Pots and Pans

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I have heavy-bottomed nonstick skillets in 3 sizes, one nonstick saucepan, and a nice set of stainless pots and pans. Also a cornbread-only cast iron skillet. I should get some more cast iron.

― Rock Hardy, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:16 (seventeen years ago) link

My dad and stepmom got a shitload of really good Calphalon Professional Nonstick II pots and pans and griddles and such when they got married in 2003, and I absolutely love to cook with them. They've also got a set of amazing J.A. Henckel knives (the good ones, not the value ones) and they are just so incredibly fun to cook with as well. I've had experience with cast iron only when making pork chops with Grandma one time and they were flawless, and I know they have their own niche, but I never realized people used them exclusively anymore.

― Stevie D, Monday, 16 April 2007 06:24 (seventeen years ago) link

Urgh, I have some *black crusts* sticking on the metal pot. HOW DO I GET RID OF IT? :-( I made the mistake of heating it too fast, I think, cause now I did it on a lower heat and it's puurrrrfekt.

― nathalie, Monday, 16 April 2007 11:56 (seventeen years ago) link

What kind of metal is it Nath? If it's stainless steel, have at it with steel wool and lots of elbow grease after soaking it overnight. Or find a can of Barkeeper's Friend and use that. I hope it's available over there; it's great stuff for stainless pans.

― Jaq, Monday, 16 April 2007 13:38 (seventeen years ago) link

All my pans are cheapos from IKEA or Woolworth's. One of these days I'm going to splash out and it'll be so good! But for now, I have to put up with bits of teflon floating in my sauces.

― Madchen, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:25 (seventeen years ago) link

I have been gawking at the expensive ones. The cookery shop reopened and I am so tempted to buy more more MORE. I will try at the grill pan I bought: grilling salmon. YUM.

Jaq, haven't tried it, but will do! It's alright though. I exaggerated a bit. :-)

― nathalie, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 07:19 (seventeen years ago) link

Ikea have some pretty good stuff pan wise, especially in their 365+ range and they have some good cast iron both bare and enammeled in a le crueset style.

My battery is as follows:

Analon Pro Deep non-stick aluminium frying pan (Need replacing the non-stick is almost gone)
Noname cast iron ridges grill pan (best 3000 lire I ever spent)
Noname small cast iro skillet
Big orange Le Crueset Cocotte
IKEA 365+ pasta pan (good for making stock and steaming/boiling veg as well)
Italla Dahlstrom '98 20cm pan
Italla Dahlstrom '98 24cm sauté

Of these the cocotte, pasta pan, analon and the larger italla pan get the most use. They suit my style of cooking; stews, brazes, stroganoffs etc. the best. The italla ones are great stainless steel with a layer of aluminium sandwiched in for really good heat spreading.

― Ed, Thursday, 19 April 2007 09:51 (seventeen years ago) link

Has anyone here tried the cast iron fake-Le-Creuset-looking things in IKEA? Any good?

― ailsa, Friday, 20 April 2007 17:23 (seventeen years ago) link

My foodie father-in-law says spend the big bucks on the pans and go cheaper on the pots.

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 22 April 2007 22:48 (seventeen years ago) link

That sounds about right.

― Stevie D, Monday, 23 April 2007 11:16 (seventeen years ago) link

Ailsa, I had a look at the enameled cast-iron at IKEA this morning. They are certainly solid looking, but different from Le Creuset in that they are only enameled on the exteriors. The interiors are seasoned cast iron. There was a square cast iron pan about 2.5" deep and maybe 10"x10" that I wouldn't mind adding to my collection. It was only cast iron though, no enamel.

― Jaq, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:42 (seventeen years ago) link

TK Maxx is the place for cheap Le Creuset in the UK.

― Madchen, Thursday, 26 April 2007 13:13 (seventeen years ago) link

known as TJ Maxx in the US for some reason, but also great for cheap name-brand kitchen stuff.

― Jaq, Thursday, 26 April 2007 15:05 (seventeen years ago) link

I was at a Le Creuset store in an outlet mall in Florida last month, but was afeared of the increased heaviness in my return luggage if I bought all I wanted to :-/

― ailsa, Thursday, 26 April 2007 21:01 (seventeen years ago) link

oooh, there's a le creuset outlet shop in France near my parents caravan, must make the journey when we're out there in June.....

― Vicky, Friday, 27 April 2007 11:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Oh yeah, all my Le Creuset has come from TJ Maxx, and some of my knives as well, I suspect (they were gifts). TJ's and Marshall's are the BEST for discounted brand-name kitchenware, they get Emille Henry too, and Calphalon, and others.

― Laurel, Friday, 27 April 2007 23:14 (seventeen years ago) link

And Laguiole knives.

― Madchen, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 11:57 (seventeen years ago) link

I got some of those knives! Both steak knives and cheese knives - I got them for their beautiful pearly handles (and v. cheap price), but the blades are surprisingly good.

― Jaq, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 15:23 (seventeen years ago) link

fourteen years pass...

Can anyone tell me about carbon steel pans, and specifically Misen? I've been loving our cast irons, but my wife finds them too heavy (and they are admittedly unwieldy for certain functions). Supposedly a carbon steel is "the best of both worlds" but I've also heard the seasoning can be challenging.

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 28 November 2021 02:23 (two years ago) link

it's kind of weird that the two materials are compared so frequently since the weight disparity means they respond very very differently. to me they're much closer to stainless with the theoretical benefit of a natural nonstick coating. nothing wrong with that.

idk why misen specifically would be important, these pans are pretty generic. i got the bk black steel from sur la table which is preseasoned and it's been just fine.

― call all destroyer, Sunday, 28 November 2021 02:32 (two years ago) link

just bc they did a good job targeting me with ads I guess. It seems like the prices atm are pretty similar to the BK - they are doing a bundle of a 12" and a 10" for about $100.

― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 28 November 2021 02:37 (two years ago) link

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