If you are someone who cooks at home rather than ordering in, there are chances you have special pans and pots to make different food items. For the same reason, you must be wondering about the soup pot vs stockpot, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that it’s one of the biggest mysteries out there. So, if you are fond of making soups and stews, we are sharing the differences between these pots.
Soup Pot vs Stock Pot
Soup Pot
Soup pots are pretty common in households where soup is a common addition to the dinner table. This is because these special pots allow the users to make thick soups. In particular, the soup pots are designed with wide and short sides that are suitable for holding dense ingredients. The soup pots are designed with a heavy base, such as aluminum and stainless steel material, with a tri-ply configuration. The tough base is designed to deliver consistent heat conduction while preventing burning.
The soup pots are designed with one handle, which is usually very long and extended. For the most part, the soup pot resembles the stockpot in shape and size, but the main difference is its heavy base. That’s because one doesn’t need to heat up a lot of liquid while making soup. The soup pots are perfect for heating up the thick ingredients. For this reason, the thick base helps because it holds heat for a longer time to cook the liquid.
In addition to cooking soup, the soup pot is suitable for making chili and stews. The best thing about soup pots is that they can replace the Dutch oven pretty well because it has a similar base, resulting in better cooking outcomes. When it comes down to the size, soup pots are available in a variety of sizes, depending on how much soup you intend on making. Generally, the sizes are labeled with liters, which start from five liters to ten liters, but some commercial pots have a capacity of more than ten liters.
The soup pots are made from different materials, including aluminum and stainless steel (the latter are pretty affordable). In addition, you might be able to find some soup pots with copper materials that promise quick cooking, but they can be pretty expensive. All in all, the soup pots are available in the cookware stores and brands pretty easily.
Stock Pot
The stock pots are one of the most pots out there, and they are known for their narrow and tall sides. These tall and narrow sides are actually designed to hold huge volumes of food, particularly liquid items. The stock pots are made with thin bottoms, which are mainly made from aluminum, copper, or stainless steel, depending on which material you choose. The thin bottom is manufactured to promise quick heat conduction. Consequently, the stockpot will be able to bring the liquid to a boil quickly.
The stock pots are integrated with double handles to ensure easy pouring and lifting. As the name suggests, stock pots are perfect for making stock, but they can also be used for making soup. In addition, these pots are suitable for making chili, stew, and similar recipes. As already mentioned, the stockpot has a thin base that promises even heat distribution, which also promises quick cooking. Also, the quality is different, depending on which material is used.
Usually, a stockpot is made with straight sides and a wide opening to cook a huge quantity of stock and soup. In addition, these pots are integrated with a lid, and the lid has a handle on top for easier handling. In addition to soup and stock, the stockpot can also make boiled food, porridge, and steamed shellfish. Having said that, it’s pretty clear that stock pots are versatile and can be utilized for multiple cooking purposes as well as non-cooking purposes, such as boiling yarn and wood.
There are no standard sizes for stock pots out there. However, they are usually manufactured and labeled by volumes, such as 10 liters. On the other hand, some manufacturers also label the pots by diameter. All in all, the stock pots are available in a variety of materials, and some of them are extremely expensive. The high-end stock pots usually have bottoms made from multiple materials to improve conductivity.