Kitchen Deals -> Kitchen tools

This is another area where spending money is justified. The best pans combine different metals like aluminum or copper on the outside and stainless steel on the inside. Aluminum and copper are valued for their ability to spread heat evenly over the entire pan, and stainless steel is valued for its non-reactive qualities. Buy pans which are heavy and thick with solid handles that are well fastened to the pot. As with knives, buy the highest quality cooking pans you can afford one at a time, starting with a saute pan and a 3 qt. sauce pan. They will last forever. At some point, a stock pot (which will be especially pricey) should be considered for serious cooking.

Keen cooks may want to take advantage of multi-function ovens - usually aimed at the top end of the market. As well as traditional cooking, fan or fan-assisted cooking and grilling, these ovens offer up to nine further functions. These include: Top element only (browning), bottom element (final cooking of pastry dishes or pizzas), fan and bottom element (delicate cooking), fan only (thawing).

Of course the market for bottled water is still massive, but you might be interested, even surprised to know that one of the largest growing sectors in water consumption at home is in the installation of water filter systems, that provide virtually unlimited quantities of pure water, straight from the mains, through a dedicated tap that provides water, pure and simple.