Jesus Pimp

Out of those, which are the best to use?

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thingstodo

I think it depends on what you are cooking.

An omlette is best in an 8" teflon (non-stick). And use those heat resistent spatulas!

I like a SS saute pan for meats because it cooks nice and you can make a nice sauce when you deglaze the pan. You just need to learn how to let the meat release when it is ready. Also, let the pan heat fully before putting in the oil.

I'm not sure about the other pans. I do know copper, while very expensive, conducts heat the most evenly.

You might check out some of the web sites for Calphlon or All Clad for tips. Emeril promotes his stuff through All Clad and it is pretty good - what I use.

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saltfish

Honestly, you should end up with a blend of the above-mentioned pan types.

I would start with the Stainless, and just in case...

...Lazarus-Macy's is having a sale, a 10 or 12 inch calphelon omelette pan is 30$, down from 115$..


-SF

thingstodo

That is an awesome price. Nordicware carries several sizes. You should be able to find an 8" for $19.95 but the deal Saltfish mentions is to good to pass up.

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sadatx

Make sure that the Stainless steel pan you start out with is a heavy-bottomed pan with an aluminum core (Kitchen-Aid makes some good quality pans that are not at all expensive).

And when you finally get a non-stick, I suggest LOOK, they're a little expensive (around $60) but worth it.


BY THE WAY, I don't necessarily agree, but some people swear that the only pan they need is a LODGE cast-iron skillet. It requires some matinence. You have to season it when you first get it (rub it with oil and bake it so food won't stick to it as easily) and oil it from time to time. But the best part is that it will only set you back around $12.

Jay Francis

I wanted to share some of my frustrations of trying to find the perfect pan over the years. I live in Houston and Chantal has its factory outlet store here with incredible deep discounts at times througout the year. So when it was time to get serious, I went with Chantal which is German enamel coated cookware. What could be more perfect, right? The enamel would give me a non-stick surface without having to revert to teflon coating. Then, I found out that Chantal has to have the bottom covered with oil, water, meats, veggies, it can't be brought up to high heat empty. So , the two industrial size woks I bought were useless. I went out and got a giant carbon steel wok with a handle at the local Chinese restaurant supply place and seasoned it up for high temp cooking.

Next route I went was Circulon. Bought a complete set of teflon lined pots, that I love, but, they have to be hand washed, no dishwasher. Also cannot be brought up to heat empty, and the Circulon coating doesn't seem as thick as it could be. But they have a lifetime warranty. I learned that I should have bought the "commercial" grade. My pots got banged around and now the lids don't fit very well.

I tried Calphalon anodized, but found out that it doesn't like acid products. Like tomatoes.

I recently picked up a big cast iron skillet that I am now using for my serious cooking, and I fall back on the Circulon for stews, etc.

Had it to do over, I would do a mix of pots and pans like the other posters. Cheap restaurant style carbon steel wok, 12 or 14 inch cast iron skillet. A big teflon lined soup pot. A crock pot. A teflon lined double boiler for sauces. A stainless steel small pot for candy making.

Silpat silicone liners for cookie baking.

Several wooden spoons and no metal utensils.

thingstodo

Baking liners are very nice. They make cookies, etc. come out brown on the bottom and cooked inside.

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mtsgsd

Another board I'm on that deals with cooking tends to have a very elitist attitude where nothing but the best will do. Even so, there's quite a bit of talk about Tramontina having a line of cookware similar to Allclad, but at a fraction of the price since they don't have the name recognition in the US yet. I like the stock pot I have, so I'll be looking into it.

I've been finding a lot of inexpensive cookware with the heavy sandwich'd bottom, and sometimes even the steel/aluminum/steel sides ala Allclad, but with one lousy feature: The outside and sides are polished to a mirror shine, and the cook surface is not. I wonder if they do this to justify the lower price? Food has got to stick like superglue to those pans.

raeanna74

I cook my eggs in teflon and anything with tomatoes too. I always burn the eggs to a crisp if I use any other kind of pan. I have an iron skillet and a griddle that I use for all my meat (unless it's with tomatoes) and things like pancakes and such. They are actually as easy to clean as a regular skillet unless you thoroughly burn everything to them. I can even use my skillet in the oven with cornbread in it. Mmmm It's better for you than aluminum - you get a tiny amount of iron in your food from cooking that way. Drawback - you have to use oil with something to avoid sticking.

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davik

Personally I have use cast iron for my skillets and my wok, with a mix of stainless steel and anodized aluminum for the pots. Stainless steel is great because by and large you can dishwasher it and cook just about anything in it, but things do tend to stick; the anodized aluminum is a little better about sticking and atleast for the calphalon that I have tends to heat more evenly, but keep it out of the dishwasher. The cast iron requires some work to keep it non-stick, but is incredibly cheap, lasts forever, and is far more non-stick than teflon.
I'm not sure if it's still going, but amazon had some calphalon stuff on sale for as low as $20 a piece. For cast iron, just hit a walmart or a target or the like, $15 will get you a set of three skillets.

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mtsgsd

I love the two cast iron skillets that I inherited from a Grandmother, but there is one problem. I have a radiant stove top. These require absolute flat bottoms on the cookware, or the heat is not transfered well, and the 10" skillet tends to warp just enough that the center is the only part in contact. I have a Calphalon griddle that does the same thing.

jwells777

I recently got a really good deal on the Anolon Titanium 10 pc. set from www.potsandpans.com/friends ($195). The nice thing about these is that they have the Dupont Autograph II Teflon cooking surface on hard anondized aluminum but the outside is doped with Titanium to make it dishwasher safe (supposedly).

At any rate, I haven't received them yet but they should be here Tuesday and I'll let you guys know how they hold up. I played with them in the store and they seemed like a really nice set.

Also, Calphalon has supposedly come out with a new non-stick (CalphalonOne) pan which is infused anodized aluminum. Supposedly this removes the problem of losing the non-stickness since it is inherent to the material rather than a coating. Also, this makes it diswasher safe. Unfortunately, it is extremely expensive still, otherwise I probably would have bought it.

One final thing I would throw out since I recently shopped for a set myself is:

Fatwallet Thread

There is some discussion between people about what pans are best as well as a really good guide to the different types of cookware that I found.

Cookware Guide

Slims

Personally, I think you get the best tasting food with cast iron cookware, but it's not really that practical.

Go with good quality, thick, stainless cookware.

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jwells777

Well, I have now received all of my cookware. I must say that the Anolon Titanium is really nice and insanely easy to clean. My only compaint is that they have rivots on the inside of the pan where the handle attaches. These are a little more difficult to clean, but not too bad. If you can find a decent deal on it...I would definitely recommend it.

thingstodo

How are those for high heat? Teflon always makes that moist surface with lower heat than plain metal. Just curious for saute and sauce making from meat.

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jwells777

I don't actually have that much experience with them yet as I don't cook all that often (single/in grad school = no motivation/time to cook). They seem to work well on high heat when I browned hamburger meat the other day. They are supposedly safe to at least 500 degrees which I think is fairly high heat. Once I get a bit more experience with them, I will post my final impressions and let people know how the Teflon coating is holding up.

thingstodo

Can't wait to hear how they work out. Please remember to let us know!

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Hedgehog

If you have gas burners, cast iron can't be beat.

PS: get an olive oil pump sprayer and never buy cooking spray again!

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Blackthorn

This is a good question and many of the replies make good sense. I think the bottom line is that it depends on what you are making. It also depends on how often you plan to cook and how versatile you would like your cookware to be.

I use a good set of Townecraft cookware that they bill as being "waterless" cookware. The point being that you have to add no water or oils or extra liquids to what you are cooking. I find that to be possible for the limited set of recipes they provide for you to cook in that capacity but the quality of the cookware is outstanding. It is high quality stainless steel and can be used on top of the range or in an oven up to 425 degrees. The cookware is also stackable which means heat transfers from lower cookware directly on the range top to pieces that are placed on directly on top of those in contact with the heat source. This is handy when preparing larger meals and although I was skeptical at first it really works.


Here is a link to their main site ( http://www.townecraft.com/ ) but I think the sets are sold mainly through in home demonstrations. Encourage a friend to host a dinner party. They will get a free gift for hosting and you will get a good meal and the opportunity to see the stuff in action.

I know I sound like a saleman for the stuff but it's really good, versatile, and high quality cookware that will handle most if not all of your normal, every day cooking needs.

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keef

there is nothing quite like a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. especally when used in conjunction with baking a batch of scalloped potatoes.

cantseeme

The right material isn't really applicable for everything. If you need to brown a meat, you use a different pan than if you want to saute, or make a sauce. So it's not just the metal, it's the shape and size.

Copper conducts heat really well and quickly, but it reacts really badly to acids and such, so you need a coating that doesn't react. Like stainless steel.

We have an expensive copper pot and it's nice to cook on, but a pain in the ass to clean and maintain. You have to polish it to keep it shiny and prevent corrosion, and you have to do it everytime you use it. The stainless steel liner should be cleaned with a different cleaner and scrubber than the copper, which sucks.

Also, like the whole gets hot fast and evenly thing, when you clean it, the copper outside gets super hot.

Aluminum is similar though it doesn't conduct heat nearly as well as copper. It also reacts poorly with acidic foods and so needs either to be adonized or non-stick coated. Adonized aluminum still reacts with acid, though not so much. Cleaning is fairly easy with a special cleanser and scubber, though burned oil is very hard to get off.

Cast iron is in some ways the best material, if you handle it right. It takes heat really slowly, but it stays hot for a long time, and spreads the heat all through the pan, which is good. The bad though is that it takes a lot of care. It need to be oiled and then baked a handful of times before it can be used well. There are some expensive brands which have an enamel coating that is supposed to eliminate the need for seasoning, but it still needs it to really perform. It's heavy and brittle, if drop it it will shatter, which is strange since it's iron. You can't soak uncoated iron in soap and water, and you can't let it stay with any water on it or, rust.

That should give you a little more confusion, but I hope some help.

mtsgsd

Believe it! My spouse just had to demonstrate that a while ago with my best 10" pan. washed it out and set it upside down on a towel to dry. I saw it later that day and the inside was covered in rust. Back to the drawing board as they say. At least she now believes me when i say you have to treat it right.

Leander

I have a mix of a lot of different cookware, each piece has a purpose. I used to sell cookware for a living and bought quite a few different pieces. One quick tip is that for non stick surfaces do not go above a medium heat, because that compromises most non stick surfaces. Burning teflon can kill household birds.
My favorite pieces are LeCreuset, it is pricey but the enamel on cast iron is great, with easy cleanup to boot.
Most of my pans are stainless steel with a copper disc on the bottom, stainless is darn near indestructible and goes well in the dishwasher if you allow that sort of thing in your house.
It is also very easy to keep clean and shiny with Barkeeper's Friend.

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tec-9-7

It totally depends on what you're cooking. For some dishes, nothing but non-stick will really work. My overall favorite is actually cast iron, but I find I do most of my cooking in non-stick pots/pans. Stainless is good, but IMO not as good as the other two unless you are talking about a soup pot or something. I'd suggest staying away from aluminum.

frankdrebben

Non-stick for daily use. (eggs, grilled cheese, etc.)

Stainless steel for gourmet cooking. (anything that you would want a fond, deglaze, etc.) In my opinion the best SS is All-Clad. I have the MC2 and love them.