Pots & Pans


 
The kitchen I work in and I'm sure many others puts out some awesome food with plain jane restaurant supply aluminum pots and pans.

At home we use inexpensive nonstick for eggs and fish, and inexpensive disk bottom stainless or for most else. I would also suggest checking out Tramontina at Wallmart as an All Clad clone.

In general with a slope sided pan (skillet, saucier) the preference is with some type of clad/aluminum all the way around, but with a straight sided pans (saute and pots) the clad has little or no advantage over disk bottom.

Here is a lenghty discussion..

http://forums.egullet.org/inde...g-stovetop-cookware/
 
There are a lot of product lines for Calphalon nonstick pans. I'm considering a nonstick 12-inch skillet, but they seem to call them omelet pans. Their sides are more upright than the All-Clad skillet's more flared sides. How are these shaped sides for flipping/tossing during sauteing?

Which is the best nonstick line? I haven't looked in the stores yet to check out the heft and the handles, but hope to do so soon. I use my 12-inch nonstick All-Clad skillet every day, but I know I'm on the brink of that narrow handle twisting in my hands when it's full and I'm concerned about spilling and splashing hot food on someone when I'm transferring it to my oven, which is 5 or 6 steps away from my cooktop.

Calphalon Commercial Hard Anodized
Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick
Calphalon CS Nonstick (a stainless nonstick)
Calphalon Unison Nonstick
Simply Calphalon Nonstick

Rita
 
Whenever you ask for the best you are going to get a lot of opinions.

I'd consider nonstick kind of like a commodity... buy cheap and replace when necessary.

We bought a 3 pack set at Costco a couple of years back in 12, 10 and 8 inches for about $20. They are still OK. I'm not sure if they are the best but who cares. I'd shop at Wallmart, Costco, or Target for nonstick and buy what works for you.
 
Stay away from the calphalon lines, especially the simply calphalon lines.

The build quality simply isn't there imo. I had a 5-qt nonstick calphalon sautee pan that warped, which makes it nearly useless on my component/glass-top range.

Calphalon is, of course, very good about warranty replacements, and they sent me a replacement pan no questions asked. I just had to go about 3 weeks without my most-used pan while this one was in transit both ways.

Unfortunately they sent me a pan from the Simply Calphalon line. The build quality was questionable. The pan material itself was very thin. Not only did this one also warp after minimal use, the handle was 2 pieces and broke off where the two pieces joined with a normal amount of use after only a couple months.

I traded it in at BB&B for an Anolon nonstick which seems to be much better quality - heavy gauge hard-anodized aluminum and a one-piece handle riveted to the pan itself. I don't expect that to break.
 
I like the Unison and Professional nonstick lines (not sure if the Professional is still available). The Simply line is lower end and I do not care for the line. I have never tried the SS nonstick. The Commercial anodized is my go-to/usual - but is not nonstick.

No problems flipping.

I do like the Anolon line.
 
FWIW if someone is interested in the current Calphalon lines I received this reply from customer service when I requested information about the country of origin for their products.

Thank you for contacting Calphalon. We currently produce our products in many locations. The bulk of our cookware which is manufactured from aluminum, is still produced here in Toledo, Ohio:

Calphalon Unison is 100% manufactured in Toledo

Calphalon One Infused Anodized is 100% manufactured in Toledo

Calphalon One Nonstick is 100% manufactured in Toledo

Calphalon Contemporary Nonstick is 50% manufactured in Toledo

Calphalon Everyday Nonstick is 60% manufactured in Toledo

Calphalon Simply Nonstick is 30% manufactured in Toledo

Kitchen Essentials Nonstick/Hard Anodized is 65% manufactured in Toledo

Kitchen Essentials ProSeries (Aspire) is 99% manufactured in Toledo

Cooking with Calphalon Nonstick/Hard Anodized 45% manufactured in Toledo

Cooking with Calphalon ProSignature (Refined) is 85% manufactured in Toledo

Our Stainless Steel and Cast Iron products are entirely produced overseas in China. Likewise our Utensils, Bakeware and Kitchen Gadgets are also produced overseas.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you,

Marsha
Calphalon Customer Service
 
For SS I've had Paderno for years. I had one hadle come off a 25 year old pot lid. Sent it to them and got a new one by return mail. I do by cheaper non-stick, but like a hollw stainless handle riveted and not screwed. Expect it to las a year. I am *not* a pro!
 
In my restaurant I use MAGNALITE.
They are very hard to find, but they are the best.
They are a cast anodized. If you season them properly, there is no better non stick surface.
 
Though I much prefer Calphalon anodized for a number of reasons, the Magnalite Professional is a very good series. I cannot recommend the Magnalite Classic as it is not anodized.

Magnalite Professional has been called MagPro for several years now, pretty much since they came under the American Culinary banner. They are not carried in many places but are available here.
 
kevin, my anti-virus quarrantined something from the link & didn't allow the page to load.... not sure if it's safe or if my AV software is overprotective
 
Kevin,
Thanks for the link (I am using Firefox)
I was not aware of the name change! I can now get the items I am missing.
Thanks!
 
I see that the Calphalon Unison line comes in two different models. One is the Unison Slide, which is a smooth-textured finish that is good for omelets and other egg preparations. The other is Unison Sear, which is textured and supposedly gives a better sear and caramelization.

Has anyone compared the two?

Rita
 
I have a calphalon crepe pan that has served me well. I'm considering purchasing more as the anodized aluminum seems to out preform teflon. I despise the handles on my all clad and when it cam time for larger fry pans, I went with henckles international. The seem to have a similar thickness and 3 ply like all clad, but are half the price and have awesome ergonomic handles. About the only knock is that the handle is so beefy, the pan can tip towards it.

IMO, one shouldn't commit to a one best pan approach. I cook with ss, anodize aluminum, cast iron, high carbon steel, and teflon coated. I find each has an application.
 
America's Test Kitchen / Cook's Illustrated has put some thought into what pots & pans we truly need, what makes a good set. http://www.cooksillustrated.co...to/JA05_Cookware.pdf is a helpful two page document. All-clad does show up prominently in the "winner" category for several pans but it is by no mean your only good choice. Wal-mart sells an excellent set of Tramontina tri-ply (same clad construction) pans for far less money. Tramontina even has a 11pc set for $180 which has essentially everything I believe in ATK/CI's list: http://www.walmart.com/catalog...506&findingMethod=rr
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top