Buying some cookware - what material/metal?
 

For all the chef's/kitchen enthusiasts out there, I am looking to buy some cookware. What would you all recommend for the material/metal type? Seems there is non-stick, anodized aluminum, and stainless steal. Does anyone have a recommendation for a material/metal type for a very novice cooker? I really only have a nonstick fry pan and some Ikea pots (I know, shame shame) that will hopefully go in the garbage once I get a nice cookware set.

Depends on what your cooking.... I like good old cast iron for a lot of stuff. I would get 1 good non stick, and one cast iron.

About as good as you can get when it comes to metal cookware... http://www.all-clad.com/

They have various FAQs and tutorials throughout their site which help explain things. [thumbup]

The wife and I received a fair amount of All-Clad for our wedding that we had put in our registry, and fill in the gaps as older stuff that either of us had wears out. The majority is their Copper Core, with various other bits and pieces not available in that collection.

I tend to shy away from most nonstick stuff, since you have to be mindful of caring for it, keep two sets of tools (nonmetal for the nonstick stuff, metal for the rest), etc. Plus, once you learn to cook something properly in the pan @ the right heat, non-stick isn't even necessary. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/biggrin1.gif

roast and stews, whole chicken etc...
Cast iron pan. As heavy as possible http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/wink1.gif


Grillpan are good by BK, with teflon. Or bodum brand, without teflon but very heavy and great griller.

ScanPan, makes also good cooking baking pans.Stainless Steel is hard to cook , you need to master it, so that your food won't burn and get stuck on the surface. But once masterd you will love them.

Here..just for you to browse brands and prices and have a look at whats around for kitchen stuff.
http://www.kookwinkel.nl/webshop/172...sauteerpan.asp

I went off aluminium cookware many years back when aluminium picked up in food was linked to Alzheimers (sp?), I suspect that's been disproved since, but now I just like cast iron and stainless steel with thick copper bottoms.

For a pan, NOTHING beats cast iron (as already mentioned). Easy to maintain, and a well seasoned pan will have a great non stick quality.

for pots, its all about the stainless/copper mix - again, easy to maintain, and great looks too.

And if you care at all about your/your pets health, throw away the teflon junk ASAP. Even if you don't scratch the pans, the teflon can be released in vapor simply from heating the pan, and it does you no good, and animals much worse (will quickly kill birds especially). Not to mention - you scratch a cast iron pan, you don't give a damn (and get iron as a needed supplement.. ;)). Scratch teflon, and you may as well throw it out...

Ah, Teflon, that latest in a long line of OMG health scares. I wouldn't throw out your Teflon pans just yet. Vapour only becomes a problem at temperatures exceeding 300F, and rarely has an effect on humans. As for pets, who keeps animals in the kitchen when they're cooking? Teflon pans that are more scratch resistant are also available.

Frankly, after having lost a bird to teflon poisoning, that was not in the kitchen, i will just stay away thanks. Really, it isn't just a scare; it is documented well enough. Perhaps not an "OMG" scare, but enough of a real threat for me to not feel bad about never buying it.

As it is, good cast iron isn't that much more than crappy teflon, so i don't see a need to support it. Not to mention, having to use plastic spatulas sucks...

A few years ago I was looking for a nice 12 inch stainless steel frying pan. I wanted to get one that wasn't made in China, preferably from US, Germany, or Japan due to quality steel. All I could find was All-Clad and it is American made.

I got it($130) and you can tell it's superior quality to what you've used in the past.

Chances are, if you can find something that's not made in China, it's above average quality.


I would also recommend a good sized cast iron skillet for your kitchen. Remember to "season" it with lard or oil and to never wash it. Just wipe it off with a wet papertowel while hot. They will rust if you don't "season" it when you get it and keep water off of it.

I use stainless steel pans with ceramic coating from WMF.

Some of you might not care about cookbooks, but this one seemed interesting. I flipped thru beginning and there were explanation about the pan types and other things and how to use them properly.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Geeks-.../dp/0596805888

Stainless steel bottom or cast iron, depending on the use.

There are things that you just cannot do with a teflon coated low weight steel pan.

You got a beefy revolver dont cha?

We should make a film about what pan is most bullet proof.

I'd donate 50 for that.

Oh, that'd have to be the All-Clad I've got.

Aluminum and copper would offer little to no protection and the cast iron would be brittle compared to the stainless steel.

It really depends on what you´re cooking, imo one pan just doesn´t do it.
Rules of thumb: (from what i remember)
Stainless Steel pans - for food that really needs to be highly heated for a nice crispy crust (like roast potatoes)
Steal pans - great for Gas ovens (pretty much as usable as the stainless steal pan)
Anti-stick pans - for food you don´t want to use alot of fat/grease with (fisch, eggs, etc)
Cast iron pans - great for meat like steaks because they hold the temp better, but heavy so not that great for things you wanna swirl around
Copper pans - pretty much the best heat conducter, great for spot on cooking of things like white meat, fisch, etc

But you cook roast potatoes in the oven.

If you master stainless steel pans, copper & others become pretty much obsolute.. non-stick do make it easier with white meat.

I've been looking at a new frying pan for the mother - her old one is an aluminium one my sister bought her but it's warped (raised) in the middle.
Cast iron is too heavy for her so been looking for SS and can't find anything at a 'reasonable' price. I bought her some ss with copper base pots but not sure if they make frying pans like that?

must be a translation thing
This is what i mean
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EMq8Gt47Ja...der-pfanne.jpg