Guest guest Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 >My question to the lovely list is: what is your favorite brand of top >quality cookware? I have a few " kitchen aide " pots and pans, but am open >to going with a different brand...if you were me, what would you ask >for? I know enough by now not to do any nonstick junk, but there are >quite a few choices in stainless... Congratulations! Find someone with a Costco business membership, or go to a restaurant supply store, and get the restaurant-grade pans. I bought the really good ones at the department store and now I could kick myself. The pan that was $120 at the store is $39 at Costco -- really thick stainless with aluminum sandwiched between, and they last forever. The store brand I got was All-clad (and they are great!) but the Costco ones are Sitram, not quite as pretty but every bit as good. Then with the extra money you can get the meat slicer ($129) and some good knives (Joyce Chen is my favorite, those big Chinese cleavers!). > Heidi S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Congratulations! You are asking the right person here as I have a huge amount of cookware from several brands,in every type you can imagine. However some are in storage as I don't have enough room for them LOL. I would say that my favorite stainless steel is All-Clad, but you can buy the same quality cheaper if you shop for professional cookware. Those things can take a beating and a half. I also have some cuisinart and they are pretty comparable to all-clad. If you really want to spluge I would suggest copper pots with stainless interior. They are very nice and heavy. Downside is they are a pain to keep clean and shiny. De Buyer makes some very nice ones. Cast Iron, I like my Lodge skillet. Le Creuset are very beautiful porcelain enameled cast iron, and they also come in different colors. All cookware can be purchased by set or individual. Think about what you cook mostly and what do you use most and make your selection then. You can end up with some that are not used much. Purchase the best quality that your budget allows since they will last a long time. I know you didn't ask but I would also ask for a good set of knives. My favorite hands down is Fredrich Dick knives. I also like Lamson Sharp, Wusthof, & a really cool looking set by Global. If you have any questions about cooking equipment I can probably answer most of them. No, I do not sell this stuff, I just get to try a lot of it. Bella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 - Congratulations! ly, though, I would avoid stainless, particularly with any cookware that (a) will be used to prepare acidic foods and liquids, like wine used to deglaze a pan after cooking a steak, or tomatoes added to a stew; or ( will be used on a gas stove. As far as acidic foods go, stainless steel isn't quite as inert as most people think; it can leech nickel and maybe other contaminants into food, particularly into acidic foods. And as to gas stoves, my grandfather was an organic chemist and always warned everyone in the family not to cook with stainless steel on gas as the stainless steel would give off nickel carbonyl gas, a potent carcinogen. Granted, it's probably only in trace quantities, but you'll be using that cookware for many, many years, so those quantities will add up. As far as alternatives, well, it depends on your budget. Le Creuset makes superb enameled cast iron pots and pans in pretty much all shapes and sizes. If their expense isn't a problem, and if you can heft the cast iron, you can't really beat their stuff. For cheap, huge pots in which even heating isn't really important, GraniteWare makes very light enameled steel pots for doing things like steaming clams, boiling lobsters, etc. I have a GraniteWare canner which holds 33qts; it's very, very light, and I use it for mixing sausage ingredients together. I imagine it would serve well for lobsters too, though it's very wide and relatively shallow for such a huge pot. Anyway, they make all sorts of dirt-cheap cookware, and for a few applications it's actually perfectly good. I believe Chantal also makes a line of enamel-surface cookware. I have a tea kettle from them that's superb, and their pots look pretty good. Probably enamel on aluminum would be very good too, though I'm not sure I've ever come across any. At any rate, the nice thing about enamel (or about Le Creuset, anyway) is that it's dishwasher-safe. Anyway, congratulations again, and good luck with everything! >So, I'm finally getting married! Yipeee! I'm in the process of registering >for gifts...wow--so much to choose from! My question to the lovely list >is: what is your favorite brand of top quality cookware? I have a few > " kitchen aide " pots and pans, but am open to going with a different >brand...if you were me, what would you ask for? I know enough by now not >to do any nonstick junk, but there are quite a few choices in stainless... - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 whats your budget? K marts martha stewart has some very serviceable stainless sets that are heavier gauge, and probably just as good as more expensive " name brands " at 4x the costs. ----- Original Message ----- From: " " <jc137@...> < > Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 1:03 PM Subject: Pots/Pans > Hi folks... > > So, I'm finally getting married! Yipeee! I'm in the process of registering for gifts...wow--so much to choose from! My question to the lovely list is: what is your favorite brand of top quality cookware? I have a few " kitchen aide " pots and pans, but am open to going with a different brand...if you were me, what would you ask for? I know enough by now not to do any nonstick junk, but there are quite a few choices in stainless... > > TIA, > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hi , Congratulations! We just bought new cookware from K-Mart, of all places. It is 18-8 stainless with an aluminum core in the bottom. No matter the size of the pan or the burner food cooks all the way to the edge of the pan. It can be purchased separately or as a set. We did both. If I remember rightly the set was three pan from one to three quart, a 10 inch skillet and a large pot for about $90. Also available is an eight inch skillet, a 12 inch skillet, a steamer pan (with holes in the bottom to set over another pan), a grease spatter screen that fits the 12 " skillet, and a three cup sauce pan with pouring lips on each side. Cover for the 12 " skillet is sold separately. The two smaller skillets borrow the lids from the pans. The handles are hollow metal, but do not get hot. At least not for the length of time I've used them so far. Oh, there is also a glass lid for the 12 " skillet, also sold separately. All of the pots and pans have a good solid feel that I like. I've not had them long enough to even start to say how they will hold up in the long haul. But so far, so good. The only disadvantage to me is that the lids are flat and do not allow for piling things high. I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for five years ago. Enjoy! ;-) Judith Alta -----Original Message----- Hi folks... So, I'm finally getting married! Yipeee! I'm in the process of registering for gifts...wow--so much to choose from! My question to the lovely list is: what is your favorite brand of top quality cookware? I have a few " kitchen aide " pots and pans, but am open to going with a different brand...if you were me, what would you ask for? I know enough by now not to do any nonstick junk, but there are quite a few choices in stainless... TIA, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 --- How's the tribe in Panama, Bob? Still looking for bakers? In , " panamabob " <panamabob@S...> wrote: > hey judith, what happened to the $1000 set of cookware? > > > > > > I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for five years > > ago. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 --- In , " panamabob " <panamabob@S...> wrote: > Haha, well hello there... > > I think we have the basic food stuff covered now... now looking for > " commercial " preparers for export of frozen premade items...seafood, pasture > meats, exotic (like iguana, neque, paca, gator) and things to do with vegies > and fruits. > > Havent figured out how to export breads yet, since they are natural and mold > up relatively quickly. The menu sounds great! Much more original than the one I used in Kansas today. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 --- No I just ate out at the restaurant. I chose potato salad which came from a factory as did the wonder bread bun. And they wanted to warm nearly everything in the microwave. They seemed to have their reasons. How long do you want to keep the bread? It should keep 3 days even in the tropics. I figure it's only fresh 24 hours. In , " panamabob " <panamabob@S...> wrote: > What do you use menus in Kansas for? do you cater? > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: " dkemnitz2000 " <dkemnitz2000@y...> > < > > Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 10:59 PM > Subject: Re: Pots/Pans > > > > > > > Haha, well hello there... > > > > > > I think we have the basic food stuff covered now... now looking for > > > " commercial " preparers for export of frozen premade > > items...seafood, pasture > > > meats, exotic (like iguana, neque, paca, gator) and things to do > > with vegies > > > and fruits. > > > > > > Havent figured out how to export breads yet, since they are natural > > and mold > > > up relatively quickly. > > > > > > > > > > The menu sounds great! Much more original than the one I used in > > Kansas today. Keep up the good work. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hey , That's very interesting about stainless steel--does this undesirable byproduct of the stainless steel and gas stove only result from direct contact between the two on the outside and not on the inside? (I'm being optimistic!) So I take it you use one of those enameled guys as a stockpot? As far as the general cookware/marriage thing, my two cents is to not get much cookware because there's very little food that needs to be cooked! The only cooking I do presently is making stock and soups in a large stockpot and then reheating individual servings briefly in a delightful 1 qt pot. I also usually boil a few pounds of greens at once using a cheap old steel pot, but the stockpot would be fine for this too, and I'm not even sure if I should even cook my greens in the first place (it's on the list of unresolved food issues). So only three pieces of cookware at most do the job as far as I can see. I threw away a bunch of cookware I had sitting around. Better to get more Pyrex for marinating, freezing, etc, more wide-mouth glass jars for fermenting, and more sprouting containers than a bunch of useless cookware!! I can't see any reason for someone to own a frying pan. But I will say that the riveting of the handle is crucial for cookware if it's going to last a lifetime. Other than that it seems to me that you pay the big bucks for thicker sides (as opposed to bottoms), and I don't know if that really makes such a big difference. Also, my (really really) beloved stainless steel 1 qt pot has a lid with an adjustable steam-release. It's a great feature. Sorry for these rambling, probably unhelpful remarks... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 hey judith, what happened to the $1000 set of cookware? > > I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for five years > ago. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Haha, well hello there... I think we have the basic food stuff covered now... now looking for " commercial " preparers for export of frozen premade items...seafood, pasture meats, exotic (like iguana, neque, paca, gator) and things to do with vegies and fruits. Havent figured out how to export breads yet, since they are natural and mold up relatively quickly. Perhaps a way can be found to freeze it as well, so it can be reheated in homemaker ovens where ever... Of course it will already be risen, so it more like reheat... Oyvay so much to do still. :-) You'll get a kick of the menu created for the community airline. No problem in getting it prepared leaving from our site, but the return from the USA...ouch. Sky Chef quoted us over $75 per person for the menu... I figured costs at around $8. fair price would have been around $24. standard mark up. They just dont know how to stretch a meal buck :-) wanted something that would be inspiring about our destination, also not too difficult to digest, but also filling, since most connecting flights do not offer meals anymore. At the prices they quoted me, I can see why the airlines have cut food on flights. It was the single biggest expense of the 3hr flight! More than the cost of the plane, gas, anything else. Hard to believe! well heres the " fancy " menu that I figured would be easy and cheap.: heres the menu we are contemplating for our airlines...hope it sounds yummy. two pics attached ; super imposed on one is suggested livery on RJ 85 For gateways of Orlando and Houston: -- " bocadillo " / appetizer * winter seasons * seafood bisque well pureed in a sip-able container, or warm " pressed bread " with a mini crock soft warm cheese or boneless grilled chicken medallions and a coconut-mango chutney with a " hint " of spiciness * summer season * cold ceviche' of fish with saltines or mini cold fruit plate of tropical selections or cold shrimp cocktail with mango chutney dip **************************************************************************** *********** - entree' served with yeast point-bread and butter catch of the day- grilled filet of sea bass with paprika and a light lemon sauce over bed of white rice, with steamed chiote and carrots or tamale of chicken- pulled chicken in a soft corn pastry, raisins and olives or brochettes of tenderloin with chimichuri sauce served with yucca dumplings and nne squash or assorted selections of tropical fruit, papaya, pineapple, mango, banana, carambola - dessert cart cheese custard coconut custard tembleque- a coconut sweet plantains temptation sopa boracha- rum soaked angle food cake with prunes caramel chocolate cake tropical fruit pastries > --- How's the tribe in Panama, Bob? Still looking for bakers? > > > In , " panamabob " <panamabob@S...> > wrote: > > hey judith, what happened to the $1000 set of cookware? > > > > > > > > > > I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for > five years > > > ago. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 What do you use menus in Kansas for? do you cater? ----- Original Message ----- From: " dkemnitz2000 " <dkemnitz2000@...> < > Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 10:59 PM Subject: Re: Pots/Pans > > > Haha, well hello there... > > > > I think we have the basic food stuff covered now... now looking for > > " commercial " preparers for export of frozen premade > items...seafood, pasture > > meats, exotic (like iguana, neque, paca, gator) and things to do > with vegies > > and fruits. > > > > Havent figured out how to export breads yet, since they are natural > and mold > > up relatively quickly. > > > > > The menu sounds great! Much more original than the one I used in > Kansas today. Keep up the good work. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 LOL We cook on a glass cook top and for most efficient use the bottoms of all cookware have to be very flat. The bottoms of the expensive set warped a bit. And the skillets would not heat to the edges of the pan, no matter the size of the burner. We gave it to our son. He cooks on gas and. It should work much better for him. Enjoy! ;-) Judith Alta -----Original Message----- hey judith, what happened to the $1000 set of cookware? > > I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for five years > ago. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Oh my! I never knew stainless could be a problem....yikes! I do love the le creuset stuff...I'll probably go with some of that. Thanks, and everyone else who responded. ******** I would avoid stainless, particularly with any cookware that (a) will be used to prepare acidic foods and liquids, like wine used to deglaze a pan after cooking a steak, or tomatoes added to a stew; or ( will be used on a gas stove. As far as acidic foods go, stainless steel isn't quite as inert as most people think; it can leech nickel and maybe other contaminants into food, particularly into acidic foods. And as to gas stoves, my grandfather was an organic chemist and always warned everyone in the family not to cook with stainless steel on gas as the stainless steel would give off nickel carbonyl gas, a potent carcinogen. Granted, it's probably only in trace quantities, but you'll be using that cookware for many, many years, so those quantities will add up. Le Creuset makes superb enameled cast iron pots and pans in pretty much all shapes and sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Hi Mike, You probably eat more raw foods than I do. I love to cook, and I entertain quite frequently. I cook steaks, tomato sauce, sautéed spinach, hash browns, etc. in my frying pan. The primal/raw foods thing doesn't appeal to me AT ALL. Except for gravlox, oysters, and carpaccio (hee hee). I got into NT because it TASTES GOOD. I know some of you might argue with me, but raw liver or chicken just doesn't cut it for me in terms of food enjoyment. I think a big part of a healthy diet is the enjoyment of food. **** I can't see any reason for someone to own a frying pan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 NAw, after a day the mold starts to appear... we are talking about exporting to US where the big bucks are. :-) The US wants to see their bread good for at least several days. Perhaps in the US winter mold growth will be retarded. Cost me .40c a pound to ship. The second consideration is that a lbs. of seafood makes me $4-$8 while a lbs. of bread is only $1. So by freezing we can send larger amounts, by ship container instead of air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Doesn't anyone have plain ol' cast iron as a recommendation? Isn't that supposed to be healthier than stainless? (I do use my stainless pans more than cast iron, though. And my wife is not ready to season and blacken the stainless pans yet) - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Mike- >That's very interesting about stainless steel--does this undesirable >byproduct of the stainless steel and gas stove only result from >direct contact between the two on the outside and not on the inside? Yes; my grandfather felt stainless steel cookware was fine on an electric stove. >So I take it you use one of those enameled >guys as a stockpot? Yup. I've been gradually replacing my stainless steel stuff with enamel, and I use a couple stoneware crock pots and a Le Creuset enameled stock pot for stock. >As far as the general cookware/marriage thing, my two cents is to not >get much cookware because there's very little food that needs to be >cooked! I've tried to eat all my animal foods raw, but I just can't seem to do it. It's too much work with too little enjoyment. So I eat liver raw, and dairy raw, and I make steaks very rare, but I still make a lot of stews and soups. I should probably eat my eggs raw too, but I don't. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 warped eh? Well so much for the lifetime use concept. :-) At least you were able to salvage with your son. Thanks for the flat top heads up...Had a friend that was concidering that route and now there is a good arguement against it. best ----- Original Message ----- From: " Judith Alta " <jaltak@...> < > Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 5:16 AM Subject: RE: Pots/Pans > LOL > > We cook on a glass cook top and for most efficient use the bottoms of all > cookware have to be very flat. The bottoms of the expensive set warped a > bit. And the skillets would not heat to the edges of the pan, no matter the > size of the burner. > > We gave it to our son. He cooks on gas and. It should work much better for > him. > > Enjoy! ;-) > > Judith Alta > > > > -----Original Message----- > > hey judith, what happened to the $1000 set of cookware? > > > > > > I like these much better than the set I paid over a $1,000 for five years > > ago. > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 > >That's very interesting about stainless steel--does this undesirable > >byproduct of the stainless steel and gas stove only result from > >direct contact between the two on the outside and not on the inside? > > Yes; my grandfather felt stainless steel cookware was fine on an electric > stove. What I meant is that if it's only an effect on the outside of the pot, then maybe it wouldn't affect the food on the inside, and would hence be a non-issue. This is pure speculation; I have no expertise in this area. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Mike- >What I meant is that if it's only an effect on the outside of the pot, >then maybe it wouldn't affect the food on the inside, and would hence be a >non-issue. This is pure speculation; I have no expertise in this area. Yes, nickel carbonyl gas is caused by the gas flame touching the stainless steel, so it has no bearing on a stainless steel cooking surface, just on stainless steel pot and pan bottoms. However, when you look at stainless steel cooking surfaces, you run into a whole new problem: leeching of undesirable materials like nickel into the food. The cheaper the stainless steel (i.e. the more nickel it contains) and the more acidic the food touching it the greater the problem, but I'm starting to conclude that any stainless steel at all touching any food during cooking is undesirable. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 > Yes, nickel carbonyl gas is caused by the gas flame touching the stainless > steel, so it has no bearing on a stainless steel cooking surface, just on > stainless steel pot and pan bottoms. However, when you look at stainless > steel cooking surfaces, you run into a whole new problem: leeching of > undesirable materials like nickel into the food. The cheaper the stainless > steel (i.e. the more nickel it contains) and the more acidic the food > touching it the greater the problem, but I'm starting to conclude that any > stainless steel at all touching any food during cooking is undesirable. Given the ubiquity of such cookware, this is a very important topic. There really should be quantitative studies of nickel levels, etc. It always seems like there are gazillions of two-bit lab studies out there, but we still never have answers to most of our simple, important, practical questions!!! (like, when can we find out how much of different minerals are actually in our stocks???) Aaaaargh!!! Mike (not a lab scientist) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 --- In , Idol <Idol@c...> wrote: > Yes, nickel carbonyl gas is caused by the gas flame touching the stainless > steel, so it has no bearing on a stainless steel cooking surface, just on > stainless steel pot and pan bottoms. However, when you look at stainless > steel cooking surfaces, you run into a whole new problem: leeching of > undesirable materials like nickel into the food. The cheaper the stainless > steel (i.e. the more nickel it contains) and the more acidic the food > touching it the greater the problem, but I'm starting to conclude that any > stainless steel at all touching any food during cooking is undesirable. Is good ol' cast iron still the best then, even with acidic foods? Do you prefer the enamel glazed over un-glazed cast iron? I'm sticking with my regular cast iron for now. I'll wait awhile, until all the reports are out as to why enamel cookware is bad to cook in , before I start looking into enamel coated cast iron cookware. I use the Pampered Chef stoneware for my baking. I remember a while back someone brought up the topic of cooking with clay pots. How is that going? I use Pampered Chef's stoneware because the flavors are not absorbed into the stone. You don't have to worry about cross- contamination of food flavors. I have heard that with regular clay pottery you have to use the same pot/dish for the same recipe each time because the flavors are absorbed into the pot and will affect the flavor of the next thing cooked in it. I remember watching a show (I think it was about Native Indians/Mexicans?) where they spoke about this. The women had a pot/dish for each food/recipe that was prepared, so that the flavors would not mix. They had a wall full of pottery, each with a designated purpose to prevent cross contamination of food flavors. It was amazing. I would have to have an enormous kitchen to fill it with that much pottery. Peace and Love of Christ be with you, Robin L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 WELL... what about stainless steel cutlery then?... Dedy ----- Original Message ----- From: Idol Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 6:43 PM Subject: Re: Re: Pots/Pans Mike- >What I meant is that if it's only an effect on the outside of the pot, >then maybe it wouldn't affect the food on the inside, and would hence be a >non-issue. This is pure speculation; I have no expertise in this area. Yes, nickel carbonyl gas is caused by the gas flame touching the stainless steel, so it has no bearing on a stainless steel cooking surface, just on stainless steel pot and pan bottoms. However, when you look at stainless steel cooking surfaces, you run into a whole new problem: leeching of undesirable materials like nickel into the food. The cheaper the stainless steel (i.e. the more nickel it contains) and the more acidic the food touching it the greater the problem, but I'm starting to conclude that any stainless steel at all touching any food during cooking is undesirable. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 I don't know. My sister mentioned one time she heard about stainless steel poisoning from some health thing she was into and I have often wondered about that. We were discussing allt he heavy metals that can buildup and stainless steel came up... ----- Original Message ----- From: Anton Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 12:32 PM Subject: Re: Re: Pots/Pans > >That's very interesting about stainless steel--does this undesirable > >byproduct of the stainless steel and gas stove only result from > >direct contact between the two on the outside and not on the inside? > > Yes; my grandfather felt stainless steel cookware was fine on an electric > stove. What I meant is that if it's only an effect on the outside of the pot, then maybe it wouldn't affect the food on the inside, and would hence be a non-issue. This is pure speculation; I have no expertise in this area. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.