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Find out what makes a great value stock pot in this large cooking pot review
If you’re anything like my husband (I’m not the cook in our household), when you find the ideal cooking utensil, be it a stock pot, saucepan or spatula, it’s treated like the prize in a treasure hunt.
Why are good value, quality cooking utensils so difficult to find?
That’s what happened when we spotted the stock pot and started cooking with it. We had no clue that it would be so useful!
Before I tell you about the one we came across, here are the main features and purposes of a stock pot, aka the large cooking pot.
This stock pot review is for you!
What can you use a stock pot for?
As its name suggests, stock pots are used for reducing stock, but they’re also perfect for cooking:
- vegetables
- meats (even a whole chicken!)
- soups
- pasta
- stews
- rice
- chilli
- sauces
- …. and so much more
In fact, as long as the pot’s big enough, you could use it to cook pretty much any type of food. Try it. You can always freeze the excess if you make too much.
What features should the ideal stock pot have?
When choosing a stock pot, you should consider:
- size – the larger it is the better, if you plan to cook in bulk
- shape – a stock pot with a wide base and low sides is often easier to use as you can see over the top of the pot to check the food cooking. Similarly, the base has a larger surface area for cooking. A smaller base with higher sides could be more awkward to use if you’re shorter than average, trying to see inside the pot. Stock pots with a lip on the rim make it easier to drain liquid from the pot whilst cooking
- base – a heavy duty base means the food’s evenly cooked and is less likely to burn
- material – from a good value perspective, stock pots/cooking pots made from aluminium or stainless steel do a good job and won’t cost you the earth
- lids – a lid made of safety glass is ideal as you can see your food cooking without having to constantly remove the lid. Even better are those lids which have a deep rim and include holes for draining liquid
- handles – stock pots can be heavy and cumbersome when filled with food and liquid, so it’s important that they can be easily lifted and carried. The two handles either side of the pot should be large enough to fit the width of your hand or an oven mitt, and mustn’t be too hot to touch. They should also be comfortable to hold whilst transferring the pot from the cooker to the surface or to the sink for draining.
The best value stock pot: Sainsbury’s 8 litre stock pot
Unlike some of my other reviews, I didn’t spend ages researching which stock pot to buy. Instead, I happened to come across the Sainsbury’s stock pot and bought it, not realising until afterwards what a super stock pot it is.
What is Sainsbury’s?
Sainsbury’s is one of the UK’s largest retailers:
“Sainsbury’s was founded in 1869 and today operates over 1,200 supermarkets and convenience stores and employs around 161,000 colleagues…” [source: //www.j-sainsbury.co.uk/about-us/]
One of their goals is to offer great quality and service at fair prices, and if you visit their stores and website, you’ll see that Sainsbury’s succeeds at this goal.
What makes the Sainsbury’s 8 litre stock pot so special?
First, to give this stock pot its full name: Sainsbury’s black aluminium 8 litre stockpot.
Next…
the many features of Sainsbury’s stock pot:
- base: 2.5mm aluminium
- size: 28.5cm x 13cm
- capacity: 8 litres
- handles: 2 handles of heat resistant Bakelite with soft touch coating
- lid: tempered glass
- material: black non-stick aluminium
- hob: suitable for all hob types except induction
- washable: dishwasher safe
- pouring and draining features included
so… in my opinion, why’s it so special?
From a cook’s perspective, the stock pot’s a joy to cook with – it’s large enough to cook virtually any type of food, deep enough to cover a chicken with liquid, and the handles are soft to touch and easy to hold. The clear glass lid makes it easy to keep an eye on your cooking, whilst the pouring/draining feature (a lip on either side of the stock pot with drainage holes on either side of the lid’s rim) make such a large pot much easier to use.
From a washer-up’s perspective, the stock pot’s a joy to clean – food’s never burnt or stuck to the bottom. The non-stick surface works well and the stockpot washes as good as new each time.
What’s it like using the Sainsbury’s 8 litre stock pot?
We’ve had the stock pot for a few months now and I can tell from how often my husband uses it, that he considers it a useful cooking pot.
You’ll remember that I’m not the chef in the house, but my husband is and he uses the stock pot to cook all types of food ranging from meat, vegetables and stews to potatoes, spaghetti and soup …to toasting bread. Yes, toasting bread! I’m sure that’s not the intended use, but it’s got a large surface area big enough to put 2 or 3 slices of bread. Hey, if the toaster’s not to hand, why not.
The pros of this stock pot are that it’s the ideal size when cooking for a large family or making a plentiful meal, it’s non-stick, lightweight to carry, has a clear glass lid and has the pouring/draining feature.
There really aren’t any cons of significance, but if there had to be any, it would be that you may find it heavy when filled with a lot of food/liquid (although the soft handles make it easier to carry) and you’ll need to make room in your kitchen cupboard due to it’s large size.
Where can you buy the Sainsbury’s 8 litre stock pot?
As it’s name suggests, the first place you should look for this stockpot is at Sainsbury’s.
If you’re catering for a party, or inviting your family for dinner, or even if you’re preparing food to batch freeze for the week, then this stockpot’s ideal.
It currently sells for £18 (Sainsbury’s item code: 124254731) and is well worth the price. Check out the great reviews – as at January 2016, it has a rating of 4.6 stars out of 5 with 133 reviews.
Other stock pots
I really like the Sainsbury’s 8 litre stock pot, but you may prefer a larger stock pot, or perhaps one that’s not made of aluminium. Here are some options:
| Product | Approximate Price | Seller | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooking 24cm non-stick stainless steel stockpot | £30 | Waitrose | non-stick stainless steel 24cm diameter oven safe dishwasher safe |
| Cooking stockpot 26cm | £30 | Waitrose | non-stick aluminium and teflon 26cm diameter 7.4 litre capacity dishwasher safe |
| Aluminium stockpot 32cm | £24.99 | Argos | aluminium 32cm diameter dishwasher safe steaming hole glass lid |
| Cook's collection copper bottom stockpot 24cm | £34 | Sainsbury's | Copper base stainless steel glass lid 10 year guarantee oven safe hand wash - not dishwasher safe |
| ProCook gourmet steel stockpot | £32 (was £64) | Amazon | stainless steel 24cm diameter 5.9 litre capacity dishwasher safe oven safe |
| T-fal 11 litre stockpot, total non-stick interior and exterior cooking pot black (Tefal) | £27.51 | Amazon | non-stick dishwasher safe 11 litre capacity durable and scratch resistant |
| Tefal preference pro 24cm stockpot | £37.50 (was £49.99) | Lakeland | non-stick aluminium with titanium coating |
| Buckingham stockpot with stainless steel, 11 litre | £11.02 (was £24.99) | Amazon | stainless steel 11 litre capacity dishwasher safe oven safe |
| Aluminium stockpot, black, 8 litre | £18 | Tesco | non-stick aluminium 8 litre glass lid dishwasher safe |
Note: this review is a general resource, not intended to be professional advice.
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