What kind of cookware would you recommend?


 
B

B Harper

TVWBB Member
Currently, I have an 10yr old 18 piece anodized aluminum set. It's seen better days. A lot of it doesn't get much use and is just in the way. I'd really like to downsize the number of pieces I have. I've got two 10" anodized skillets, and 8.5 qt anodized dutch oven, and a 12" cast iron that I'd keep. A good stock pot and a few sauce pans would be where I'd start. I grill so much I really don't use much more than that. I was looking at some Le Creuset enameled case iron since it can be purchase piecemeal.

So what do you guys have that you like?

Is case iron worth the price? I've never really used anything other than my 12" skillet.

Are there any pieces other than the sauce pans, skillets, dutch oven, and stock pot I listed above that you consider a must have in the kitchen?
 
I mostly use my CI pans both on the grill and stove. I also like the All Clad SS Sauté pans and Sauce pans.
 
I mostly use CI pans. I have porcelain coated CI dutch ovens,a couple of regular CI dutch ovens,a CI griddle pan , and a few different size frying pans. I also like to use porcelain coated stock pots on the grill.
 
For a lot of cooking I use All Clad; expensive. Their saucepans and pots are fantastic; skillets and pans are also excellent. I also have a good selection of cast iron pans - inexpensive and these last forever. I prefer and have Le Crueset for enameled dutch oven.
 
Being uncertain what you are looking for, I looked at this as if I were giving it to my daughter to set up housekeeping (In fact I did just that some years ago). Here is what I'd buy for her (and I recommend it to you):
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After we bought a house with a ceramic surface range, we found that none of our old collection of pots and pans would heat quickly enough . . . some wouldn't even boil water. I found a version of this set at Sam's for $100 and bought it. We haven't looked back. I do have several enameled CI pieces that I use, but there is not a piece of the Puck package that I've had any trouble with.

YMMV, yadda yadda
 
Pete in PG said:
For a lot of cooking I use All Clad; expensive. Their saucepans and pots are fantastic; skillets and pans are also excellent. I also have a good selection of cast iron pans - inexpensive and these last forever. I prefer and have Le Crueset for enameled dutch oven.
Click to expand...

I agree with Pete. My wife and I are very happy with our set.
 
R. Hutchins said:
After we bought a house with a ceramic surface range, we found that none of our old collection of pots and pans would heat quickly enough . . .
Click to expand...
Well, I'm guessing the OP isn't Bryce Harper...;)

On a similar note, induction cooktops have specific cookware requirements and if there's a possibility of an induction unit in the future it would be wise to keep them in mind. A friend of mine converted to induction a few years back and had to unload a lot of copper pots and pans.
 
I’m not sure if you already got your cookware yet. Home use cookware is very personal.

My input,
I don’t use any type of cast iron for any purpose.

I prefer stainless (like post 8) with either tryply throughout or disk bottom materials.

What we use
Saucepots 1-3 qts
Dutch Ovens 5 and 8 qt (soups, stews, braising etc.)
Stock Pot 12 qt (rarely use)

Skillets 10 and 12 inches
Skillets non stick 10 and 12 inches
Saute Pan 5 qt

The skillets (sloped sides) are tri ply, non stick is aluminum, and everything else (straight sides) is disk bottom.

We looked for sales at various places. For example, our last piece was a Macy’s 5 qt Saute Pan we picked up for around $20 on sale.

Tramontina sets at Walmart are a decent price and I think they sell some individual pieces.
 
All-Clad is great quality, no getting around it, but for women or men with smaller hands (or dry hands) that might be using it, I would suggest that you try out the 12" skillet and larger pieces and see what you think. I have a big issue with the narrow shank on the handles. When transferring a relatively full skillet to another burner or elsewhere, or when flipping a saute, the skillet handle is so narrow that the pan twists in my hand, especially if my hand is dry. Actually, the narrow shanks on the handles are my only negative comments for All-Clad. On the other hand, I've been extremely pleased with the Calphalon line, stainless, anodized aluminum, or higher grades of their nonstick skillets. Great handles with a lot of grip and they stay cool during cooking. Very comfortable in the hand.

Rita
 
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