Faeflora

iTrader: (2)

Hey ********, I need some recommendations for some good high end cookware. I have, for years, cooked with the same shitty pots and pans that I procured for free in college. I'm getting a nice new gas stove and want some kickass pots and pans to go with it. I cook almost every day and it's one of my hobbies. Assuming cost is no object, what would you recommend? FYI I already have a good cast iron pan and also like nonstick stuff but I'd consider owning both a nonstick and standard surface cookware set.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

Revere ware. My mother has been cooking with the same set for over 50 years. A little polish, and it cleans up to nearly new condition.

Stein

iTrader: (46)

I got my wife a set of Circulon. It's hard anodized aluminum, very even heat, very easy to clean, non-stick is awesome very durable. That said, she still only uses wooden or plastic utensils in it. It's not a "money is no object" set; only $300-400 for a full set.

phillyb

iTrader: (8)

i've had circulon in the past.
i think i have calphalon now. both are good.

i really don't think you can go wrong with some non-stick pots and pans from pretty much anywhere.
in fact, i got one of my sauce pots at tj maxx

viperormiata

iTrader: (24)

Rachel Ray, serious.

pusha

iTrader: (5)

you live off hot dogs and sandwiches, stfu

hustler

iTrader: (6)

All-Clad is the Ferrari of cookware. Much like how I hated Ferrari until I rode in one, I now love All-Clad after using it. I bought up everything I could when the restaurant closed in which I sold wine (40 pieces of All-Clad, lol). I learned a lot about cooking when I cooked on Sundays because I wanted to learn. BTW, All-Clad has a "no questions asked" lifetime warranty too. I've used it on my 10" pan that warped about 3-years of industrial kitchen service.

All you really need to spend money on is what you use most, and get "stainless steel" pans, don't waste money on copper core or non-stick. You want 3-rivet handles, two rivet handles will walk loose over time (does not apply to All-Clad). You also want all metal, no rubber or wood handles, those will crack, expand, and suck at life.

I recommend you get things in series, and I based this upon how often I use each pan.

Round one:
12" fry pan w/lid
2qt sauce pan w/lid

Round 2:
8" fry pan
12" Saucier

Round 3:
another 12" fry pan
large Wok
stock pot

At a bare minimum, get the stuff for "round 1" because I use those pans every day. If you can get on Ebay or something and find a really old, pre-1995 set of used Calphalon pans, I recommend them. Do not buy any non-stick crap, every seasoned pan is "non-stick". Get a pan that you can use metal utinsils on, none of this ***** "oh my god the surface, don't scrub them!!!" Pans are tools, they should be cleaned with scouring pads and should see metal utensils.

Try the local restaurant supply store, I buy 99.99999% of my kitchen stuff there.

Polished pans are for table service, not for the kitchen.

9671111

iTrader: (10)

*

phillyb

iTrader: (8)

would read again.
good info

cardriverx

iTrader: (12)

My buddy worked at All-Clad, it is pretty much some of the best stuff you can get. I recommend it for sure if you want high end.


EDIT:

ScottFW

iTrader: (4)

Another vote for All-Clad stuff. When I was a bachelor I was happy with my Revere copper bottom pot, even though it was thin and somewhat warped. When wifey started asking for All-Clad, I though, oh ****, more overly expensive stuff to blow our money on. I thought the same thing about the Dyson vacuum she wanted several years ago, and much like the Dyson, All-Clad makes a pretty bauce-quality product for the outlay. My MIL bought her a 5-piece set (the essentials) for X-mas a couple years ago, and I've been getting her another piece every year for x-mas, slowly building up the inventory.

samnavy

iTrader: (7)

Dude, I did all the homework on this stuff a few months ago before the wife decided our current stuff is good enough. I always over-homework everything, and this was no exception... but like most **** I overhomework, I made it waaaaay to ******* complicated. It boiled down to "I want some really cool **** my friends will get hard over" vs. "The food won't taste any better no matter how expensive my **** is."

So, cost-no-object really doesn't apply here. You can spend $10k on a 20pc set of custom titanium and copper stuff that you only ever use 4 pieces of... or...

If you want to make it REALLY EASY on yourself, just go to Costco and pick whatever mega-set they have that you like the look of, and take good care of it.

If you want "the best", then arguably Al Clad, Calphalon, or Le Crueset. Plan on $500-$700 for a "complete" set. Pick a style you like and TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT! Do not buy any Emeril/Paula/Wolfgang **** no matter how high it's rated. You will feel like a complete *** with some other dudes huge *** signature staring you in the face every time you open a cabinet.

Also, what people are going to notice WAY MORE than your cookware is the utensils they use to eat stuff on, and so will you. A set of ****-you knives are total panty-droppers as long as your **** tastes good.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Buying "sets" is gay, get singles for the things you will use very day. Yes you can buy cheap **** and heat things up with it, but will it hold heat, heat evenly, and will it warp when you throw cold meat on it? If you ever want to cook a light, fluffy scrambled egg then pan quality makes the process much more convenient. Again, buy one badass frypan that you'll use every day, get cheap **** for everything else.

There is no "take good care" of cookware for men. Get it hot, cook stuff in it, clean it with a scouring pad, throw it in the cabinet.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

I did all the research and ended up with all-clad stainless. you dont need copper.

a couple things otherwise:

get a 10 inch cast iron pan and learn how to use it and how to care for it. It will be the best $20 pan you hand down to your grandchildren. seriously, I'm using grandmas.

also get a cast iron dutch oven and larger 12" skillet. these are the bomb. plus lifting them will rip your biceps.

EDIT nevermind, see you haz.

oh and if you need a giant 10-12 quart pot, all clad makes a super pricey $350 one and a steamer version that's like $100 but does the same thing and has the clad bottom but just isn't polished. yeah, you'd be stupid not to.

find a copy of Alton Brown's Gear for your Kitchen. He goes into a lot of what's useful and what's expensive fluff you wont use.

FWIW I have an IKEA non-stick 9" pan. It's lasted many years and the surface is awesome for omelets and whatnot. who knew. I think it's the SKANKA model or similar.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

deglaze your stainless and iron while it's still on the stove if you're a real man. saves **** tons of work.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

...and watch the cheap pans "pop".

Stein

iTrader: (46)

If you are an egg fan, try this because I haven't. Instead of adding a bit of milk to your eggs before whipping/cooking use a bit of sour cream. My buddy (no homo) swears by it and says it makes the fluffiest scrambled eggs but I abhor sour cream-even the thought of it-and won't let it touch my food.

phillyb

iTrader: (8)

hustler, can you elaborate on how a warped pan effects cooking?
and what it means when a pan "pops?"

pusha

iTrader: (5)

your food won't cook evenly.

TorqueZombie

iTrader: (6)

+1 for the Caphalon. Getting some for the lady for a wedding present. Or for her to cook for me on