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At first glance, a hamburger and French fries might appear to be the national dish of the U.S., but a closer look reveals that our country's culinary influences run much deeper than our fast food franchises. The influences of our immigrants — Italians, Germans, Irish, Mexicans, Asians, and South Americans, to name a few — have been enjoyed for over two hundred years. The U.S. isn't called a melting pot for nothing.

Perhaps the single strongest influence on American cuisine has been the fact that immigrants retained the heart of their countries' characters through their cooking. While Italians continue to gather around large bowls of pasta, the Germans and Eastern Europeans remain fond of their dumplings, the English still enjoy their potpies, and the quick assimilation of the Asians' stir frys into the American culinary culture resulted in the cuisine becoming one of our most popular take-out choices.

Increased ethnic migration has resulted in a concentration of Hispanic and Caribbean cultures in one part of the country, Asian in another, with the original European influences still holding strong in pockets throughout the country. This migration, coupled with interest in travel and simple adventurism, perpetuates experimentation with the different tastes and flavors of faraway lands by U.S. consumers. From restaurants to home kitchens, experimentation with ethnic cuisines persists.

As a result of the experimentation, the implements used to cook these traditional foods have become an integral part of the American kitchen. "Good ethnic items have become a standard in the American kitchen in a very short time," stated Tex Harrison, owner of Complements to the Chef, a kitchenware store located in Asheville, N.C. "For most Americans, the pasta pot and even the wok are now staples in the kitchen. And, regionally, many other ethnic items like the pizzelle, the aebleskiver, and even the tortilla press are a must in the kitchen," she said.

Everyday Ethnic

Certain "ethnic" cuisines, such as Italian, quickly became part of our everyday lives, while others, such as French, remained mostly something to be enjoyed as a special meal at a restaurant. The extent to which foreign cuisines were assimilated into American culinary practices most likely was affected by how they were perceived — Italian cooking being something relatively easy, with French and its sometimes complicated sauce reductions remaining an intimidating cuisine for most.

However, the tide is changing. Retailers are finding heightened consumer interest in traditional "ethnic" cookware, as well as special-purpose ethnic items.

As the ethnic population grows, ethnic cuisines and the tools and cookware necessary to prepare them become more mainstream. For retailers selling cookware, a variety of items once deemed "ethnic" are now part of the everyday product mix — the pasta pot, wok, paella pan, crêpe pan, and fondue pot, for example. "Ten to 15 years ago, the wok was the most-innovative ethnic cookware item," remembers Janie Williams, owner of Home & Farm Supply. "Today, the wok is an essential piece in the kitchen," she said.

Williams' sentiments mirror those of the National Restaurant Association's Ethnic Cuisines II Report — it states that Italian, Mexican, and Chinese cuisines have gone mainstream. Additionally, it notes that consumers are becoming more aware of other ethnic foods, including Indian, Caribbean, Japanese, Spanish, and even Soul Food.

The wok is only one of many ethnic kitchenware items that has crossed the line from ethnic to everyday. "Years ago, ethnic was distinguished mainly by a people's culture and where they lived," Williams added. "But today, our country is so diverse in our ethnic makeup that these ethnic influences, old and new, are much more easily assimilated into everyday American life. That is so true that ethnic cookware becomes part of everything we sell every day," she said.

Further spurring the growth of ethnic cookware at the retail level is the recent shift from highbrow to lowbrow homestyle cooking, regardless of its origins. This resurgence of interest in humble foods from around the world has helped bring the more casual cuisines to the forefront. As a sort of backlash to a world filled with fast food, slow cooking is finding its way back into the kitchen — and so are cooking implements such as the well-known cast iron French oven that evenly absorbs and transmits low heat to brown and simmer food slowly on the stovetop or in the oven.

As a natural progression for the home cook, retailers can offer a variety of ethnic cookware products designed to produce the same effect, adding greater depth to the ethnic cookware category. For slow cooking, the French oven comes immediately to mind, but the doufeu, while an old favorite in the French kitchen, is likely to be new to American consumers. This enameled cast iron pot has an indented lid which cradles ice to condense the internal steam for long, slow, low-heat cooking. The pot's name means "gentle heat" and its popularity harks back to an old style of cooking. Other implements for slow cooking are the daubière, a clay cooking pot made of earthenware which recreates the salt packs, leaf wraps, or clay seals which were used in bygone days to seal in natural juices, thereby allowing the steam to produce tender chicken, fish, or meat.

Ethnic Endurance

As new ethnic cookware items hit the retail scene, interest in those once-specialty ethnic items like the pasta pot and the wok hasn't waned. Manufacturers continually update and reinvent items to keep up with the times. New materials or user friendly designs keep consumers interested in new versions of these items for their kitchen assortment.

The pasta pot is a good example. Five different pasta pots are carried at Home & Farm Supply. "The first one we carried," reminisced Williams, "was a lightweight stainless steel insert used strictly for pasta. We now have several pasta pots for multiple uses — one with a tri-ply bottom and another insert which customers can use for steaming vegetables."

Similarly, the wok has undergone changes since it came onto the American culinary scene in the mid-1900s. At that time, customers paid less than $30 for a wok. Now they're paying upwards of $169 for varieties in copper, enamel, or nonstick. "And if customers are spending that much money, they'll figure out a variety of different ways to use it," added Williams.

Specialty retailers have spurred sales in the specialty ethnic items by showcasing the diverse uses of ethnic cookware. "You can take the insert out of a pasta pot or a couscoussier and use the pot as a stockpot," suggested Jan Marshall, buyer for Sur La Table. "They can also be used to blanch vegetables."

Besides promoting multiple uses for ethnic cookware pieces, retailers also have the opportunity to generate ancillary product sales. With each pasta machine sale, Williams's customers are prompted to purchase a ravioli rolling pin or a pasta drying rack, "things that will keep customers coming back and thanking us for our great suggestions," Williams explained.

Ethnic Diversity

Certainly consumer and eating trends help drive the sale of certain items, but what might sell like gangbusters in one area of the country may generate little interest in another. "If my store was located in San Francisco, we would certainly make more space for Asian-inspired items," explained Williams. This category includes such things as rice paddles for mixing and serving rice; Japanese knives; electric rice cookers, a staple in most Japanese kitchens; or the donabe casserole, an earthenware pot glazed on the inside that is used as an alternative to a cast iron saucepan.

But Williams doesn't totally ignore these pieces. Instead of carrying a smattering of ethnic items in hopes that customer interest will be high, Williams listens to the needs of her customers to determine which ethnic items to carry. "We do listen to those customers who have been traveling and have shown interest in certain cuisines or items," she explained. Williams also follows magazines, restaurant trends, and television food shows to help decide which ethnic items her customers would be most interested in purchasing.

Beyond these trend indicators, population demographics are another indicator of the potential success of ethnic cookware. As the country's ethnic population continues to grow, the influx of Hispanic-influenced cuisine continues to increase in restaurants and on cooking shows, and is expected to continue to influence the American palate. And as this consumer interest grows, the trend will diversify into regional differences between many of the Hispanic cuisines, including those from the Caribbean, South or Central America, Mexico, and Spain.

Mexican cuisine is one targeted for continued growth — even being diversified by regions within Mexico. Products to consider in this category include: a variety of terra cotta bakers — the casuelas for soups and stews, or the ollas, which are taller and used for beans; different-sized earthenware cooking pots which can be used for enchiladas or even casseroles; the tortilla press, generally made of cast iron or aluminum (that is unless you can get your hands on a traditional wooden variety); and the molcajete, a lava-rock mortar and pestle used in Mexico for making salsa.

Ethnic Exploration

Exploration of different cultures can enable retailers to champion the cause of ethnic cuisines. "That doesn't necessarily require seeking out only the complicated or expensive items. Rather, a lot of ethnic cooking is accomplished with simple tools such as the tortilla press, or a Mexican comal, which is much like a griddle," explained Marshall.

Ethnic cookware mirrors the popularity of a country's cuisine. "It's become a true appreciation for a country's regional specialties," added Marshall. And to truly appreciate the implements necessary to recreate these ethnic foods at home, members of the Sur La Table team make it a point to visit the country and experience the foods the way they are enjoyed in their own locale.

Williams does admit that there are certain items which remain specialty in nature, defined as those items which are more special purpose. The aebleskiver pan is an example with its round, dimpled surface and small bowl-like depressions used to create dumplings, a Danish specialty.

"People are into ethnic cooking," explained Marshall. "Whether retailers choose one category or five to represent in the store, it makes ethnic cooking more fun when using the authentic implements. Customers will stretch their imaginations."

Ethnic Ebb and Flow

On one hand, particular ethnic items have become staples in the kitchen. But for some, the tide of many ethnic items has come and gone. For Tex Harrison, that item was the Mongolian hot pot. "As big as Asian is these days, I'm surprised it hasn't seen a resurgence," Harrison said. She does point out that for smaller retailers getting the truly unique ethnic items can be difficult, especially when not sourcing the product yourself. You have to convince your importers to seek out some of the items. For that reason, Harrison relies on the ethnic specialty items that have gone mainstream, "just good ethnic items," according to her.

As the tendency to entertain big groups at home comes back into fashion, cookware conducive to entertaining has enjoyed a renewed popularity. One such item making a big comeback at Home & Farm Supply is the raclette, a specialty item Williams had carried for years without much success. But a simple in-store demonstration drew attention to the raclette and sales have quickly increased. "We're now selling them on a constant basis," explained Williams. The same is true of the fondue pot, a popular item in the 1970s. Once again, demonstrations highlight the versatility of the fondue pot beyond the meat-and-oil combination to chocolate and cheese fondues.

Harrison questions whether customers are really using some ethnic items to cook at home. "I wonder if they're truly making tortillas at home or simply using the press for decoration," she wondered.

The same can be said of the tagine, an extremely popular product for Sur La Table, and one which has graced the company catalogue's pages numerous times. Marshall found that customers were using the tagine more as a decorative serving piece rather than to actually cook couscous. The company adapted and now offers a tagine designed for serving rather than cooking.

Authentic Ethnic

For years, Americans have welcomed the foods of faraway lands into their kitchens, while specialty retailers have sought to provide the implements and the instruction on how to better replicate those ethnic foods at home. Whether it is the old stand-by pasta pot or the more exotic cataplana, specialty retailers are finding that as American home cooks continue to be adventuresome in the kitchen, ethnic cookware more than ever before must be a staple in the store.



Ethnic Cookware Items

Aebleskiver Pan

This cast iron pan has seven small bowls in which to make apple dumplings. Each bowl is approximately 3 tablespoons in capacity to ensure rapid baking.

Cataplana

Tin-lined copper clamshells form the traditional vessel for steaming a Portuguese sausage, ham, and seafood stew in the oven. Also good for steaming mussels or clams on top of the stove.

Chinese Cleaver

Its boxy shape is reminiscent of the Western cleaver; however, this knife is lighter, thinner, and with its razor-sharp tapered edge, it slices and dices easily. Its elongated rectangular shape has a greater cutting edge especially good for mincing.

Couscoussier

A two-tiered bulbous pot that separately stews meat and vegetables, as well as steams couscous. The larger bottom pot holds large amounts of lamb, fish, or chicken with vegetables. The bottom of the upper pot is perforated with vents to flavorfully steam the couscous. Traditionally made of earthenware, but aluminum and stainless steel are more popular here.

CrEpe Pan

Designed to produce light French pancakes, it has a smooth bottom that allows the batter to spread evenly and a flared surface, and is made of heavy-gauge stainless steel to ensure uniform heat distribution.

Mortar and Pestle

Made of a variety of materials (marble, porcelain, wood, and brass), the utensil remains unsurpassed at reducing herbs, spices, and nuts to powders or pastes. Shapes range from bell to barrel to apothecary, in addition to the simple bowl.

Paella Pan

The 21/2-inch deep, two-handled pan furnishes a superb surface on which to cook the Spanish national dish. Generally, the 14-inch width can accommodate the customary pork, chicken, rice, and shrimp for sautéing, while the flared sides promote evaporation to hasten cooking.

Pasta Pot

Tall 8-quart pot with perforated basket inserts designed to cook and then strain up to two pounds of pasta. The pot holds a large amount of pasta, allowing it to expand. Relatively narrow in width, it restricts evaporation. It is also good for blanching vegetables.

Pizzelle

Two decorative metal disks at the end of hinged handles make it easy to transform liquid batter into thin, crisp Italian wafers or cones. Frequently ridged or waffled, they always incorporate a daisy design.

Plett Pan

A griddle with medal-sized indentations to shape, set, and bake batter, producing egg-leavened pancakes that are served with lingonberries, the Swedish national dish.

Tagine

Used originally in Africa to cook stews, this shallow, round cooking pot has a cone-shaped lid that traps steam, preventing the stew or vegetables from drying out.

Tortilla Press

Two hinged aluminum disks with pivoted handles to flatten balls of dough that once grilled are wrapped around tacos and enchiladas. The sturdiest presses are of cast iron, but cast-aluminum alternatives are also efficient.

Wok

Originally developed as a versatile brazier-heated cooking vessel, but remains equally effective on gas and electric ranges. Its round base and curved sides diffuse heat, extend the cooking surface, and facilitate tossing and serving.



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Majority of information obtained from The Well-Tooled Kitchen by Fred Bridge and Jean F. Tibbetts.