Help with Choosing Good Pots and Pans

Hi C.,

I love our Farberware pans, and LOVE the fact that I can scrub them clean with an SOS pad. I just checked Epinions for you and a lot of people say "nonstick" Calphalon is terrible for cleanup because of the little bumps in the bottom. I never had that problem with Farberware (no bumps). I checked Farberware on Epinions and out of 82 reviews, (5 stars possible) there were only two people who gave Farberware 1 star. Those two people said they are hard to clean and everything sticks. I suggest using PAM and SOS pads. Out of those same 82 people only 3 people gave Farberware 2 stars. Six people gave them a better 3 star rating. 10 People gave them a near perfect 4 star rating. That means that 61 out of 82 people thought Farberware was the perfect set of pans you could buy. That's 74% of all users writing a review. Not bad. Comparing Revereware Copper Bottom Pans the same way, only 61% of reviewers thought they were the perfect set of pans. The biggest complaint? Revereware's copper bottoms get dingy looking and are hard to keep looking like new. They also say you can't cook scrambled eggs without them sticking.

I hope this helps you. We cook our eggs in a large All-Clad Stainless Steel Skillet, so I am thinking that Farberware's skillet must have disappointed us at sometime too. All-Clad's REALLY heavy and REALLY expensive, but this one skillet will last us our lifetime.

D.

I have a set of calphalon pans that are nonstick. I also have 1 calphalon pan that is the hard anodized and is not nonstick. I really like the hard anodized one, I sort of regret getting the set in nonstick. You really have to be careful what type of tool you use in it. With the hard anodized, you use whatever you want with no problem. Food doesn't burn or stick. I use a much lower heat with the calphalon then I ever did with the cheaper pans I've had and it cooks just as fast. The calphalon cost a bit more but it's well worth it.
I did look at a set at Sam's club that was hard anodized, but wanted the nonstick at the time. It seemed like a great set and had good reviews on line. The price was under $200 at the time.
Good luck!
Rachelle

There are two parts to good pans: very thick bottoms made of metal that heats and cools quickly (aluminum is the metal of choice, but copper works too, it's just terrifically expensive when thick) and a non-porous surface to be non-stick.

The best non-stick pans I've ever had are seasoned cast iron. They are great in general, and the thickness of them stops things burning to the bottom (as often -- cooking methods will burn things to anything sometimes), while the 'coating' is nothing but cooking oil baked on.

There are really good non-stick pans (millenium and calphalon are two), but they are really expensive, still scratch and do lose their 'non-stickness' eventually anyhow.

The best way to stop foods from sticking to pans (apart from having a thick enough bottom, that's really important) is to heat the pan, add the oil, let it heat up and then add the food. Hot pan, cold oil, foods never stick. Some tv chef used to say that all the time. It's not exactly true, because boiled potatoes will stick to crappy pans, oil or not.

Otherwise, if starches are sticking to your pans all the time, you may want to 'season' them, just like cast iron is: wipe quite a lot of oil into the pan, heat it up for about 1/2 an hour (in the oven at 220 is best, but on a burner on low will do), let it cool down naturally without moving it, then wipe out the excess oil. Now, instead of washing this with soap, it is important to only wash these with very hot water and a scrub brush (otherwise you're taking off the oil coating).

Another cheap cure is a product called a Flame Tamer, which sits between the pan and the burner, making the 'bottom' thicker (more evenly distributing the heat).

Oh, and turn down the burner sooner and lower. Too much heat will stick anything to anything...

So says the woman who once bonded pears to the bottom of a pot -- forever.

My mom told me to get revere ware without the copper bottom. They have been awesome kettles and I don't have trouble with stuff burning in them. I have had them for 16 years and have put them in the dishwasher. I like the non stick ones also but they say as soon as they get cuts in them you shouldn't use them. You can also try a little cooking spray in the bottom to keep things from sticking. Good luck.

I use cast iron. You just bake some canola oil on them to get a good seasoning. After a bit they don't need much work. To clean cooked on foods I just boil water in them, then scrap it off w/ a plastic scraper. Towel dry then heat the pan a bit to make sure it's dry (don't want them to rust)
I picked up 3 sizes for a total of 15.00 at some resale store. But last I looked meijers had a whole set for like 30.00 in the camping section. And some come pre seasoned.
I've also read some nasty stuff about non stick coatings.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2003/2003-05-16-10.asp

Good luck, A. H

I had the same problem as you for a long time and had almost resigned myself to simply needing to get a new set every 3 or 4 years. Then I hosted a Pampered Chef party and was able to get the entire set of their professional cookware as one of my 1/2 priced items. I've had them for over 5 years now and there isn't a scratch or flake on them! They are completely non-stick, in fact I've never had anything stick in them. I always use nylon tools with them because I know using your normal flatwear can damage the non-stick surface, and I always wash them in the sink instead of the dishwasher, but I have to say that they have been amazing. They have a really good warranty too, so if anything did go wrong, I think they would be covered. I really wasn't expecting a lot when I bought them either - just thought hey, for 50% off why not? They've got an even newer set out now too that looks pretty amazing, but I have a feeling I won't be needing to look into them any time soon. Good luck to you!

Hi C.,

I have a set of Royal Prestige cookware that I absolutely love. You can't buy them in stores...my husband and I happened to go to a demonstration for them and ended up buying them. They are surgical stainless steel with a copper center so they heat up very evenly and they don't scratch. They are very expensive but worth every penny...I really don't see EVER buying another set of cookware again. They also came with a 50 year warranty. Their website is www.royalprestige.com and it is full of information.

Good luck in your search....

T.