Pots and pans
We are moving and I am looking to replace our pots and pan set. My budget is around $200. I don't want cast iron. I prefer dish washer safe but our current set isn't so it's not a must have. Do you have any recommendations?
Recommended by Food52
23 Comments
He gifted me all an all clad set but I rarely use them. I love the copper pots and keep them shined up. You'd never know they are close to 50 years old. If they could talk, the stories they'd tell about all the great meals they made!
That said, I would not buy a set for my kitchen, and I don't know any cooking pros who would/do. Mostly because I prefer different finishes for different tasks, and because most sets contain some pieces I don't want in the first place.
My suggestion would be to go to an online restaurant supply store and peruse with the thought of replacing those pieces you're planning to retire to your camping gear. I think you'll get your best money's worth that way.
I would avoid anything nonstick.
Sur la Table has fantastic sales and often also online coupons; i have had amazing customer service from them (including an incident where i damaged the knife and was asking about a repair and they just replaced it with a new one).
I don't agree with the "never buy a set" advice. I bought a very useful, high quality All Clad set that was a heck of a deal when I made my upgrade. I have supplemented the set with more All Clad pieces, but everything in the set I bought has been useful. If a set suits your needs, go for it.
Buy good quality even if that means only a few pans now.
Buying poor quality but more pans is a recipe for (pun, sorry) poor cooking results and quick deterioration of the pans.
You need a few to start...maybe an 8" and a 12" frypan (or instead of the larger fry-pan, get a covered saute pan of about the same diameter, that you can use for both frying and stewing.
A large covered pot for cooking pasta & making soup.
A 6 quart or so covered heavy pot for oven roasting.
A 2 quart (approx) saucepan.
Adjust as needed for you cooking patterns.
If no pasta or soup gets made, omit that one.
If you roast meat a lot, get a roaster with a rack.
Etc.
Enamelled steel, enamelled cast iron, pre-seasoned cast iron all cook well...if you reconsider that material.
Metals in sandwich construction (e.g. stainless steel top & bottom, a more conductive material in between) are good for heat conductivity, cleaning & safety.
Some people avoid all exposed aluminum.
If you're moving cities, buy in your new city. Don't bother to shop & ship before the move.
If you have access to an industrial cookware supplier, go to them...not cheap, but often sturdier & better value for money than pots made for consumer home use.
Voted the Best Reply!
I think sets are a great deal for the department stores or kitchen ware stores who sell them, and for the various cooks, chefs & promoters who lend their names to the brands.
But they are rarely good for a new cook or someone setting up a household.
Either the desire for a set and a very limited budget leads one to buy low quality, where you could have bought, say, two sturdy pans that will last a lifetime.
Or, it leads you to spend too much money and have too many pots you don't use cluttering up your cupboards.
Further, the materials, weight, shape etc needed for different types of cooking differ. And having only one material for all cooking doesn't, in light of this, make much sense to me.
To sum up, I'm in favor of individual pans, bought as and when a household needs them and can afford them....an equipment collection that grows with the skills of the cook(s) and needs of the household.