Annotated Bibliography
Beard, J. (Ed.). (1975). The cooks' catalogue: a critical selection of the best, the necessary, and the special in kitchen equipment and utensils. Over 4000 items including 200 extraordinary recipes plus cooking folklore and 1700 illustrations produced with the assistance of the world's leading food authorities. New York: Harper & Row.
The title of this book could not have been more aptly named. It is a plethora of information on kitchen equipment and its history and should be called an encyclopaedia rather than a catalogue. It was by far the best resource for thesauri inspiration in my selection of resources and with its 4000 items in it's repetoire is there any doubt? The purpose of “The Cook’s Catalogue” is to inform the consumer about brandname cookware without the annoyance of commercial advertising. The primary section of interest is “stovetop cooking utensils” where a descriptive history of stovetop cooking vessels is expounded upon and includes historical illustrations and details on vessel construction, metals and heat conductivity. This catalogue runs the gamut on stovetop cookware from griddles and presentation pans to bains-marie and stockpots. Each of these subsections, which act as narrower terms, are presented in catalogue format with an accompanying photograph and a description of the make, price, size, shape and capacity of each item which is contextualized by an article describing the “why's and wherefore's” of how the shape, size and materials of each cooking vessel is important to cooking techniques. Of particular note is a glossary at the beginning of the “stovetop cooking utensils” catalogue section which covers popular terminology from the past and present for different cooking pots and pans. I was particularly surprised that a cast-iron fry-pan was once called a “spider”. Without a doubt I will be well-versed in cookware terminology upon my completion of perusing this text.
Bridge, F., and Tibbetts, J.F. (1991). The well-tooled kitchen. New York: William Morrow.
An amazing reference book, I found myself making a list of all the cooks in my life who need to have a copy of the Well-Tooled Kitchen under their tree next Christmas. Despite having been published twenty years ago, Bridge and Tibbetts' book can still be considered the definitive guide to kitchenware. Divided into six chapters from "Knives" to "Measuring Tools", the chapter on "Stovetops and Ovenware" was indispensable for the purposes of this thesaurus. Complete with tables that describe materials, uses, advantages, and disadvantages, each cookware piece is explained, alternative uses and alternative names are given, photographs illustrate the pieces, and recipes demonstrate their use. The book provides a descriptive table of contents, and indices, covering both the tools and the recipes, to aid in navigation.
Cooking World. (2010). Kitchen cookware consumer guide. Retrieved from http://www.cookingworld.biz/
Amongst other practical reading for selecting pots and pans, this site offers in-depth reviews of cookware lines in addition to explanations of features of cookware such as heat conductivity and stove/oven surface, cooking). It also offers pros and cons of cookware material (such as iron, carbon steel, non-stick), suggestions for what to look for in cookware, descriptions of individual items (shape and function for example), and colour visuals of items. Moreover it has an FAQ like section with questions for example reading stove and oven cooking with the same pot and increasing longevity of non-stick items. It also reminds one to think of the customer care the manufacturer provides and consumer protection regarding individual pieces or sets. There are numerous items to read to better educate oneself regarding informed purchasing. They are written in easy to understand language, making this site, in its breadth, depth, and customer-centred language, a highly recommended resource.
Consumers Union of America, Inc. (2010). Consumersreport.org: Kitchen cookware. Retrieved from
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/kitchen/kitchen-cookware/kitchen-cookware-buying-advice/kitchen-cookware-getting-started/kitchen-cookware-getting-started.htm
Similar to the other guide, this site offers a buying guide to cookware. Yet in comparison it is a much quicker, easier to read guide explaining some basics factors to keep in mind when purchasing pots and pans. These selection criteria are: types (for example, non-stick or cast iron), features (infusion technology, handles, safety), brands, and “before you start shopping” factors such as choosing cookware according to one’s stovetop. For the latter criteria shopping in person rather than online ordering is a further example of what to do as a consumer looks for these items. While experts may say the explanations are very simple and perhaps even “too basic”, the average consumer can use the report easily as a practical, easy-to-understand starting point to guide him as he looks at what can sometimes be an overwhelming amount of cookware in stores and their respective features. A video about green cookware, a recent trend in cookware is featured in this resource. Further reading from this page discusses characteristics and appropriateness of cast iron, aluminum, and other materials from which pots and pans are made. A subscription to the guide offers further explanations on buying cookingware.
Cookeryonline.com. (2010). Pots and pans page: what to look for in a pan. Retrieved from http://www.cookeryonline.com/Pans/Cookware.htm
This is essentially a commercial website – designed ultimately for sales of cookware. It’s mission statement is “To provide free fun food information and cookery resources for all. This site holds a wide range of information on food, cooking and eating - we keep adding to it in response to your questions”. And indeed it does prove the basics. The site is organized into 8 sections, one being “Pots and Pans”. It starts with a few very good general points about key qualities to look for in a pot or pan: weight, height, and surface area, and suggests that a few good pots and pans can to the job. (For a commercial website, this is an honorable adage to mention. From there the main categories (according to this website) are listed with brief and concise descriptions about their physical variable, and what they tasks they will help a cook to perform. For the cooking techniques, terms are linked to a glossary for definition and details about purpose, e.g. “shallow frying” – cooking in a shallow pre-heated pan, with small amount of fat at a high temperature. The glossary also offers links to technique, safety, and more equipment, e.g., sub categories of pots and pans, and in this way it acts almost as cross reference. Information in this sit is tucked everywhere and time is required to navigate through and discover it all.
Ettlinger, S.R. (1992). The kitchenware book. New York: Macmillan.
As I started reading Ettlinger's Kitchenware Book, my fourth resource, I really thought there would be nothing new to add to my already substantial pile of cookware thesaurus terms. I was sorely mistaken. Well-researched and thorough the book even includes a final chapter entitled "Kitchen Kitsch" listing such items as kitchen witches and refrigerator magnets. However, for the purposes of our thesaurus, my attention centred on the "Stovetop Cooking Equipment" chapter. Reiterating his introduction, Ettlinger points out that manufacturers, stores, catalogues and cooks will use many different terms to refer to the same cooking vessel for which reason Ettlinger includes an "also known as" statement along with a description, recommended uses, and buying tips with each of his terms. While not quite as extensive as Bridge, who includes entries for three different types of fish poachers, Ettlinger ventures into what could only be called novelty items with cookware such as the frozen food cooker, a rectangular pan made "for cooking a typical box of frozen vegetables."
Fante's Inc. (2008). Fante’s kitchen wares shop: one of America’s oldest and most distinguished resources for cooks' wares, established in 1906. Retrieved from http://www.fantes.com/cookware.html
Fante’s Kitchenwares is a wholesale family-owned business operating out of Philadelphia since 1906, providing services and advice to professional and at-home cooks. Although this guide is short and concise it is of worthy note in its unique approach to providing a glossary of cookware terms for its website visitors. The how-to selection guide, which acts as a tutorial, is divided up into three focal points of relevance to the chef which include “matching the pan to the task; matching quality to desired result; and matching features to comfort and ease of use.” This technique of organization provides an interesting way of grouping terms according to conceptual function of the task at hand. Each overarching task has accompanying cookware terms in each group type in addition to a solid list of cookware materials terms and descriptions of the limitations of each. Quite frequently in other online guides this information is often either overlooked or only partly complete. As an at-home cook who frequently grabs the nearest cooking pot without giving it a second thought about the term and qualities of the metals it is made out of I found the final tutorial was especially useful as a “quick guide to metals and their use” which described each relevant term, its qualities, best use and additional tidbits of key information for each.
J. Paul Getty Trust. (2000). Art & architecture thesaurus online. Retrieved from http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/aat/
A controlled vocabulary amongst uncontrolled vocabularies, the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) is an interesting contrast in format, layout, retrievability and term selection with the other resources reviewed here. A search of the term "cookware" produces a hierarchical display of broader and narrower terms. The presences of sub-hierarchies are denoted by icons. Scope notes, designation of preferred and non-preferred terms, as well as sources contribute to the decision of whether or not to include a particular term in our thesaurus project. While not as "user-friendly" as some of the other resources (browsing through the AAT hierarchy to search for a starting point isn't as intuitive as flipping through a kitchenware book), none the less it is fascinating to see the context of how cookware has been categorized.
Kinsey, S. L. (2003). Understanding stovetop cookware [Web forum message]. Retrieved from http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/25717-understanding-stovetop-cookware/
This is an instruction guide posted on a wiki forum for organization called eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. Kinsey is an instructor with the online culinary academy, the eGullet Culinary Institute. It is very substantial post about many aspects of stovetop cookware. His purpose is to educate people who are passionate about their cookware, but really do not know much about it. The guide is intended to help people make good future purposes and is structured around 5 main questions. In the first question “What kind of cooking task do you want to do”, he asks a person to focus not on what item of cookery he or she wants but what does he want to do that he cannot do with what he already has. A very informative and detailed discussion ensues.
For the purposes of this assignment the part 2 or the second question is the most relevant: What is the basic pan shape? .The answer includes 10 main categories of pans and skillets and many sub categories contained in each. Exceptional descriptions are provided about the shapes, sizes, purpose and materials of various stovetop vessels. For example: Stock Pot: “The shape is tall and narrow to limit evaporation, with sides approximately equal to the diameter of the base. This design allows stocks to be simmered a long time for maximum flavor extraction and minimal loss of liquid.” Simple sketches provide good visuals. The remaining questions are about the kinds of materials used, how they are deployed, and how much of various materials are used in cookery. If you have a need to know about thermal conductivity, material responsiveness, capacity for specific heat per cubic centimeter, and some real specifics, like the uses, pros and cons of various metal combinations in cookware, e.g., copper with an interior of tin lining versus one with stainless steel, the last 3 sections will not let you down.
Kness, D. (1977). The Butterick kitchen equipment handbook: an illustrated guide to cookware applicances, and utensils. New York: Butterick Publishing.
This 1977 short handbook was selected for consideration for the development of the cookware thesaurus because of its traditional no nonsense approach to the identification and description of cookware for the consumer. Kness takes an interesting approach to the cookware topic by categorizing kitchen equipment into three identifiable kitchen centres which include mixing and preparation; sink and cleaning; and cooking and serving. The handbook also supplies key cookware terms and relevant hand-drawn illustrations in the context of the selection of equipment, materials and finishes, the cookware itself and speciality equipment. Each cookware entry details weight or gauge, capacities, size and what specific cooking activities the item is for. Although there is a specific chapter on cookware one would be remise not to take a look in the specialty section which addresses cookware for barbeques and special cookware for clams and fish. While some more modern books on the topic get caught up in becoming the next beautiful photography- illustrated coffee-table book, one can appreciate the more concise informative nature of the traditional glossary-style that this handbook provides.
Le Gourmet Chef. (2011). Cookware. Retrieved from: http://www.legourmetchef.com/cookware-products.cfm
The “Le Gourmet Chef” is an online catalogue which is an extension of a popular nationwide chain of stores which sells cookware to professional and at-home chefs. Each cookware catalogue entry can be considered to be a component of a pictorial glossary which details each entry with “features” and “product specifications”. As a source for thesauri terms its strength lies in the terms used in the features description of each item where terms for materials, heat sources, coatings, and weights and capacities can be mined. Because this is a catalogue the latest in both cookware terms and its feature’s terms can be found. This focus is particularly relevant for locating terms and definitions associated with the new “green” cookware. Although there are cookware names which are useful for term discovery where this site is not useful is the section “Types of Cookware”. This section seems to be ordered by price instead of by type as the title would suggest and would have been useful for getting a sense of the hierarchy of terms if it had indeed existed. While there is some value trolling through this catalogue it is not as useful as the other resources for finding cookware specific terms.
Pots and Pans. (2010). Buy cookware - your guide for chosing pans. Retrieved from http://www.pots-and-pans.co.uk/acatalog/Buy_Cookware_Guide.html
This website like so many on the Internet is geared ultimatel to sell product. However, it is also designed to help consumers acquire some background information and vocabulary in the cookware arena. Information is divided into broad categories of cookware, material make up of most cookware, e.g. copper, stainless steel, etc., items within each category, (e.g., crepe pan, fry pan within the broad category of pans), and functionality or what the item is used for. The website is from the UK; products however are from Europe and North America and the vocabulary is consequently familiar to Canadians. Being a British source, there are some unique terms or at least less commonly used by the Canadian populace. Such terms widen the pool of terms and maybe useful for the non preferred or related terms.
Reluctant Gourmet. (2011). How to buy pots and pans. Retrieved from http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/cookwares.htm
The author of this website is not a professional chef but a retired Wall street bond broker. He learned about kitchen landscape on evenings and weekends cooking for his family and friends. His cookware “Tools” page is subtitled Pots and Pans for Home Cooks and provides information on choosing Sauces Pans, a Saute Pan, Cast Iron Cookware, Soup Pot and so on. It’s difficult not to get caught up in the reasons to use various pots and pans involving their shape and material, (e.g., copper is the best metal for rapid heat conduction important for making sauces), it also gives detailed information about the generic designs of these vessels, particularly for Sauce Pans. The terms for the members from same families are easily confused but this source, in the case of Sauce Pans, helps sort them out in almost heirachical layout, e.g. Pans > Sauce Pans > Classic Sauce Pan, Saucier Pan, Windsor Sauce Pan, and so on. Some good illustrations are provided. It also provides a page the main cooking techniques, e.g. braising, grilling, frying, roasting etc. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions he does not pair the cooking technique with with the equipment - at least not in enough detail for the group's project. The Reluctant Gourmet also has a blog where he answers questions and recieves information from his devotees.
Sales Person. (17 February 2011). [Personal communication]. Gourmet Warehouse, 1340 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC.
Over an estimated 20 minutes, a salesperson explained some engineering and design elements featured in cookware. She indicated that price is almost always the most important aspect determining one’s purchase. Longevity, function, ease of maintenance, and aesthetics are most often the second or third criteria, sometimes outnumbering price as the main criteria. Her “no fancy talk” approach provided insight into longevity of metals, to paraphrase, for example, stainless steel could have the same “store display” look 20 years later). Other helpful tips were: the heavier the item the better it is as it has comparatively more metal and, in addition, one should not cook tomato in aluminum as it eats at the metal. She mentioned cast iron is ideal for slow cooking because it retains heat, and that longetivity can for example can depend on a pot or pan’s handles; “welded” handles are fused on and can break off more easily than “riveted” handles which are screwed in. An easy way to see the latter is if one can see a bump or nail on the inner side of the cookware where the handles are placed. Echoing single item/set purchase suggestions mentioned in the other sources, she suggested refraining from cookware sets in which there are items one would never utilize. Yet if one requires a basic set, is looking for a good price, and likely could not distinguish flavour or texture particulars that a professional cook could easily decipher between brand or models, she eagerly recommended mainstream cookware on sale at department stores over specialty, single items.
Wikipedia. (2011). Cookware and bakeware. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookware_and_bakeware
A succinct introduction to cookware, this article reviews the history and evolution of cooking vessels, provides an overview of the various materials from whence these vessels are constructed and lists the various types of cookware. A distinct advantage of the online format is that key terms are linked to pages that further elaborate on the information given. The reference list has proven useful in providing direction to other cookware resources. This article brings up the issue of where to draw the line when selecting terms for the thesaurus as in several places it lists names of cooking vessels in other languages. The question is whether these terms are common enough in North America to be considered entry points for Canadian cooks.
Wolf, B., Aronson, E., & Fabricant, F. (2000). The new cooks’ catalogue. New York: Random House.
Offering in-depth explanations of cookware metals by delving into their composition, strengths, weaknesses, and the nature of their coatings, this book’s chapter on pots and pans also offers details on heat conductivity features, the impact a pot or pan’s shape can have on their functions, and maintenance procedures for cookware. Given the depth of description, professional cooks, and culinary teachers and students would be its most likely readers. Further, cookware retailers and salespeople may see it as essential reading as it provides the sort of professional, thorough knowledge the average consumer would anticipate from them. Featuring coloured photographs of a broad range of numerous pots, pans, and lids, “What to Look for” segments, and anecdotes on cooking methods or cookware features for example, it is a rich source of information. While most models are those found in Western kitchens, descriptions of specialty casseroles such as the Tangine from Morocco and the Japanese Nabe give readers information on cookware they may be curious about or eager to use but are uncertain as to how. Overall a professional resource it yet may find itself attractive to the amateur cook seeking to equip himself with a solid, thorough grounding in cookware construction, range, and function. Given the weight and size of this book in addition to the extent of detail, average consumers are more likely to anticipate that those selling cookware would have read such a resource rather than read it themselves.