Stainless steel pots and pans - the purchase


 
Brett-EDH

Brett-EDH

TVWBB Olympian
So we became empty nesters and concurrently lost our pots and pans to our daughter who hijacked my Cuisinart Multi Clad Pro SS set I’ve had for years.

I really liked that set, sans a few pans that warped but were covered under warranty.

So I posted here to gather info on a replacement set and then went down many rabbit holes.

After a few weeks of reading and video watching, I decided on All Clad D3 Everyday 10 piece SS set as my replacement.

Decision came down to reviews and price vs performance. I found these to be in my sweet spot. $649 on sale, then minus a 10% off coupon and free delivery.

Ordered on Xmas day, you know Jewish people don’t have much to do on Xmas days, so I shopped online and bought directly from All Clad.

The set finally arrived yesterday and I got cooking today.

Everything came well packaged. No damages to any of the pieces.

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First observation, these are lighter than the Cuisinart 3 ply set I’m replacing. Also, these are very maneuverable.

The pans warm up quickly and the heat is very evenly dispersed.

Scrambled up two eggs for a cheese omelet today and had excellent results with very little unsalted butter needed for non stick in the pan.

Steamed some rice in the 1.5qt pot and that too heated quickly and held temp well for the simmer and then steam. No burned rice. Made a perfect fluff.

And then sautéed some zuke, red bells and white onion in a light oyster sauce. Again, perfection on cook and cleanup too.

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Overall, the frying pans have really nice high walls with near perfect curvature. Makes for wrist flips very easy and I don’t lose any of the veggies.

So far, very impressed with the evenness of the heat distribution. Like very impressed.

I’ll have to do some fish and steaks as next tests.

Gotta say, I’m very satisfied with my purchase so far. I’ll update this thread as I continue my test drive.

Ask away any questions you might have. I’ll do my best to share what I learned and how these are working out.
 
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Yes that is one thing I have noticed with mine. Very light, even heat, easy to handle. I cannot deal with the smell of butter cooking so it's always EVOO for me. So, "non stick?" Ehh not too much. Though I usually use that to my advantage for good pan sauces and the like
 
I’m so lucky, 30+ years ago my wife and her son bought me a set of Revere ProLine, which they have sadly discontinued, I use them daily, excellent product, I have augmented it with some calphalon and a few AllClad pieces, cast iron is available but, those are harder to simply turn and grab with a free hand so, they line the basement steps! When you need them, you NEED them!
I wouldn’t want to have to go out and replace a full set anymore, thankfully, I don’t think I will ever need to!
 
SWMBO is wonderful, I forgot that she picked up an 8 quart Cuisinart enameled CI pot at Home Goods for me for Christmas. It lives ON the stove! Not always in use but, I have no place else to put it!
 
LMichaels said:
Yes that is one thing I have noticed with mine. Very light, even heat, easy to handle. I cannot deal with the smell of butter cooking so it's always EVOO for me. So, "non stick?" Ehh not too much. Though I usually use that to my advantage for good pan sauces and the like
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i do prefer ghee (clarified butter) as my oil, but wanted to use unsalted for the eggs' first cook.

browned butter is a nice flavor, especially when making a rice dish.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
Paying attention.......
I have 1 SS pan of midsize to purchase yet.
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my other working pots/pans for my setup are:
12 inch CI - so I don't think i'll be buying a SS 12 inch at this point in time
8 qt Lodge Dutch oven - this new SS set came with a 6 qt pot which i'll use for soups and whatnot. but i'll use my dutch 8 qt for heavier types of cooks
15.5qt stock pot - this is my goto for large soup cooks. i use this pot around 2 a year.

i think i'm set at this point with this new setup. ask away any questions you might have.
 
ChuckO said:
Cheap Irish guy checking in: I bought 12qt Stock Pot by La Lena, complete with a glass lid for $20 at Home Goods. Granted, my plan for it is probably just for brining, but us Irish like out deals, LOL
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check out Marshall's. they have great deals on pots and pans. i have a bunch of items from there.
 
Yeah, there are some culinary fads going on that literally turn my stomach. One is browned butter on so many thing. The smell of it is just absolutely awful to me. I could not imagine having to eat the food cooked with it. Another is what I see as a constant need to add vanilla to savory dishes or savory herbs to deserts. The crazes just puzzle me to no end. Don't get me wrong. I cook with butter occasionally, but always at EXTREMELY low heat. If it even gets close to browning I have to open all the windows, throw the exhaust fan on for all it's worth, and wash everything so nothing remains and I can start over.
I'm funny like that. Oh, and don't even get me started on honey. Ooof another thing I got no use for.
Yeah, I know...........................I'm weird
 
LMichaels said:
Yeah, there are some culinary fads going on that literally turn my stomach. One is browned butter on so many thing. The smell of it is just absolutely awful to me. I could not imagine having to eat the food cooked with it. Another is what I see as a constant need to add vanilla to savory dishes or savory herbs to deserts. The crazes just puzzle me to no end. Don't get me wrong. I cook with butter occasionally, but always at EXTREMELY low heat. If it even gets close to browning I have to open all the windows, throw the exhaust fan on for all it's worth, and wash everything so nothing remains and I can start over.
I'm funny like that. Oh, and don't even get me started on honey. Ooof another thing I got no use for.
Yeah, I know...........................I'm weird
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we all have our idiosyncrasies and preferences.
 
This is pretty timely as I have just ordered some replacement pots and pans and have properly made the move into steel pans. Spent too long with cheap pans and teflon that wears out in a couple years. Nothing as fancy as these, which looks great. Have a carbon steel fry pan and stainless saucier from Nisbets which is a catering supply store. Not too pricey but decent enough quality.

On the stainless steel I'm not too fussed about being properly non stick cos I'll probably use the cast iron or carbon steel for eggs etc. And it's nice to build up some frond and deglaze. But any tips on stainless steel care and maintenance much appreciated. I do have a small stainless pan but mostly used for boiling so thinking about heavier use.

Also, each to their own but I love butter and brown butter!
 
RichardWhitmill said:
This is pretty timely as I have just ordered some replacement pots and pans and have properly made the move into steel pans. Spent too long with cheap pans and teflon that wears out in a couple years. Nothing as fancy as these, which looks great. Have a carbon steel fry pan and stainless saucier from Nisbets which is a catering supply store. Not too pricey but decent enough quality.

On the stainless steel I'm not too fussed about being properly non stick cos I'll probably use the cast iron or carbon steel for eggs etc. And it's nice to build up some frond and deglaze. But any tips on stainless steel care and maintenance much appreciated. I do have a small stainless pan but mostly used for boiling so thinking about heavier use.

Also, each to their own but I love butter and brown butter!
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I love butter in just about any way I find it! I’ve never been a “fad follower” either Larry, if it’s popular, I typically take the opposite tack and run the other way. People that rave about “espresso martinis” make me just order a Wild Turkey and a cup of coffee! Don’t get me started about most social media, this is as social as I get, fartbook, pick pocket, finkedin, instacrap? Nope, not for me thank you very much. Mandolin café, TVWBB, is it, I don’t like that many people anyway, I have one “Virtual friend” and that’s enough for me. Lots of acquaintances but, I don’t make friends easily, too many years in sales. Face to face friends, I’ve got a short dozen, five tried and true.
Now there is a tangent I didn’t even see coming, sorry folks, high stress week!
Oh, “Get Off My Lawn”! Dang varmints!
 
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Brett-EDH said:
my other working pots/pans for my setup are:
12 inch CI - so I don't think i'll be buying a SS 12 inch at this point in time
8 qt Lodge Dutch oven - this new SS set came with a 6 qt pot which i'll use for soups and whatnot. but i'll use my dutch 8 qt for heavier types of cooks
15.5qt stock pot - this is my goto for large soup cooks. i use this pot around 2 a year.

i think i'm set at this point with this new setup. ask away any questions you might have.
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I will keep that in mind.....I have a lot of items you mentioned......stock pot, 2 new carbon steel frying pans.....my SS regular cook ware........2 good sized dutch ovens..........I think I just need a medium to 12" size SS frying pan for sauces and acidic cooks where citrus and tomato come into play.....
Slowly disposing of any " non stick coated " pans I still have in my posession.
If I have to ask anyone I will ask you :giggle:
 
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