# Cookware



## StickPig (Feb 8, 2008)

I need a new 10 inch fry/omlette pan. I'm thinking I should get one in stainless steel and one that is non-stick.

Can anyone recommend any particular products? Further, can you recommend where I should purchase?


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## TheWardrobeGirl (Mar 24, 2008)

I don't have a product recommendation, but I love Home Goods for stuff like that...you can usually get great deals!


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## StickPig (Feb 8, 2008)

There is a Home Goods store within 5 minutes of my house, and I've never been in it. I'll have to check it out once I get a few good product reccommendations. Thank you for the tip.


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## TheWardrobeGirl (Mar 24, 2008)

It's a hit or miss store...you can't necessarily go in looking for a specific brand (you might luck out, but don't count on it)...also, it is one of those stores you have to check periodically - their merchandise is always changing...sometimes you can go in and find nothing, other times you find tons of stuff...

Good luck!


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## Rossini (Oct 7, 2007)

For stainless steel, you can't go wrong with All Clad.


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## Spence (Feb 28, 2006)

They should have several stainless non-stick pans at any decent Homegoods. If you're not terribly particular just buy something heavy and it will probably be fine. Overall, price is a relative indicator of quality.

-spence


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## StickPig (Feb 8, 2008)

We went to Home Goods tonight. They had an All Clad 9 inch fry pan for 50, but it was an irregular.

We then went over to Bed Bath and Beyond. We decided to buy a 10 inch Emiril, which is made by All Clad. With our 20% off coupon, it was 40. Hopefully we did ok.


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## jimbob (Jun 24, 2006)

*All Clad*

Luckily I live near the all clad factory and go to the twice a year sale. They are irregulars but you would have to have a microscope to find the flaw. I love their cookware and as a former professional cook it stands up very well to my continual use.


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## StickPig (Feb 8, 2008)

The particular pan at Home Goods last night had a rather glaring flaw in the handle. The chrome had a few large bubbles. The actual cooking surface appeared flawless. We considered buying it, but really wanted a 10 inch pan. I think we may check back there from time to time to see if we can find nice replacements for some of our other pieces.


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## Spence (Feb 28, 2006)

Some of the All Clad seconds are really bad, but most are not that obvious. Usually it's a ding, the top edge not flat or a handle that's just a bit off. 

And unless they've changed the policy, the seconds carry the same lifetime warranty as the first quality product.

-spence


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I have mostly AllClad, and they're great. Most of mine are still going strong from the early 70's. But my favorite skillets are Lodge cast iron. They're more non-stick than the plastic ones once they're cured (I've never tried the pre-cured ones), they can be heated to any temperature without bluing or warping, and they're immortal as long as you dry them as soon as they're washed. They're also incredibly cheap.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Rossini said:


> For stainless steel, you can't go wrong with All Clad.


I second that. Most of our cookwear is All Clad (a combination of stainless and non-stick) and I highly recommend it.


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## BPH (Mar 19, 2007)

I have now stopped buying non stick and go for all stainless. They take a little more cleaning when you burn something on but at least I'm not eating non stick coating any more.


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## Beachcomber (Apr 6, 2008)

I also don't trust non-stick, but highly reccomend cast iron, especially the offerings from Lodge.


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## Droog (Aug 29, 2006)

Slowly transitioning from Farberware (from 1974) to All Clad. I really can't recommend the non-sticks. They need more TLC and browning is more "wet" without the crispness I like.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

Farberware is a great "starter" brand. My wife and I bought Farberware after we got married and had no money. Served us well for years. We only got rid of it because we moved to All Clad and Le Creuset as a luxury.

Stay away from non-stick. Nasty stuff. Get a real cast iron skillet instead (~$20 at a camping/outdoors store).


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## StickPig (Feb 8, 2008)

My wife is enjoying the emerilware, which is just re-branded all-clad. We have decided we will not look for another non-stick, but may slowly replace the rest of our calphalon with all-clad/emerilware. 

Neither of us have ever cooked with cast iron, so we really do not know what benefits it holds other than a nostalgia connection to our grandparents.


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

StickPig said:


> Neither of us have ever cooked with cast iron, so we really do not know what benefits it holds other than a nostalgia connection to our grandparents.


Relatively non-stick. Even heating. Can get extremely high heat.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

Cast iron is less conductive than aluminum or copper but more conductive than stainless. Due to its weight and thickness, it spreads heat well, but it's slower to respond than an All-Clad. 

The main advantage is in high-temperature searing. It can be left over a wide open burner dry until it's smoking hot, a practice that would damage stainless or aluminum. Then it can be popped into an oven to finish. 

The disadvantage is that it has to be "cured" after you buy it - that is, it has to be heated repeatedly with a coating of oil until the oil blackens and forms a kind of varnish. Once this is formed, it actually will be far more nonstick than coated nonstick cookware. But when it's washed, it has to be dried immediately. If water gets under the varnish, it can rust the metal and cause the varnish to lift off. It should be washed by hand - not in a dishwasher. After I wash mine, I dry it immediately and put it on a low burner for a few minutes to dry it completely.

A word about nonstick. It works great when new. But if it's overheated repeatedly, the same varnish that forms on cast iron will form on the coating and clog it, destroying most of the nonstick properties. My one non-stick pan, a 7 inch All-Clad skillet, has little nonstick ability left after about 5 years of use. I wouldn't buy it again.


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## jbmcb (Sep 7, 2005)

Isn't the Calphalon non-stick stuff alloyed into the metal, so it won't scratch off like varnish? We have an old set of non-non stick Calphalon that seems to be lasting forever. We have two cheap non-stick pieces - a small sauce pan and a small omlete pan, that we got on sale and are semi-disposable, for when we need them.

Iron skillets are perfect for cooking steaks. Alton Brown has a method on FoodTV that's simple, fast and delicious. Basically, you sear the steak on the burner, then broil them for a few minutes. If you put a pat of butter on them you basically have a Ruth's Criss steak for a fraction of the cost.


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## cowboyjack (May 18, 2008)

It all depends on what you want the pan for.

For omelets, the french thin black steel pans are fabulous, but don't use them for anything else. At most restaurant supply houses.

Scrambled eggs and delicate fish? Commercial non-stick from the local restaurant supply house or Caphalon or All Clad on Amazon on sale. I picked up seven Caphalon non-stick for about $20 each on Amazon a few years ago and toss them when the teflon starts flaking off. (I cannot convince my beloved to not use metal utensils on the pans.)

Steaks, hamburgers? Cast iron. Lodge. At Wal Mart. I've had the same 10 inch and 12 inch Lodge pans for nearly 15 years now. You can even buy them pre-cured now.

Most other things? Sauted vegetables? Target carries the Chefmate stainless copper disk pans for about $20 that are an amazing value for the money. I have had two for nearly five years now and continue to smile every time I use them.

If I had unlimited funds I would definitely be all over the All Clad. But $150 for a frying pan? My whole cookware set barely cost that much.


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## pt10023 (Jan 14, 2008)

StickPig said:


> My wife is enjoying the emerilware, which is just re-branded all-clad. We have decided we will not look for another non-stick, but may slowly replace the rest of our calphalon with all-clad/emerilware.
> 
> Neither of us have ever cooked with cast iron, so we really do not know what benefits it holds other than a nostalgia connection to our grandparents.


This is a link to a great article on cast iron cookware.

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/dining/07mini.html


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## Spence (Feb 28, 2006)

StickPig said:


> My wife is enjoying the emerilware, which is just re-branded all-clad.


If that were the case then it would carry a higher price tag. It's contract manufactured by All-Clad but it's not the same thing...this shouldn't be taken to mean it's bad though...

-spence


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## chuckie50 (Apr 16, 2008)

My wife always buys her All Clad cookware at Cookwarenmore https://www.cookwarenmore.com/ They sell All Clad irregulars a a nice discount with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. I believe they off an additional discount if you buy several pieces at one time


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## Pulledpork (Jun 3, 2008)

cowboyjack said:


> For omelets, the french thin black steel pans are fabulous, but don't use them for anything else. At most restaurant supply houses...


I couldn't agree more! French steel pans (I like the DeBuyer ones with the Lyonnaise handles) are so much better than anything else I have ever used. They do need seasoning, but when they have turned nice and black I wouldn't cook omelets or crepes or pan fry meat in anything else. The trick is that they stick and then release, and when building a pan sauce, they give up all that wonderful fond from the meat.


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## JohnRov (Sep 3, 2008)

For non-stick, BB&B always has some Calphalon on sale for under $50. You are going to eventually wear them out, no matter how good they are. For SS, All-Clad can be had for reasonable prices if you look around, but it's pricey at full retail.


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## CrackedCrab (Sep 23, 2008)

Le Creuset may make some non-stick pans now, I think they do, check Williams Sonoma, but there may be cheaper places... like Broadway Panhandler, etc...


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