Since we seem to have many fine chefs in our group, I was wondering what kind of pans everyone is using. The reason I ask is my old 12" saute pan has seen its last days, I'm looking at getting a 5 or 6qt non stick pan, at this point the brands I'm looking at are Calphalon and All Clad. If anyone has some other suggestions they would be much appreciated, Thanks.
My wife is a fan of T-Fal, but I think that they are cheap, and the non-stick coating scratches easily. Also, they tend to bow on the bottom over time which causes poor heat transfer.
So, it doesn't help with what to buy, but maybe at least one not to buy.
Calfalon anodized-for when you don't want non-stick. We have an 8 inch sauce pan that I mainly use for browning things. OK, ok, and when I don't want to go outside and use the grill (read: completely strip the grill and clean it, then rebuild it). Bad me. But it cooks real nice. We also have the wok from a similar (same?) series, which is marvelous for frying and stir-frying, assuming you get it hot enough. No Teflon to burn off there!
We have Analon non-stick for those purposes, and it cleans off very well. Heat transfer seems decent--no complaints about the soup pot or the 10-inch frying pan.
My wife won a set of Kitchen Aide. It's like 4 ply steel and seems to do a stellar job in the cooking department. It cleans up nicer than I thought steel would. The big frypan is heavy though, heavy enough to be used as a weapon. If I ever get hit with that bugger it is going to do some damage.
I also recommend Calphalon. If you happen to have a Tuesday Morning or Ross close to you, I'd check there. They often have the more expensive brands at a significant discount. I got my last few pans from Tuesday Morning for about half off.
I find the local restaurant supply shop and look for good values there. I followed the recommendations of a restaurant owner friend of mine who suggested that pans that cost $50-60 or more can be bought for $10-20. No name brands here, just value. When scratched, burnt, etc, you don't feel bad about tossing it.
Most supply houses will sell to the public.
Sure wish cast iron wasn’t such a PITA. I prefer the taste of food cooked with it, but the PITA factor makes me hesitant to use it but for special occasions.
We use a combination of SS and non-stick. The SS is for sauces, plus some other stuff. For non-stick, we have a set of Calphalon (sp?) Pro that looks brand new after five years of use. Well the non stick side anyway. The outside of the pans used to be black but hundreds of runs through the dishwasher has removed all the coating. Now they’re all a nice uniformed aluminum color. But that frigging non-stick wears amazingly well. I don’t care much for the phonograph marks it leaves on my pancakes though…..
I highly recommend ScanPan for nonstick. They can take much more abuse that the normal coated nonstick pan.
All-Clad for non-nonstick (?!).
Lately I've been going back to the basics and using the old Lodge cast iron skillets and Dutch oven for most cooking.
We buy nonstick skillets at Costco, or get the the Farberware Millennium ones. The only nonstick things we think we need are 7, 10 and 12 inch skillets. Throw em out when they wear out.
We have and love cast iron, but agree that it's a PITA.
We have some Costco-branded and some Calphalon multi-ply stainless. We are VERY happy with it, and have had other brands over the years including All-Clad, the fatal flaw of which is the absence of a rolled edge on the saucepans. I don't think you can beat stainless-clad-aluminum for looks, easy care and quality. I think the newer Calphalon version is a pretty good value.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention my favorite cookware!! That glass tray that goes round and round in the microwave! Works slick, fast, convenient…
I'm glad you mentioned glass mdrew because the reckless abandon i'm reading about the limited use and throw away attitude of metal pots and their teflon covered, flaking surfaces has me nervous that the North American culture really doesn't give a damn about handing a polluted world to our kids.
Metals are also a limited resource people, not just gas (something people notice thanks to the increasing prices the past few years).
For those looking for lifetime pots, that do not need to be thrown out, and that are not glass (or porcelain in the case of a slow cooker), try Paderno.
http://www.paderno.com/ No, they are not 'true' non-stick teflon coated crap but they have a very polished surface which has never been an issue for sticking food, not even with eggs, for many years. They retain heat like you wouldn't believe thanks to the properly constructed base.
The handles never get hot and they have several pot style and sizes for most occasions. They are not Costco crap cheap (for a reason) but not so expensive that only big restaurant chefs could afford them.
On a side note, they do have a popular pro line with restaurants, though i'm not sure how much of a U.S. share they have. They are a Canadian company.
http://www.paderno.com/corporate/
Le Creuset - enameled cast iron.
Has most of the benefits of cast iron (and the weight), without the PITA factor.
Also is very stick-resistant - not really "non-stick", but darn close, and easy to clean up.
Well, yeah, if you can afford it!
You're absolutely right, though.
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, I found a 5qt Calphalon One saute pan for half of the retail price so I'm going to give it a try. Eventually I'll get around to buying a whole new set of good cookware and donate my mix-matched stuff to Goodwill. Last year my wife bought me a set of Wusthof Culinar Knifes for X-mas now I almost feel like I need some nicer pots and pans to cook in.
Yeah, Le Creuset is pricey - but all of ours are 'seconds' either from T.J. Maxx home section or Le Creuset outlets. For a little pit in the enamel, you'll get a huge discount. Of course, you're at the mercy of supply, so not so good if you're in a hurry.
My parents still have their blue Le Creuset dutch oven from when they got married in 1972. When you consider how long they last, they are so worth the money. Not that I've paid the entry fee, yet.
If I had to give up everything and only use 1n pot I would go with Le Creuset as well. Can't beat the quality and performance. I also have a couple of Mauviel copper pots. I cook on a gas range and the copper pots provide very fast temperature reaction. They are pricey but will last several generations. I am a believer in spending a little more on pots and knives. The only exception in non-stick. My experience is that the more expensive one breakdown almost as fast a the cheaper ones...so I buy cheap and replace more
often.
Over the past few years, Me and the wife have build up a full set of All-Clad stainless. I just gritted my teeth every time I saw the price tag at Bed Bath & Beyond for a full set, so one day we bought a small 7" fry pan. Now we have that one, a 14" fry pan, saute' pan, 12 qt stock pot and a sauce pan. I have been spoiled by that stuff and our Wusthof santoku and a special edition Shun chef's knife.
We love having the nice pans to cook in, but if I had to give up the pans or the knives, it would be the pans. Cooking with fine cutlery IMO is most important hardware-wise in the kitchen followed secondly by the pans.
I'd put the chef as the #1 most important kitchen utensil.
I have the Shun santuko. I hide it.
I'm late to the party but also recommend Calphalon.
Ditto T-Fal: cheap, no good.
Sometimes you can get cheap pans at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, or Kohl's (which always has some sort of discount going on).
I keep my knives (Shun and Henckels) in a block on a top cupboard shelf where I can easily get to them but my 5'3" wife cannot. Started when I caught her opening some plastic packaging with my Shun santoku. She now has her own little set of knives. And her own toolbox, as mine is now kept locked. I mean, I probably have 20 screwdrivers of various sizes but I start a project and I can only find a jeweler's size standard driver? How the heck can she possibly have a need for AND misplace 19 screwdrivers within a weeks time? Master Lock to the rescue.