I am in the market for some new pots and pans. Any recommendations? What products can't you live without? Do you stay away from teflon because of the cancer risk?

quote:

Originally posted by windycityattorney:
It is an entirely different cooking experience than using my old college set.

Glad you like your purchase.

Having good equipment does make for a better experience.

I cook a lot on my cast iron, and I have some farberware I have had for years and I love it. One day I will get some higher quality cookware but this works for now. I have a few teflon pans, they do come in handy, but the cast iron is much better for cooking at higher temps.

Robin

Even though it doesn't sound like Windy needs help anymore, I'll chime is with what I use. I have a large amount of Calphalon commerical nonstick, which has been replaced by Calphalone One now. I was very fortunate to be getting married when everyone had the commercial nonstick items on clearance. I use these everyday and they are so easy to clean. I will say the larger pieces can be very heavy though. I also have 3 stainless saucepans, also Calphalon. These I use less frequently. I don't saute in them because they require far too much oil. They're perfect for sauces though, as I can use my big wire whisk in them.

I also have a Lodge cast iron that I just love. I think I'm even going to bake a spaghetti pie in it tonight!

I purchased a Le Creuset pan. Oh my! It is fantastic. It is an entirely different cooking experience than using my old college set. Thanks so much for all of your help.

I have a set of Calphalon too that my parents gave me as a gift when I asked for a good non-stick frypan. It was more than I really wanted but they are the ones I continue to reach for. My other pan set is my mother's old Revereware. I love those too but none of them are non-stick. I have a HUGE frying pan in that set though that is indespensible for certain things. My only issue with the Calphalon is that it has to be hand washed and so they are often sitting on my counter dirty. I love tossing my Revere in the dishwasher. I also have a tiny little Le Creuset frying pan and lid that I bought specifically with frittatas for one in mind. I can use it in the stove top and finish it off in the broiler. I use that pan a ton for other stuff too. Its disadvantage is that the handle gets so darn hot (burned my thumb last night in a brain dead moment) but less flaky people probably remember to put its little 'coat' on when using it!

Have fun! I know you have mentioned you haven't always cooked much so maybe consider trying a couple of individual pieces (if you have factory outlets near you, you can often find individual pieces at great prices) from a collection or 2. I do encourage you to get good pans even if you don't get top of the line because bad pans make cooking much more difficult.

BTW, my mom has a few pieces of the Cook's Essentials cookware from QVC and as far as I know she is very pleased. They have guaranteed non-stick that is supposed to be safe to use metal utensils on.

Peg

If you do check out the Calphalon, I suggest their non-stick line. I hardly have to use any oil to cook with because of the surface, whereas I always have to when I use my All-clad pots. But, as Bee said, you don't use cooking spray on them or they get yucky. It isn't a hard trick to learn.

My favorite pan is my non-stick Calphalon grill pan. It's one huge rectangle that stretches accross two burners and is super for indoor grilling or for nights when everyone is having beef and I want fish.

quote:

Originally posted by SheriaVa:
...but it is SO heavy!

The pots in commercial kitchens are REALLY big and heavy...

The kitchens I worked in had pots that held 20-30 gallons. The pots weighed 15 or 20 lbs when empty and 200+ lbs when full... we had faucets at the back of the stove and could fill a pot and it usually didn't have to be lifted on to the stove with liquid in it.

But, washing those pots was heavy, sweaty work! I have a friend who says that spending her youth washing pots and dishes all day turned her into a terrible house keeper...

quote:

...LeCreuset...

Of the new Lodge Enamel dutch ovens, "Cuisine At Home" magazine said:

"...it's the heaviest pot we tested due to cast iron that's nearly twice as thick as other enamel pots. But it's also the least expensive. The hefty lid has spikes on the underside."

quote:

Originally posted by SheriaVa:

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:
I use Calphalon, Le Creuset and a couple cast iron pans.

Dunno how much you watch the Food Network anymore, but MAN, those chefs do love their Le Creuset. I see it all the time on there, esp. if they are making a big pot of stew/soup or are braising large pieces of meat.

I have two pieces of LeCreuset--a grill pan and a small (for LeCreuset) covered casserole dish. If I had the room, I would have more, cuz the stuff is a real winner, but it is SO heavy! I can't even imagine how heavy that big covered casserole/soup pot is that I see on FTV alot because my LITTLE covered casserole is quite heavy all by itself!

I have 2 HUGE pots that I use for big batches of soups and stews. It never burns- ever and the pots hold the heat well even when the burner is off. I also have 2 of the 10 inch saute pans, a smaller soup pot and a 2 qt sauce pot. Dh still has his mother's small saute pan from 40 years ago!
BTW, I bought mine at the Creuset outlet in Flemington, NJ -- the sales they have are amazing and sometimes they offer free shipping- imagine that!

I love my cast iron, this is all I own, besides a couple of stainless steel sauce pans. It did take some time to learn how to cook in them, but great for everything.
Jennifer

quote:

Originally posted by Sandy:
I use Calphalon, Le Creuset and a couple cast iron pans.

Dunno how much you watch the Food Network anymore, but MAN, those chefs do love their Le Creuset. I see it all the time on there, esp. if they are making a big pot of stew/soup or are braising large pieces of meat.

I have two pieces of LeCreuset--a grill pan and a small (for LeCreuset) covered casserole dish. If I had the room, I would have more, cuz the stuff is a real winner, but it is SO heavy! I can't even imagine how heavy that big covered casserole/soup pot is that I see on FTV alot because my LITTLE covered casserole is quite heavy all by itself!

I use Calphalon, Le Creuset and a couple cast iron pans. The Creuset stuff is great for braising and stewing, the Calphalon is great for even heat distribution and the cast iron stuff reminds me of my grandmother- very inexpensive too.

I love T-Fal pans. I have been using them I guess since the late 70's. I know I bought my first one at a Home Show in Atlanta before I got married and I got married in 79.

I think the non-stick is part of the metal, not a coating like regular teflon, anyway they don't flake on me and everything just wipes right off, even if it was burned.

I love calphalon.

I have a set of Farberware Stainless Steel pots and pans that I've been using for 10 years. I picked the Farberware because my mother has the same pots, and she got them before I was born. I figure if they lasted her 30+ years, they're a good buy. So far I've got no complaints.

I have two cast iron pans (a skillet and a griddle), and I really love them. I got the skillet to replace an expensive-but-worthless hard anodized aluminum Calphalon skillet.

I avoid teflon not only becuase of the cancer, but also because I like to cook at high heat, and at high heat they don't stay non-stick for very long at all.

As for fry pans, from the Washington Post:

"All you cooks who covet a gleaming designer skillet with a sleek nonstick surface and a $140 price tag, I have two words for you.

Cast iron."

"It withstands high temperatures, it maintains and evenly distributes all range of lower temperatures, it lends a unique crust to seared anything and is virtually indestructible."

Lodge is the only company that still manufactures cast iron cookware in the USA.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Kirkland Signature Commercial grade stainless steel set. I paid $150 for it at Costco, and it is a complete set including all pot and pans that you need for a basic kitchen set up.

I do avoid teflon, not so much because of the "cancer risk", because that is still so controversial, BUT because I have to replace them so often. EVERY single non-stick pan I have ever owned has had to be replaced because the coating peels off, or because of scratches (I ONLY use teflon or bamboo utensils in them, and they still scratch) that seriously affect the non-stickability. Even my $100 frypan has been replaced because of the above issues. I avoid any non-stick products like the plague now

I prefer stainless steel and cast iron (as well as stoneware) to all other modes of cookware and bakeware.

Thanks to a tipoff from a web acquaintance, I was able to take advantage of a great Calphalon sale at amazon.com earlier this year. I got an 8" and a 10" skillet (I think they are technically called omelet pans) and they are AMAZING. Clean-up requires almost no effort, which is great because I hate to wash dishes and hate to scrub pots and pans even more! LOL

I also recently picked up a small Calphalon saucepain with lid on sale at Kohl's. I haven't had an opportunity to use it much yet so, while I can't specifically speak to its pros or cons, it looks like it will perform very much like the skillets I got.

I have a tiny kitchen and have almost no available storage at this point. If that wasn't the case, you can bet that I'd be adding more Calphalon pieces to my home. I've been beyond impressed with their performance both on the stove and in the sink.

I highly recommend AGAINST Calphalon Commercial cookware, with the annodized aluminum interior.

We found that acidic foods eventually dissolve the grey surface, leaving a shiny bare interior. (Calphalon twice replaced the pot in question under warranty.)

From the Calphalon web site:

"I've heard that hard-anodized pans sometimes turn silver inside. Does this happen?

It's unusual, but it can happen. This silvering is called deanodizing; it is the reversal of the anodizing process. Repeated exposure to highly acidic foods can sometimes cause deanodization."

http://www.calphalon.com/calphalon/consumer/faqs/faqDetail.jhtml?faqId=50025&pageTitle=I've+heard+that+hard-anodized+pans+sometimes+turn+silver+inside.+Does+this+happen%3F

(In our case, tomatoes were the acidic-cause.)

Our most used pot is an All-Clad, with a stainless steel interior. Very nice, but very expensive.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sheltieguy,