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Originally Posted by eeediot  The clad stainless in question was All-Clad so [snip], the cheaper, flimsier, thinner, lighter stuff would probably have even more stark hotspots on stovetop cooking. |
Yes.
It seems to me (and a lot of other people) that a really good cookset is going to have at least a couple or three quality, clad, stainless frying pans, and a couple or three quality, clad stainless sauce pans at its heart.
Setting aside the ultra-luxuries like copper clad, there are a number of very good clad lines -- the major distinctions between them seem to be handle comfort, looks and price.
A word about copper. All-Clad copper clad is looks only. The outer copper layer isn't thick enough to make any sort of performance difference. Even with the good stuff like Matfer and Franck, performance differences are tiny -- especially compared to price. That said, if you can afford it, you love it, you want it -- buy it.
It's not important whether or not you pick everything from the same set. If you want it to match, that's not wrong. I can't overemphasize that once you reach a certain level of quality, everything is pretty much alike. An All-Clad LTD of a given shape isn't going to do a better or worse job than a Calphalon Tri-Ply.
Quality in terms of multi-ply, stainless performance can be usefully defined by the thickness of the conductive layer -- whether it's aluminum or copper; and the feel of the pan in your hand.
Some pan handles can take a lot more heat and still feel comfortably, but I'm afraid I can't tell you much about that.
As to which clad stainless: I like the Vollrath clad line, but that probably reflects my own cooking background and kitchen aesthetic more than anythinhg else.
As you add to your sauce pan set, you'll want one or two pans with flared or rounded sides -- respectively, windsor pans and sauteuses aka "chef" pans. They're fabulous for reduction and whisking, which are major when it comes to sauce making.
Regarding pan alternatives -- which is where we came in: If your stainless cookware isn't best quality, I'd start with two skillets -- whichever sizes you use most frequently; and two sauce pans -- again, you're most frequent sizes. After that I'd add two or three carbon steel frying pans, and a 12" cast-iron chicken fryer. FWIW, a heavy, aluminum chicken fryer is a great alternative. You're just not going to use it for burgugnones, sauerbratens, etc.
You'll want to use carbon steel instead of stainless for eggs and pretty much all saute work So choose your sizes accordingly.
Quality carbon: Keep it simple. Vollrath or Matfer/Bourgeat (regular, not blue steel) -- not that there aren't others just as good, but there are some that are too lightly built to hold up. If you have a preference, make sure the side of the pan has the roll you want -- either rounded (aka Lyon) or flared. AFAIK Vollrath is flared only. Vollrath has a wider handle, more comfortable for smaller handles. Matfer/Bourgeat come with a couple of different arches -- not that you'll get a chance to pick. They're the same old skinny cast-iron handles the French have used forever -- like it or don't. My experience is that small hands don't like French handles, but large hands do. In other words, it's more a matter of strength than fit.
When it comes to cast iron -- Lodge or used. Lodge pre-seasoned and plain Lodge makes no never mind. Seasoning a cast iron pan is no big deal.
Another no-brainer is a largish, enamel over iron, oval casserole and a slightly smaller round one. La Creuset has the rep, but it's enormously overpriced. Lodge (the same Lodge who makes the regular cast iron) recently introduced some good quality, attractively priced, enamel over iron. There are some other alternatives. We can get into them when you're serious.
For large pots, look for inexpensive stainless with a disc bottom. Everyone should have a good small stock pot/steamer/spaghetti set. That's a large stainless pot, either clad or disc bottom, 10 quarts or larger, with a glass lid, a spaghetti strainer and a steamer insert. One of the things which makes one set better than another is how deep the spaghetti strainer extends. The closer to the bottom of the pot, the better (gives you more room to cook your noodles). Add a 16 quart (as big as it gets with a 12" diameter bottom) for those HUGE projects (tamales, clam bakes, beef stock) and you have a pretty good set.
BDL