New Cookware/ScanPan?Calphon?Anything?

All Clad, no question, in my opinion.

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I'd have to agree with MR on this with one exception. My All Clad pans are the best, hands down. I have used the Lifetime guarantee a few times (scratches on the non stick coating) and the pans were replaced without question.

My one exception to MR's comment is the dishwasher. The only All Clad pans I don't put in the dishwasher are the non stick ones. All of the other stainless pans go in the dishwasher and come out great. I've had my pans for 11.5 years and they shine like the day I received them.

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I have All-Clad pans. LOVE them. They're not cheap, but they are excellent quality and last forever. My mom is a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant, and she uses All-Clad at home. According to her, because they are so well-constructed, they conduct heat evenly across the bottom, which helps to ensure the pans don't have any "hot spots." I would have to agree - I don't love cooking, but I do notice a big difference when I use All-Clad in how things turn out.

Good luck shopping! I hope you find something you like.

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All-Clad, no question. They are some of the best out there and will last you a lifetime. You can find this brand in lots of retail stores.

There are a few things to consider, however, with whatever material you choose. With All-Clad (stainless steel) it is important that you do the following:

-Do most of your cooking on medium heat. Most people get impatient and turn the heat all the way up to high which burns the food on to the pan and is a pain in the butt to clean. They also wonder why the outside is singed and the inside is raw...hello, no-brainer there!

-Let the pan heat up first before adding food.

-Once you put food in the pan, leave it alone until it is ready to be flipped. Don't poke, prod, lift the edge to look at it, etc. Unless you're stir frying at high heat (in which case you'd use a wok and the food should be moving a lot), the food will release when it is ready to be flipped. Flip/slide/poke/prod any earlier and it will stick to the pan.

-Take good care of your pans. Never put them in the dishwasher! Hand-wash them using warm soapy water and if there is stuck on food or stains, use something like Bar Keeper's Friend to remove it.

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Costco has a GREAT stainless steel cookware set. We wanted something "green".
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11503441...=

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I love my All-Clad. It is not cheap but is SO worth it. I have the highest end one they have and I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

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Because I nannied for years, I had the privilege of getting to use a lot of fancy pans before buying my own. Even now, I have a mishmash of pans in the cupboard, simply because you can find a decent, economical piece that works better for one brand than it does for another. I have a great Calphalon saute pan, a ScanPan wok, a Chantal (love that enamelware!) omelette pan, a Lodge cast iron dutch oven...suffice it to say, I love my pans.

I do have to agree that, across the board, the All-Clad pans are pretty fabulous. If I had my druthers, I'd likely buy more Calphalon pans though-- They seem easier to clean and my house only has human dishwashers!

Watch for sales too. Sometimes the manufacturers will offer deals on pans where you buy a couple and they throw in a free one.

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I have an awesome Emeril cookware set that's hard anodized. They are the easiest cookwear to clean! I have seriously NEVER had to scrub any of my pots/pans, they practically rinse clean. They came from Bed Bath and Beyond and it was around $300 for the set (2 sauce pans, 2 frying pans, 1 saute pan, 1 stock pot and a lid for all of them).

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K.,
I am not saying this just because I am a Pampered Chef consultant, but because they have really nice cookware that offers a lifetime guarantee. They have both non-stick executive cookware pieces and stainless steel. Some of the pans are in unique sizes that you can't find on the market (10" saute, 10" pan, 12" pan). I got the stainless steel set and a few pieces of the executive pieces about 4 years ago and they still look brand new! Feel free to check out the Pampered Chef web-site for more information on the pieces (www.pamperedchef.com). If you are interested, I can help you order. Feel free to contact me as well if you have any questions about the product.
B.

Go to www.consumersearch.com for great reviews. They review all the reviews and give you a nice summary. I use it all the time for all kinds of things when I'm trying to decide.

I really want to get a set of pans from Rachael Ray's collection. They are funky colors and I believe she has teflon...

I have mostly Calphon pans and what I don't like is the silver on the bottom (the part that heats obviously) bronzed pretty quickly and I can't get it to look clean again. We got them as a wedding present, and we haven't been married for 4 years yet.

I love love love my pans from Pampered Chef, def. more money but I think worth it. I was selling PC at the time I bought mine so I got quite a discount, but you can also go on the outlet online and they will set you up with a local consultant, or I believe you can buy dirrectly from the company. Not sure anymore it's been a little while.

I'm still happy with the stainless steel pots I got at my wedding (8 years so far). I think they are All Clad. My aunt has a Calphon set and loves it (she cooks a lot). Plain baking soda is good for cleaning because it is an non scratching abrasive.

hi there - I used to work for pampered chef (in their test kitchen) and tested numerous brands and types of cookware. the first questions you need to ask yourself are 1) what type of cooking do i plan on doing and 2) how much time do i want to invest in cleaning/care of the cookware
-If you are the "typical" consumer and not a totally gourment chef you wil probably be fine with a cookware set that is 'hard anozided and has a nonstick coating on the interior' - hard anodization is a process that makes the metal harder (more durable) - the nonstick coating is nice so you don't have sticking issues (i.e. eggs). also if you choose nonstick coating use ONLY nylon (plastic) or wooden utensils - anything metal will scratch the nonstick. also clean these pans by hand - if you put them in the dishwasher the hand anodized exterior will discolor and the nonstick coating will be less effective over time.
-If you are more gourmet/foodie and like to make sauces, get a little more browning. scrape the fond off the pan, etc - i would have some stainless steel pans and some nonstick.

Anolon Advanced seemed to fair the best in the test kitchen from what i can remember. They have pretty good prices on their website! Pieces that I would recommend are small saute (8"), large skillet (12"), small saucepan, medium saucepan, stockpot and a square flat griddle or double burner griddle.

good luck with the search!

You may want to check out America's Test Kitchen website: americastestkitchentv.com. It's a great resource for reading reviews on various kitchen products. I love their show. As far as cookware sets, they highly recommend the All-Clad Stainless Steel Cookware Set, 10-piece. They also recommend the Tramontina 18/10 Stainless Steel TriPly-Clad Cookware Set, 8-piece sold only at Wal-Mart. The Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware Set, 8-piece came in third. Hope this helps. Have fun shopping!

We eat about 20 meals plus snacks in our home. We cook. Here's another vote for All-Clad pots and pans. I put my pans through the wringer in the past 10 years - and they look and still work great. They can be handwashed or dish washer. No special cleaners or needing to be careful with the finish. Before making the big investment, I bought one single pan and cooked with that first. I fell in love.

Mine are stainless outside (shiny finish). I did not buy any All-Clad non stick pans. Americas Test Kitchen (mentioned below) offers some recommendations for non stick. I purchase fairly decent ones (mid price range). As soon as there is a scratch, it's out and gets replaced.

I also have 1 Le Crueset dutch oven'y type thing. It's huge, and gets used a ton too.

I also have several large sheet pans (maybe called half sheet pans). I paid good money for those, and they are holding up well. We use them a ton. Baking bacon in the oven, roasting vegetables, melting and scraping chocolate, keeping pancakes warm . . . Inserts for those are helpful too (kind of like a cooling rack that fits inside the pan).

Happy shopping!

--A.

I have Cuisinart stainless steel pans and Revereware Stainless pans. I love both sets. I have 1 or 2 nonstick pans for eggs and stuff. I would not purchase a total nonstick set. Calphalon makes a good set of hard anodized aluminum, just make sure you don't get the nonstick ones. Both sets of pans I have are very reasonable prices and the quality is good. You should have no problem getting quite a few pans for $500.00.

I have Calphalon pasta pot and large skillet, cuisinart green pan (electric), scan pans that are over 10 years old, and I recently bought a really nice All-Clad. My Calphalon pan had stopped being non-stick almost immediately. My scan-pan is wonderful and pretty easy to clean. You can not put it in the dishwasher or the bottom of the inside will lose chunks. I love my new All-Clad skillet. I haven't owned it very long so I am unable to tell you if it is durable. So far, it is almost my favorite pan. I like the cuisinart green pan but they need to make this in a smaller size. It heats up really fast and seems to cook food very fast and is wonderfully non-stick. We are a family of 6 so it is nice to have. Hope that helps.

I have a set of non-stick Cook's, a JCPenney brand, that I've been 98% happy with. I don't like that the steel handles on the glass lids get hot to the touch and I have to use a towel to pick them up. Also they are not the easiest to hold over a sink and drain water out of food. Other than that, they're great. I got them last year on Black Friday: a $500 set for $200. My mom got a set too and she loves them.