make sure that it has a good lid and a heavy bottom.
cybercita at 1:21PM on 02/16/09
Agree with everything above. The best stockpots are made for restaurants and come in aluminum. I have a 20-quart pot and make chicken broth in it every other week during the winter. I also like have a clear cover with a vent for steam, but that's personal taste.
annien at 1:54PM on 02/16/09
i too have a 20 qt 18/10 ss one. and cybercita is right abot the heavy bottom. i got a gift cert for my bday one year for williams sonoma and spent the whole thing on this pot. it was about $80 + shipping. Maybe i could have saved some $$ somewhere else, but then i would have had to fork over the cash. It was a great purchase and only a foodie can empathize with this statement. I LOVE MY STOCK POT! Everyone else just thinks i'm nuts, especially when they come over for dinner and see that huge thing on the stove. They all say, it's so biggggggg. I just tell them "size matters".
I also have a 7 (or so) qt. one someone gave me but it's really cheap thin aluminum. The only things you can cook in it are pasta and really thin soups. Nothing reactive (tomato sauce?) or even thick soups (bean?) because they stick like crazy, that's why you need the heavy bottom.
nightmoon at 2:10PM on 02/16/09
The biggest one I have is (I think) 20 quarts -- maybe larger -- and it came with a steamer/pasta insert. It's calphalon and I bought that and a nice calphalon frying pan at a garage sale really cheap.
I've got a slightly smaller one that I tend to use a little more often.
dbcurrie at 2:00PM on 02/17/09
20 qt is also my biggest, and I got it at a kitchen supply store. Cost all of 30-35 dollars.
Pavlov at 8:36AM on 02/18/09
BTW if you are going to be doing a lot of reactive cooking (court bullion, tomato, citrus or acid based sauces) get a stainless steel stockpot..
Pavlov at 8:41AM on 02/18/09
Here are my criteria for cookware:
* Stainless Steel or Porcelain-Covered Cast Iron
* Riveted Handles (or one piece construction)
* Sandwich construction that includes copper, heavy bottomed for even heat distribution.
* Pourable lip. I don't think any of the All-Clads have this and it drives me crazy to have a saucepan that dribbles food down the side whenever you try to pour out the contents.
I'm not a pan snob nor a knife snob. The Wolfgang Puck set now available in Sam's Club served me very well at my little restaurant and I beat the crap out of it. It does include a somewhat large stockpot.
chiff0nade at 7:22AM on 02/19/09
Thanks all! I guess I'm not crazy for wanting to get the 20qt one :)
nalega at 7:56AM on 02/19/09