Thursday’s Favorite Thing: The Stock Pot

A traditional standby that makes sense

Every kitchen should have a stock pot. Pull out one of these for making stew, soup, boiling potatoes, or cooking pasta. The stock pot is great when preparing with family-size meals. The sizes range from 6-qt. to 12-qt. for home kitchens. Look for stock pots with heavy and solid bottoms, so that ingredients don’t burn during prolonged cooking times. Cheaper stock pots have thin construction, which can lead to ingredients burning onto the pot’s bottom surface. A stock pot usually has a round base, deep sides and a lid. Grandma had a stock pot she used in the outside kitchen, and it was big enough for her to put over the fire and braise an entire pork shoulder with soy sauce and seasonings. Mmmmm...

Note: For the holidays, The Mixed Stew is changing it up a bit and talking about some of our favorite things in the kitchen. We hope you enjoy this little break from the routine.