Stainless Steel Stock Pot

A large stainless steel stock pot — the one you only need occasionally and can't improvise when you do. Stock from a carcass, a batch of soup for the freezer, pasta for eight, a Christmas ham, sterilising jars before preserving.

Stainless is the right material for it: nothing reacts, so a tomato sauce or a long-simmered stock won't pick up a metallic edge the way it can in aluminium. Easy to clean, which matters when the pot has had a chicken frame simmering in it for five hours.

Why you'll love it

• Proper capacity — stock, batch soup, pasta for a crowd.
• Non-reactive — tomatoes and long stocks keep their flavour.
• Easy to clean — smooth stainless, no coating to protect.
• Worth owning once — the pot you can't substitute when you need it.

Details

• Material: stainless steel
• Ideal for: stock, soup, pasta, preserving, large-batch cooking

A big pot needs a big burner. On a small ring the centre boils while the edges sit still, so use the largest burner you have and stir more than you think you need to.