Why I Love Staub + Tip: It's The Perfect Wedding Gift

"Hello, I'm Julia Child. Welcome to The French Chef, and the first show on our series on French cooking. Today we're gonna make boeuf bourguignon, beef stew in red wine."

I can listen to Julia Child in her distinct Julia Child voice say that over and over. Boeuf bourgignon. Boeuf bourgignon. Bouef borgignon.

I do love a good beef stew myself. And now I realize why I also love Dutch ovens aka cocottes. They make me feel a bit like Julia Child. Standing in front of a stove, watching over a simmering stew.

Wouldn't it be fun to cook beef stew in a cow-shaped pot? Heehee.

While Julia Child didn't use a Staub for her first episode on beouf bourgignon, because Staub first came to the scene only in 1974, I am pretty sure she would have approved. It's perfect for one pot dishes and simply a dream to have in the kitchen.

Lately, I have been harboring my French cooking dreams via Staub's gorgeous, gorgeous cookware. I've been going back to Kitchen Pro since I first stepped foot in the store back in May, I'm always thinking of an excuse to ogle and think of getting a pot or knife for our kitchen. After all, most of my kitchen stuff I've had since I got married, and have been used and abused for the last 9 years.

But let's focus on the Staub cast iron pots first. Here's why I've fallen in love with them:

1. Won't you take a look at these deep, delightful colors?

The deep, intense and yet shiny coloring is made possible via a special color finish or coating unique to Staub called majolique. Watch at 1:35.

Oh, but if basic black or white cocottes are more your thing, there is too.

Won't this make a beautiful wedding gift? Perfect for the June Bride. Or any bride for that matter. Or any cooking enthusiast and aesthete actually. If anybody wants to gift me more Staub, I'm happy to accept hehe.

But that's not only why Staub pots are special. For starters, well-designed cookware is essential to successful cooking. Once you've seen the difference, you will understand. Not all kalderos are made the same, trust me. With Staub, there's plenty of substance behind the slick surface.

Let's move on to...

2. This French-made enameled cast iron pot retains heat well. You don't need to cook at high heat, there's no need for that. Medium high is ok. At that point, it also cooks evenly. No overcooked sections in your dish with this, promise.

3.  The black matte enameled interior is the best surface for browning and braising effect. Chefs promise an even sear and when used for stews, expect the most tender meat and flavorful sauces. You wanna know why? Because...

4.  To complement the enameled interior and heavy lid, the basting spikes under the lid allow steam to condense on the lid and evenly rain back, onto food, yielding moist, tender and flavorful results.

In laymen's terms, these dimples capture moisture from cooking and deflects it back at the meat making it extra great for braising and self-basting. When you cook in a cocotte, it is not uncommon to find meat so tender, it is barely holding itself together. I'm talking fall-off-the-bone goodness. Whether that be chicken, beef or lamb shanks.

5. You can use it from stove top (yes even on an induction stove), to oven, to table top. Which means, less pots to wash! Isn't that just perfect?

Bottomline is, if you can only have one pot in your kitchen, make it a Staub. Watch this for a full appreciation:

Although you may want to add a wok too. Yes, Staub makes woks and I just got one for Mother's Day. I've always wanted a wok for stir frying ala Wok with Yan ever since I was a kid, and now I have one. Dream come true!

My next planned purchase will be a one of those big cocottes to replace my old Le Creuset #26 whose bottom enamel has dulled, but I can't decide between a black or gray just yet.

Next on my wishlist are these mini cocottes. Not an essential as of now, but nice to have. Xavi thinks it's perfect for their play kitchen though.

Cute nga naman.

Staub makes tea pots too! It's so chica. I'll see if I can convince Dada that we need this. Or maybe I can just get one for him for Father's Day!

I don't know if KitchenPro has a wedding or gift registry just yet, but I think they should. This would make shopping for gifts so much easier.

One store pa lang and from the Staub selection pa lang, I see so many things any bride, groom, mom or dad would like. It would make a great housewarming present too, even for singles who have just moved into their first home.

Actually, why wait for an occasion to buy for ourselves? Let's put it this way. If we are willing to invest on shoes and bags, there's no excuse to scrimp on kaldero. It's for food that goes to our tummies, and that enough makes it totally worth it!

UPDATE: This is one good reason to shop now, offer ends June 30, 2016.

For more about KitchenPro, visit their Facebook Page, KitchenProStores as well as @kitchenprostores on Instagram.

Visit KitchenPro stores at the 6th level of Shangri-la East Wing, Ground Floor of SM Aura Premier, and 3F Ayala Center Cebu.

Kitchen Dreaming at KitchenPro

Beautiful, well-made, heirloom quality kitchen equipment sparks joy in my heart. I can stay for hours at La Grande Epicerie making a checklist of stuff I want for my kitchen (I plan to but haven't gone to E. Dehillerin yet). While I still have yet to own the kitchen of my dreams, I am working towards it, by starting with pots, pans and kitchen tools that will fill it. Heehee.

During our early married years, I would get Le Creuset Dutch ovens and pans from Dada as special occasion gifts.  And yes, I asked for them specifically. It's such a joy cooking with nice kitchen stuff.

I have seen first hand how big of a difference food tastes when cooked in a Dutch oven (also referred to as a cocotte). The beef is more tender, and the food, more flavorful. When we moved to Singapore, I had to use the pots, pans and knives supplied by our serviced apartment for two whole months before our stuff arrived, and I found it so uninspiring to cook. Cutting meat and vegetables with unsharpened knives is tough to start with. Maybe it was my imagination, or maybe not, but I thought the food, when cooked in aluminum or thin stainless steel pots, tasted different too. Ang arte ko, haha.

A few years back, I stumbled upon this post by Marketman, saying, that "..if Le Creuset is the “Mercedes” of the kitchen pot line-up, then Staub must be the “Maybach” or perhaps even the “Rolls Royce” of enameled cast iron pots."

And knowing me, of course I want the Rolls Royce of kitchen pots! I've seen Staub at Sur La Table in SoHo, but because I had a new set of Le Creuset pots then, I felt no desire for more cast iron pots.

Besides, where else would I find space for them in our tiny two bedroom apartment?

But ahhh, Marie Kondo would put me to task here, but with a Manila kitchen now, I now have more room for cast iron pots. And I've got my eyes on the grand prize.

Especially since I found these Staub cocottes at KitchenPro in Shangri-la East Wing. Drool.

The colors of Staub are more vibrant

Marketman has these gray ones, so chic

Mini cocottes! So cute. I'm thinking of an excuse to buy pa, haha

KitchenPro has the potential to be like Sur La Table ha. They also have Zwilling knives and kitchen tools galore.

I've got my eye on this Zwilling cleaver too.

While technically not kitchen stuff, the Zwilling grooming set is a great gift for the man who has everything!

Also spotted these color-coded Victorinox knives. Great for food hygiene and safety as it limits the chance of cross contamination between food groups and potential food poisoning.

I'll tell you more about my KitchenPro finds soon. As this post does not do them any justice!

For more about KitchenPro, visit their Facebook Page, KitchenProStores as well as @kitchenprostores on Instagram.

Visit KitchenPro stores at the 6th level of Shangri-la East Wing, Ground Floor of SM Aura Premier, and 3F Ayala Center Cebu.