Written By: Le Creuset Canada
A stockpot is an essential piece of cookware in any kitchen, helping you prepare recipes for large crowds with minimum fuss. This iconic piece of cookware is extremely versatile and serves several crucial functions around the kitchen.
From simmering a soup to steaming seafood, or reducing a sauce for your pasta dish, the stockpot accommodates a variety of recipes with ease.
What is a Stockpot?
A wide pot featuring a flat bottom, a tall straight side, and a tight-fitting lid and was traditionally used to make stocks and broths. Today, this piece of cookware is among the most versatile and can be used for a variety of different recipes and cooking techniques.
Stockpot Uses:
Here is a closer look at stockpots and their common uses:
- Simmering Soups | The stockpot is the ideal piece of cookware to simmer soups to perfection, creating the perfect environment for ingredients to gradually infuse their flavors into broth. The tall sides and tight-fitting lid create the perfect environment for infusing liquids and limiting evaporation so that each ingredient can infuse its own layer of flavor.
- Steaming Seafood & Vegetables | The stockpot can also be used to steam seafood and vegetables, offering superior heat retention as ingredients slow cook. Its tall sides are designed to evaporate liquid contents more slowly than traditional pieces of cookware, making it a great option for all your seafood or vegetable side dishes. The stockpot can also be used to conveniently blanch vegetables.
- Boiling | Stockpots are particularly suited to boiling ingredients, including fresh broth, pasta, vegetables, and more. From boiling pasta and dumplings to corn on the cob, the stockpot is extremely versatile and can be used for a number of your favorite ingredients.
- Preparing Sauces | Preparing and reducing sauces has never been easier than with a stockpot. This versatile piece of cookware is crafted to limit evaporation and gradually infuse new flavors into your dish, making it perfect for sauce-making. The stockpot is ideal for preparing sauces, allowing you to incorporate flavors as ingredients simmer.
- Stewing | Stockpots offer a convenient piece of cookware to prepare stews, slow-cooking ingredients, and gradually infuse flavors. The stockpot is carefully designed to evenly distribute heat throughout all contents of the pot, making it ideal for your favorite stews.
- Canning | Canning is yet another form of meal preparation that helps you preserve the best flavors of any season all year round and can be done in a stockpot. Its large capacity is the perfect size to boil cans before sealing them, including pickles, jams, tomato sauces, and more.
