Stainless Steel pots and pans


 
Steve Hoch said:
Could be warped on the bottom, or they just don't work well on your stove for some reason.
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Maybe, they were used on electric element burners for years. This one is slightly bowed in the center. I had it on the center burner turned down fairly low. <edit> my center burner is a multi-flame NG burner. The flame width is about 6 inch diameter. The bottom of the pan is 9/12. the hot spot was off center in one spot, about a 2 x 3 inch section. </edit>

I make grilled cheese sammies by melting the butter in the pan and then sopping it up with the bread to get a nice even coat. I noticed one spot the butter was browned a tad more than other spots.
 
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DanHoo said:
Maybe, they were used on electric element burners for years. This one is slightly bowed in the center. I had it on the center burner turned down fairly low. I make grilled cheese sammies by melting the butter in the pan and then sopping it up with the bread to get a nice even coat. I noticed one spot the butter was browned a tad more than other spots.
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The secret is a little EVOO and unsalted butter. And a slow, gentle cook through of the cheese so the bread toasts evenly. Grilled cheese is art. And a blend of cheeses is important too.

As for the set being sold out. I am leaning towards building my own set at this point. Costco has 8 and 10 inch All Clad fry pans for $149 for the combo. $70 a fry pan is decent.
 
Brett-EDH said:
As for the set being sold out. I am leaning towards building my own set at this point. Costco has 8 and 10 inch All Clad fry pans for $149 for the combo. $70 a fry pan is decent.
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I ordered the Tramontina set. I read it is made in Brazil. We'll see. I may end up returning it if it doesn't meet my needs.

I think All Clad for a fry pan or a saute pan makes a lot of sense. Not sure its needed as much in a stock pot or a sauce pan.


Brett-EDH said:
The secret is a little EVOO and unsalted butter. And a slow, gentle cook through of the cheese so the bread toasts evenly. Grilled cheese is art. And a blend of cheeses is important too.
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Tonight was swiss and sharp cheddar on fresh sourdough. I find salted butter works well if I allow the moisture to sizzle off. It hit the spot.
 
DanHoo said:
Maybe, they were used on electric element burners for years. This one is slightly bowed in the center. I had it on the center burner turned down fairly low. <edit> my center burner is a multi-flame NG burner. The flame width is about 6 inch diameter. The bottom of the pan is 9/12. the hot spot was off center in one spot, about a 2 x 3 inch section. </edit>

I make grilled cheese sammies by melting the butter in the pan and then sopping it up with the bread to get a nice even coat. I noticed one spot the butter was browned a tad more than other spots.
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A couple of mine are bowed a little bit too. These pots and pans definitely don't owe me anything at this point but I still like them.
 
Here are a couple really nice sets I have actually put my hands on at our local Costco. IMO I found both of these very impressive. Would not turn my nose up at cooking on either set.
And like I mentioned earlier. I own and regularly use side by side both Tramontina and All Clad pans of same size and type side by side. I see no difference in performance. There are subtle differences though from other aspects. I.E. a 10" All Clad pan has slightly more "usable" cooking surface than the Tramontina. The Tramontina weighs slightly more than an All Clad. The handles of the AC are easier to use with mitts, towel or pot holder than Tramontina which can "slip" when trying to turn stuff out of the pan with a hot handle.
The AC pan edges are sharp and very crudely finished compared to the Tramontina which are finished nice and smoothly. And all the comparisons are the same with the Henckels linked above as well. Which are very similar to the Tramontina ones. The only comparison I can't make as I did not have AC and Henckels side by side. Is the usable (actual) cooking surface. I can safely make that comparison on AC and Tramontina as I actually own and use both side by side.
But as for the Henckels set, I'd work with those with no hesitation
 
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We received a 5-Star Salad Master cook set from my wife's family 36 years ago. They still look like new and we cook a LOT. They were expensive back, probably over $1K then, but probably so much more now. They are the ones that are marketed as waterless with the jingle tops. Once they start raddling you turn the gas way down and they cook wonderfully. I do use my Lodge high carbon fry pan more than the SS one but other than that they area amazing.
 
Brett-EDH said:
As for the set being sold out. I am leaning towards building my own set at this point. Costco has 8 and 10 inch All Clad fry pans for $149 for the combo. $70 a fry pan is decent.
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My concern here is that the 8- and 10-inch fry pans are too close in size when it comes to usable cooking area. I would personally rather have 8 and 12. I have had the 8- and 10-inch combination in an All Clad set before, and I only ever used the 8-inch; if I wanted to go bigger, I usually wanted something significantly larger.

I personally have found that I can get away with using a 16-inch round bottom carbon steel wok for most things that I would typically use a fry pan for. Note that we do not typically cook acidic things for long so I'm not concerned about stripping the seasoning.
 
Michael Chen said:
My concern here is that the 8- and 10-inch fry pans are too close in size when it comes to usable cooking area. I would personally rather have 8 and 12. I have had the 8- and 10-inch combination in an All Clad set before, and I only ever used the 8-inch; if I wanted to go bigger, I usually wanted something significantly larger.

I personally have found that I can get away with using a 16-inch round bottom carbon steel wok for most things that I would typically use a fry pan for. Note that we do not typically cook acidic things for long so I'm not concerned about stripping the seasoning.
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I literally make grilled cheese sandos in the 10. Or 6-8 scrambled eggs.

For any real protein searing I prefer the CI. Steaks, chicken, fish, shellfish.

My larger sauté pans are for piccata, or a meat sauce or heat through combining (pasta with sauces).

I use my wok for all Asian dishes. And the Dutch for longer cooks, braising and simmering.

I looked at Craigslist today and there’s some good pieces of All Clad for sale. I may just resort to building what I want and need.

We’re empty nesters and I’d only cook larger meals for company and holidays at this stage.

I have a large pot for soups. Not upgrading that. Soup simmers for hours. Means nothing for an expensive pot.
 
If you handwash exclusively and are shopping on Craigslist and eBay, make sure to also check out All Clad's "Master Chef", "MC", and "MC2" lines. They're bimetal stainless-lined aluminum, and perform extremely well. See a review here:

In-Depth Product Review: All-Clad MC2 Master Chef 2 aka MC² 12-inch skillet (frying pan)

In-Depth Product Review: All-Clad MC2 Masterchef 2 Master Chef 2 12-inch skillet (frying pan)
www.centurylife.org www.centurylife.org

The aluminum bimetal lines get periodically discontinued and revived, and I don't think the MC line has come back lately. I am not sure if the LTD (bimetal anodized aluminum lined with stainless) is same thickness. Also, sometimes the LTD line is only available with a nonstick coating....

My biggest cookware regret is not scooping up a few more pieces from TJ Maxx when they had lots of All Clad Master Chef there; I only have a 2 quart saucepan from them that I use to make rice on the stovetop. There were many, many Master Chef fry pans hanging up at the two stores near me, but I just couldn't justify getting more cookware back then.

Brett-EDH said:
I have a large pot for soups. Not upgrading that. Soup simmers for hours. Means nothing for an expensive pot.
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My biggest treat myself purchase was probably getting a Matfer Bourgeat stainless stock pot. It just feels nice to have it; it was completely unnecessary and I actually rarely use it. I even have a matching steamer insert for it that also fits on my
 
DanHoo said:
I ordered the Tramontina set.
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I cancelled the Tramontina order.

I need to re-assess what I want to replace/upgrade and the next step is to pull everything out take a better inventory and shed some of the excess.

I'll likely be adding a mix of stainless, carbon and non stick, just not sure what.
 
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I have to grab one stainless or similar to go with my new pan setup for acidic cooks........
The new Matfer pans won't be super happy when I toss a red sauce in them to firm up for an hour or so......
Just hanging out here and taking in all the good stuff....kind of like the knife thread.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
I have to grab one stainless or similar to go with my new pan setup for acidic cooks........
The new Matfer pans won't be super happy when I toss a red sauce in them to firm up for an hour or so......
Just hanging out here and taking in all the good stuff....kind of like the knife thread.
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There's a part of me that's itching to get a nice stainless fry pan (probably 12" or so), but I have not picked one yet. :LOL:

I need to catch up on the knife thread; I lurk on the Kitchen Knife Forums. I feel like I own a lot of knives, but do not have extensive knowledge to chime in too much on the topic, other than to not skimp on sharpening stones. I started off with a really nice set of synthetic sharpening stones, and just kept using inexpensive Chinese cleavers for quite some time.
 
Brett-EDH said:
As for the set being sold out. I am leaning towards building my own set at this point. Costco has 8 and 10 inch All Clad fry pans for $149 for the combo. $70 a fry pan is decent.
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If you haven’t already gotten the All Clad set from Costco, I noticed Zwilling is offering this deal right now:

www.zwilling.com

Buy ZWILLING Mixed set | ZWILLING.COM

www.zwilling.com www.zwilling.com

Made in Belgium alongside their super premium Demeyere stuff. More or less equivalent to Demeyere’s 5-ply line, but with riveted handles.
 
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