i agree. i've had sets all my married years and phooey! i end up replacing the same ones over and over again. also, in Cook's Illustrated, he says to buy second up from the bottom line on non-stick because none of them last very long. that way you don't feel guilty about tossing them every year or so when they get scratched or chipped. i'm careful to get handles that can go into the oven and i make sure that when they're filled i can lift them without hurting my shoulders. as you get ...hmmm... more mature, that becomes an issue.

we recently got some hard annodized pots and skillets from either QVC or HSN and love them.... They are extremely expensive at Bed, Bath Beyond, that kind of store and much more reasonable at the online / tv shops mentioned above. Nothing sticks and you can use metal utensils on them.

we are also discarding our old 'non-stick' icky pots and pans.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

I had a set of Farberware stainless steel that I had for about 25 yrs. I bought a set of nonstick that I can tell are not going to last very long. Buy the best you can afford. I like All-Clad stainless steel and will replace my current one with those when the time comes.

I absolutely love my Revere Ware Copper-bottomed cookware that I got in 1961. But you must be diligent about using copper cleaner on the bottom EVERY time you use them. However, I don't like the stainless skillets for frying or browning chops or making pancakes, etc. so I use my iron skillets (I have 4 - all different sizes) - they are wonderful. I generally do not like the non-stick stuff, but I do have one 8" non-stick skillet from the Millennium line from Farberware. I use it only for eggs, omelets, crepes and sauces - never for anything that requires high heat. Revere Ware used to be top of the line in department stores but now you can buy it at K-Mart! Personally, I'm very satisfied with my cookware and would never consider paying hundreds and hundreds on other pots and pans.

Top the line can also mean more profit for the retailer.
I still like Revere Ware. I used several copper bottom pots belonged to my mother, she got then in the 50's.
I agree with the other person, I don't like to used stainless bottom fry pan for eggs.

Forgot to say that my mom had a set of Farberware stainless (no copper bottoms) that lasted all her life. We donated them to Good Will when she died at age 92. I used them at home before I got married and they were great. Cooked nicely and cleaned up easily. But I wanted something "fancier" when I got my own, hence the Revere Ware copper bottoms. Little did I know I should have also bought stock in copper cleaner! But since I hang them on my kitchen wall, they have to look nice and I must say, I'm proud of how pretty they still look!

EllenB,
Check out K-Mart or Wal-Mart. I've seen Revere Ware there and they are not expensive. They are even the same shaped handled and lids as the ones I bought in 1961. You can probably get them online, too.
Carol

Thanks, Carol - since we don't have a KMart, I'll check out WM for one. For years, I've used the small skillet instead of a 2 qt for a small quantity. It works, but makes sloppy stirring with something liquidy.

Now, if someone could help me find the soft-boiled egg crackers that we used years ago ...

What are soft-boiled egg crackers?

They are two parts to separate the shell of a SB egg - each half is about 1 1/2" high (red plastic) rings, the egg sits in one that has a metal jaw on each side and the other goes on the top and has a metal pointy thing that pokes into the shell to make the crack. We'd used these since the 50s and I used them until about 10 years ago when two of the metal pieces broke off - and I've been looking ever since, even in antique and thrift shops. The things I've gotten since mainly crush the shells. I know that, supposedly, SB eggs aren't safe to eat, but I still do ... they're comfort food!

Talk about feeling dumb! I thought you meant some kind of saltine cracker!! I grew up in the 50's and never heard of this gadget. We just put our SB eggs in egg cups and cracked the top with the back of a spoon, then picked off a little bit of the shell, then cut our toast in narrow strips and dunked right into the egg! Then when the yolk was gone, we dug out the whites with the spoon.

Soft boiled eggs are safe to eat as long as you use clean eggs with no cracks. The salmonella comes from the contaminated shell but cooking kills it. If the shell is even slightly cracked, the salmonella can get inside the egg and if you don't cook it thoroughly, then you can get sick. But an uncracked egg will have any contamination killed with the boiling water - same for poached eggs. So don't worry - enjoy your SB eggs!

don't be fooled by the name. there's no such thing as stain-LESS. and if you boil anything and run out of water, even the three-layer stainless will warp while it turns black forever.

re: farberware
my dd got fw for a shower gift when she got married 12 years ago. they still look good, but she can't put anything in the oven without unscrewing the handles first. sometimes a recipe will call for stovetop cooking and them last minute browning in the oven. that's for cast iron, but it's very heavy.

I have put my Revere Ware pots and lids in the oven without any problem. Of course, they were purchased in 1961 and for all I know, the company may have changed the composition of the handles and knobs. I bet a call to the customer service dept. would clear that up.

:lol: :lol: that was the year before she was born :mrgreen:

still good to check out. i'll certainly tell her. thanks.

Any kitchen ware with NSF on it is good. Basically restaurant quality. I have knives and cookware and they are good, but mostly I have hand me down's cast iron that I love. Here is a link to some NSF and you can look it up as well.

Congrats on the new cookware.

http://www.beststainlesssteelcookwar...ookware-2.html

Wow, funny nobody has mentioned glass pots and pans, maybe i'm a loner in this one lol. Ok, i use glass pots and pans and i love them. I have a set of stainless steel pots that i've had for years, that are still good. I just prefer to not use metal or teflon pots. And i absolutely wont use cast iron, because i already have high iron levels. So about 10 years ago, i found a set of glass pots and pans at the flea market, for 5 dollars! Couldnt believe it. So i bought them and have been really happy with them. Not only do they not leak chemicals and metal into your food, but you can see through the pot to see when it's boiling lol, i love that part about them the best lol :)

I grew up with them mom bought them when I was 4 yrs old and they were called Lifetime at the time. believe it or not I have couple of them and they are still kicking. that is the ones my stepmother did not kill.

I use stainless steel and cast iron skillets. can't have the other stuff with the parrots the fumes they release in cooking kills them.

Hi , Just wat to say I love my waterless set.... My mother got her first set about 45 years ago and then my brother now has them. The ones I bought canbe will 4 generations life warrenty... We plan to buy our son and wife the small set.
My brother bought the small set like ours and he loves them.

I have a set of non stick was aorund 3k and have replace most after 6 or 7 years at 1/2 price for life and love then but have just gotten a flat top stove and you cant ust themon that surface... or not suposed to...but nothing like stainles steel pots and pans.

Having a big garage sale on pots and pans soon as the weather clears.... had the fiber ware set too. + inharated my dh's folks pans too... also stainless. I have a motor home and the camp trailer and all are stocked with ther own cook ware...

all stainless now...

One Christmas Dillard's was having a sale on an Emeril set. I thought about it for a long time before I spent that kind of money. It was 40 percent off. I have never been happier with any pots or pans. I wish that I had done it long before.

Lurking in MS