Buying Cookware

[castironchef]

Originally Posted by nolanfelix

Check out www.lifeware.us for all the technical info. I'm not here to talk about all the health benefits of Lifeware, just the way the food cooks and tastes. I recently purchased a 6 piece set directly from the website and used it for the first time today 12/30/05. I used the large pan to cook chicken breasts and they were absolutely, without question, the best chicken breasts that I've ever cooked/eaten. There was little if any shrinkage of the chicken and without being marinated, they were they juiciest chicken breasts I've ever eaten. I've tried, through local tastings, bacon, zuccinni, carrots and french fries cooked with the enhanced cookware. I wouldn't believe it would be such a drastic difference, if I hadn't seen and tasted it myself. Do yourself a favor and check out the above website. This cookware is going to make everything currently on the market obsolete. It is the best looking, most durable looking cookware I've ever seen

Looks like SPAM to me. Three posts, all for the same product and website, not to mention the dubious health claims.

Beware.

[gonefishin]

I could really use some help on this subject...


More and more...I'm loving my cast iron skillet (well well well seasoned). Everything I throw in there just cooks so well. Corn bread has a nice crust...it sears any food like no other pan can...and it just cooks so well without burning food.


I do intend to pick up a Le Creuset dutch oven for the benefits of cast iron. But I am concerned about the enamel coating cracking. If this is the case...wouldn't I be best off with a really well seasoned cast iron dutch oven?

For my main set of pans I use the older Calphalon commercial. I've tried a few of their newer pans (proffesional series stick and non-stick and ONE non-stick series) but thought they both were far under achievers. I'll keep my old Calphalon...but will be looking else where in the future.
On the same note...it looks like a lot of manufacturers are jumping on the growing popularity of cooking with pans that are aimed with marketing rather than cooking in mind. Could this be a new trend? I hope not

I only use non-stick pans for eggs and other foods that require non-stick surfaces. But recently I've been SO impressed with some Aubecq non-stick pans (Karat series) that I bought three more to have as back-up should the current one not hold up. I bought them for a great price at a Target owned HOME GOODS store. They've also got Le Creuset pans at times at good prices (enamel coated steel, enamel coated cast iron and "raw" cast iron).

still confused on my next purchase??? Maybe an enameled cast iron dutch oven or a "raw" dutch oven. Not sure.

thanks guys and gals,

dan

[Mannlicher]

Most of my cookware is copper clad, either AllClad, CopperChef, or Mauviel. I do have a few pots and pans of other brands and materials. I really like Calphelon, and I use a fair amount of LaCruset. I still use my collection of antique ( or at least, very old) Pyrex Flameware. A favorite for everyday cooking is the Cuisanart line. Still, its hard to beat an old Griswold skillet or pot. I went back to the kitchen to count my stuff. It looks like over 60 pcs, in various materials and brands. Hmmmm, time to go shopping

[Anny]

Well!!! M planning to buy Cookware Set and came across Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 10-Piece…..at amazon.com price is $33.99 I also tried searching for some reviews and this sitehttp://www.inods.com is giving some good info …….just check and help me out!!! Thankz

[MikeLM]

Can't make Kyle's link work.

Bet my kitchen is smaller, though... 8' x 13'. But, we had a completely custom job put in when we we remodeled the condo and it's a heckof a nice kitchen. I made a lot of the cabinets myself, working in the custom cabinet shop my younger son was running at the time. Maple Shaker-style cabinets, roll-out pantry cabinet, granite counter-tops, tile floor and backsplashes. Nice appliances. big sink, Grohe faucets, lots of lights.

Lot of fun to work in.

But, not very large.

Mike

[pgram]

Anny,

That price is too good to be true! Are you sure the price isn't $129.99. That's about the lowest price I can find for the 10-piece set. Even at that price, it's a great deal. I love my Cuisinart!

Pam

[texasflute]

My cookware is a hodge-podge of most everything. I buy the pot for the task. I have mostly cast-iron, some old, some not. I have a lot of LeCrueset, too. My (non-cast iron) frypans are mostly Calphalon non-stick or Berndes. My saucepans are old (20+ years) cuisinart, which are much heavier than today's cuisinart in addition to some all-clad, anolon, bodum, berndes and circulon. My big stock pots are Calphalon and a Robert Welch design Stainless Steel pot from the U.K. The Robert Welch pot is very tall-it is a great pot for making jams and jellies (I did that today).

Most of my LeCrueset has been picked up in odd places. I got the 7qt. oval pot w/lid for $12 at a flea market in Nashville, TN. It was like new. I've gotten some at outlets and some at antiques stores. I'm always on the lookout for a new piece at a good price.

[mumu]

HI,

tHIS MIGHT SEEM LIKE A DUMB QUESTION,but i would like to know why some companys sell pot sets meaning pots and pans ,and other places call and sell them as pan sets meaning pots and pans in set? The question comes to me because i always thought a pot was deep and had two handles on sides,and a pan not deep with one long handle,not meaning the above. So my theory was in a pan set only pans and a pot set pots. What am i not understanding? Also some receipes after a certain mention of item to use have pot/pan , like dutch oven pot/pan? Meaning?


thanks for any help!
mumu

[DMT]

We purchased a set, and some open stock of Calphalon Tri-Ply to replace our 30+ year old Farberware cookware.

The primary reason for this change was that we replaced our old POS electric coil top range with a nice new Kenmore smooth top, and after so many years of being subjected to the uneveness of those old coils, the Farberware had become distinctly "un-flat". In otherwords, the flat top cooking surface wouldn't evenly heat the pots or pans.

The change was necessary, we asked for suggestions, made our less than scientific assessment, and have been absolutely thrilled with the perfromance of the Calphalon. A new stove, and un-abused cookware work pretty well together, so this might be more a function of all the pieces working correctly, as opposed to a bunch of little things being not right causing a poor experience (the old stove and pans).

It cooks well, cleans up relatively easily, and the glass lids make monitoring your food as it cooks quite easy. (sometimes the old adage "Out of sight, out of mind" creates a stinky mess...)

It wasn't cheap, but we should be pretty much through buying cookware forever.

We also have a large collection of cast iron, but don't dare use it on the glass top, for fear of scratching the top. I've been thinking about taking it all to a machine shop for a bottom surfacing (super smooth), but could use some comments from others on that approach.

Otherwise, I'll save it for use out on the grill...

[thefrapp]

I have the heavy dark pots and pans with the silver lids from 25 years ago. They have/are serving me very well. I'm wondering about seasoning them every few years. Any suggestions? I've heard oil them and put them in a 225 oven for 8 hours?

[palomalou]

Still fond of my Calphalon stuff.

[shel]

Originally Posted by mudbug

There are a handful of high quality cookware lines (All-Clad, Berndes, Le Creuset) available and hundreds of others that aren't so good. All-Clad & Le Creuset would be the top of the line cookware and heat the fastest.

Yesterday I discovered Demeyere. They suree seem to be of good quality, and compare very well with All Clad. Seems that for some uses All Clad may be a better choice, and for other situations Demeyere may be better.

I like the Le Creuset that I have, and the inexpensive Wearever skillets found at restaurant supply houses have often served very well.

Shel

[boblovescooking]

I have used all sorts of cookware, and out of them all, I have to say that my Fissler brand cookware has served me the best! Fissler is a German company, and it's not widely known in the US though it is a high-end brand. I have a stainless cookware set which I use everyday from Fissler, as well as two pressure cookers from the same company. All of them come with this encapsulated base that Fissler calls the CookStar all-stove base, and it's wonderful. My food never scorches, even under high flame, and there are no hotspots, even at the edge of the pot. Also, the stay-cool handles are a lot more comfortable than some cast handles that come with most high-end cookware, and they're fastened using high-strength welds instead of rivets, so the interior of the pots are much easier to keep completely clean. For those of you willing to try something out of the mainstream (allclad and others), Fissler is a great choice that I highly recommend from personal experience!

[Jannie]

My favorite is Mauviel copper/stainless cookware, I've got 6 saucepans, 11 3/4" skillet and 8" crepe pan. I use an electric range and these have worked out wonderfully for me; I started with my first one about 6-7 years ago and slowly acquired more. I've also used All Clad MC2 and had a whole set of Cuisinart stainless but wasn't that excited about either.

But recently I've been wanting a large saute pan, my only copper one is 1.9qt and I still have a stainless Cuisinart 3.5 qt and don't care for it much to the point where I'll use my large skillet instead if I can. But the Mauviel is sooo expensive for the saute pans, the 5 qt especially so I haven't taken the plunge.

At Costco the other day I took a chance and bought a Traqmontina 5qt deep saute pan for only $29.95 and it's amazing, stainless, it cooks completely evenly on my larger electric burner, even with so much of the pan hanging beyond the edge. I've been testing it with pancakes and eggs just to see how evenly it cooks and it's absolutely amazing. I did find it takes about 5 minutes to preheat the pan at medium heat compared to about 3 1/2 minutes with my copper skillet but wow it is worth it.

That Cooks Illustrated magazine had rated the Tranmontina 8qt stock pot almost up there with the All Clad at a quarter of the cost to I took a second look at this saute pan when I saw it at the store.

Would I still use it if I also had a copper one of the same size, I might say yes, because when they get this big, they get really heavy. I'm still pining for the Mauviel 3.5qt saute though, I just can't help it, they're wonderful products.

I think a lot of workling with anything is how well you know it, how much you use it and understand your conditions. I have many, many friends who are far better cooks than I and each has a 12" cast iron skillet on their stovetop all the time; they cook almost everything in it that is appropriate and will use no other skillet or saute pan. To the person they will all brag about these pans, some of which they've inherited from their moms and more than 30 years old...and so well seasoned to rival even the best non-stick pans out there.

I had a set of them at one point and gave them to a friend when I got into the copper...all he uses is the 12", a stock pot, and two saucepans on top of the stove. He is an excellent cook, as in fabulous so I really think there are a lot of pretty good choices out there...and yeah, I'll probably get another cast iron skillet myself and this time pay more attention.

Jannie...Newbee

[phatch]

I've got some Tramontina and have been very impressed for the price.