Buying a new set of cookware...
 

So, we're at the point where we need to replace my old set of coated cookware. Right now the stove is a ceramic top (which I hate but that's another thing altogether) so I want to make it work as best I can. I'm wanting to switch to mostly uncoated cookware...and maybe add a few anodized aluminum pans. I'd love to be able to spend enough to get an All-Clad set, but I don't think that will happen. Consumer Reports came up with good ratings for both the "Made In" brand and Caphalon for uncoated cookware. I've had Caphalon before and liked them well enough...but "Made In" is a relatively newcomer -anyone have their pans? https://madeincookware.com/

I know cookware is like sewing machines, everyone has a favorite flavor...but anyone have cautionary tales? Unexpected happy results? Advice of any sort? ;-) Appreciate any input, really...

they look great. i had such a time finding ones without aluminum in the bottoms. I hate electric stove tops but it is what i have. I still need a 3 qt pot! Good luck.

i have had good luck finding a pan every once in a while at the consignment stores and the price is right.

Ooh, new pots and pans! I've heard of the Made In brand, good reviews. I've never had a chance to use them, unfortunately, but I do love Grant Achatz and Eric Ripert and if they recommend them,...

I think it is very much like a sewing machine. One brand may be loved by one person and another person maybe not like them at all.

We're fortunate that the only "set" of cookware we own are a set of Dansk that was my mother-in-law's. We love using them as everyday pots and pans. Still works as wonderfully today as when she got them. They're at least 17 years old.

Otherwise we buy cookware in individual pieces. We have a couple of Cuisinart, Le Creuset, Emile Henry, of course lots of cast iron, as well as different ethnic cooking vessels. None of them are non-stick and have had no problem with any of them.

Just my 2 cents, not much help :) Have fun with it though. Can you tell we like to cook at our house?

I was raised in a house where Revere Ware was used. I still have a couple of pots that were my mom's and I'm 63. When I got married over 35 years ago we got a complete set and they're all going strong. The style has changed, and I have no idea if the quality is the same, but I love them.

@Bags - Yes, yes I can! :) I do too -Which cuisines do you enjoy? I have a very mish-mash bunch of cookware right now, including 2 cast irons, a decent stockpot, but my day-to-day skillets and saucepans...just are too beat to work on a daily basis any more. I would love to own some Dansk! I always keep my eyes open at resale stores...

@Barb2018 -Yes, I'm told 'classic' Revere Ware is something to be sought out as well! I love that you have a set from mom... I've got one Le Crueset (bought discount) in orange that is the same style as the one my grandmother used, wish I had her cookware. :)

@nativetexan -thanks for the luck, I'll need it! I hate making life-changing decisions...like investing in cookware, lol!

So! i *may* have semi-obsessively researched pans on my lunch hour. Found 2 things of interest -
1) Carbon steel is probably a better option than anodized aluminum
2) Carbon steel and flat-top stoves may *not* be meant for each other...https://youtu.be/Ub-ADtsGo5s

That being said, I may just try to oven-season and do the slooooow warm before using. I really like the idea of pan is as stick-free as a seasoned cast iron, but less heavy. My arms/hands hate me after a night of cast iron cooking!

Chesirepat, it would be a shorter list to tell you what we don't like. Lutefisk, and I'm Norwegian! Right this very minute, Ziggy (DH) is fileting anchovies to put on homemade pizza. It's our comfort food some nights.

We make and eat Morrocan, African, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Greek, I know I'm forgetting a whole bunch of others.

We make pretty much everything from scratch. The red sauce is from our garden, if we were using ricotta, we make our own. The sausage we're using tonight, Ziggy made late last month. He also makes chorizo, merguez, lamb sausage, Macedonian. We're always on the hunt for interesting recipes.

Sometimes we don't have the time to make tortillas, so we use store-bought. Or if we forgot to start the dough for pitas or naan, we always have an emergency bag in the freezer :)

I forgot we don't have an attachment for our hand crank pasta machine to make tubular pasta, so that's store bought :(

Ziggy just told me that the Dansk set we use is more like 30 years old. If you can find some, buy it.

I forgot to add in my other post, we still use a pan I purchased, when I just got divorced 14 years ago, from Target. The other pan is one Ziggy got at the local Walmart. When we were moving from Montana and the majority of our kitchen stuff was in the moving van, he was in Maine and I was living in a small apartment in Montana for a month, he needed something to use until the van got here.

We don't have to worry about scratching them or abusing them. Inexpensive and they've held up well.

Oh, boy, I've rattled on...Sorry about that. I/we love to cook. Again, have fun. What do cuisines do you like?

TJ Maxx/ Marshall's sometimes has All Clad cookware. I found a 8 quart stockpot and a 2 quart saucepot marked down to half price in the clearance section.

Since you mentioned All-Clad, they have a periodic sale of "seconds" and damaged boxes cookware. I get the emails when they have this sale and have been looking for a 6 or 8 quart stockpot. This past sale I finally got a 6 quart stainless stock pot for $109.00 - regular price about $300! It was a second and the only thing I found on it was a small mark in the center of the bottom of the pot. Made it not perfect but still very usable and a super bargain. Made a pot of soup and it worked like the wonderful 3 quart saucepot my daughter gave me for Christmas. She got mixed up as to what pan I wanted lol.
You can go to All-Clad website and see what they have on sale and sign up for the emails that let you know when they are having those super sales. I have seen the sets on sale as well.
I accidentally ran into a super bargain on QVC of all places and got both the 8 and 10 inch tri ply stainless fry pans for $69. They were used in the on air demos and not a thing was wrong with them. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Have fun shopping for the perfect pans!

There is a lot of information out there about using various pots and pans that the surface can leech into the food being cooked. Aluminum takes the beating in this conversation and stainless steel is the winner. Cast iron will put a bit of iron into your food, which for most people is a good thing. I have a very old set of Lifetime waterless that I think is now serviced by Revere Ware and I loved these until I got this glass-top stove. They don't make 100% contact with the surface so that's one consideration if you are looking for new pots and pans. A person needs to consider what the heat source is to be. There's even the magnetic cooktops now that traditional cookware won't work. Personally I would not invest in any kind of coated cookware as it deteriorates with use.

The only comment I have is to stay away from the 'red copper' pans. At least to me, the food cooked in those pans has a very rubbery consistency. A friend gave us one a couple of years ago and it now just takes up room in the cabinet.

When my mom went into the nursing home I received from her a brand new set of Wolfgang Puck and I love it. It heats nice and evenly and cleans up great. Why she bought it is beyond me???

I don’t know what I would do if I needed new pots and pans nowadays. So many choices! I have a flat cooktop and really like it for our purposes. I am still using a T-Fal set from QVC from the early 90s. It is in perfect shape. We don’t have birds so no worries about them and off gassing. I guess they haven’t killed us so far! I would buy just the pots I normally use unless a set included them. My friend is a great cook and she got some LeCruset and found filled with food they are very heavy to lift. Stainless is really nonstick if it is heated, then add oil and then let that get hot. We use the Instant Pot a lot and that stainless insert is very easy to clean. I don’t have any of the copper lined skillets or green ones. Gives me food for thought.

I am probably ruining my health, but I love the coated cookware. I can make any pot, seasoned or not, a pot that everything will stick to. Even with spraying with Pam or getting it hot and then adding oil. I am just bad. The Coated cookware is my salvation and I do hand wash all of them. To avoid getting fumes in the air, I don't ever start heating them without something in them. My cookware is miscellaneous Stainless steel pots, some of which are 40~50 years old and some Pampered Chef, some Cuisinart and some Revere Wear. The coated will wear out much quicker than the SS, but they don't stick as quick.

I have a set of Tramontina stainless steel cookware and love it. Very easy to clean and food cooks evenly. I also have several Lodge cast iron enamel pans, along with 3 non stick pans of various sizes. Long ago my husband said, we are not going to "cheap" out of your cookware. Your cooking is too good for that. I researched took notice of what the chefs were using on those cooking program. Then replaced all my cookware and baking pans.

I also hate my glass top stove. The only cookware that I have found that will not stick and burn is any that have a thick 1/2 inch bottom. I do use a couple ceramic coated frypans for hash or omelets. Everything else is 1/2" bottoms, Especially pots for soup or pasta sauce. Brand doesn't matter.
This is my pot rack. In winter we live in a condo without lots of cabinet space so I have a pot rack.

oops -- forgot the pix
Attachment 622406Attachment 622407

I have Americraft waterless cookware. They did demos at the fair about 10 yrs ago & my husband decide that was what I needed. Took a little adjusting because you do not need a lot of water for veg. just 1/4C. They seem to keep more moisture in the food & the veg are tender crisp not limp.

I,also,have a ceramic stove top, .after 40 years of cooking on a gas stove, last year moved into a new home, -my old pots and pans were not suitable for my stove. I purchased a few pots of Rachael Ray brand, the skillet is awesome, I bought a few pieces at a time.If you have a Beall's Outlet Store, they have very good prices on good quality cookware.

My husband is the cook and he doesn't have a set of pots and pans. He has different types for different needs. But we do still have some Revere we got as wedding gifts and they are still being used, more by me than him though. They sure do hold up!

One other place to look for pots and pans is Macys. When they have a sale, some of the prices are ridiculously low. We were able to get a couple of pieces we had wanted, at a great sale price.

Shopping for cookware is frustrating. It can be confusing and overwhelming. I actually work for Made In as the Head of Customer Experience and Operations (and love cookware and cooking), and I'd love to help answer any questions you have about the cookware.

I think one of the biggest factors for me when I'm buying anything, including cookware, is how long will it last? I could buy something less expensive and replace it in 5-10 years. That adds up over time though, and I hate thinking about how much cookware ends up in already over-crowded landfills. Made In has a lifetime warranty and a 45-day return policy (stainless steel and non stick cookware can be returned even if it's used for a full refund). So if you try it and decide it isn't a good fit, Made In pays return shipping in the continental US. It sounds like our stainless steel and carbon steel pans would be a great fit for you. All of our cookware is designed to work on any range, including ceramic. We use smooth top induction ranges in our test kitchen, and I use a ceramic range when we visit my family once a month. They work great on both of those, as well as my gas range at home.

If you have any specific questions feel free to post and I'll be happy to help.

Haha! I've heard that before from Norwegians! Myself, I'd try any cuisine under the sun! There's so much to be enjoyed...I only cook a few myself, but we live in a very metropolitan city, and can seek out many things, which is nice! I have a few recipes from my Hungarian grandmother I have begun to bring back out and try for myself. I can see that, like cooking, these things take some work and practice, heh. Thank you so much for sharing your interests - I can see any dinner guests at your house would be *very* lucky indeed! Fresh ingredients made with care is the best food ever.<3

At Aldi, I bought a $20 heavy stainless steel pan that I love. Crofton brand. Watching for more pieces.

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Chesirepat Haha! We're like you! We love food, of any kind. Especially ethnic, comfort food. At our house we call it "misery food". We eat so much of it, we're miserable at the end of the meal! We don't call ours "leftovers". We call them "encores"!

The one reason we're glad we don't live in or near a city, we couldn't afford all the foods we'd love to try! That's why we try them at home. (Did I mention when we travel it's by food? Restaurants, ethnic grocery stores, etc. We're weird, but we have fun. We're supposedly not allowed to go to kitchen stores or places like that without a chaperone. Luckily for us, the closest chaperone, one of our kids, is 1500 miles away! But they all love to cook as much as we do.)

Try your grandmother's recipes and tell us how they were!

We need to try Hungarian food. I'm not as familiar with it as other cuisines. Do you recommend us trying something first?

Yep, just like everything else, practice. Luckily, we both love to try things. If it doesn't work the first time, we try, try again. We have basic things in the pantry and freezer, so that helps a lot. We don't have to go the store for every meal.

Thank you for the kind comment. We love to cook for friends. Since we make as much as we can from scratch, we can customize any dietary restrictions that they may have, so that they don't have to worry about the menu.

When will you be this way? Let us know and we'll play in the kitchen!

Carol

Google tasteatlas for recipes from all over the world (by country)

Watch out for anything that has Copper in them. Copper is a heavy metal and can be very Dangerous. You can get bad with everything but you need to be especially aware of the copper pans/etc. The copper has been reported to be found in the foods cooked in them.

I like the Titanium pans because I can use my stainless turners in them but you also need to be aware that is is also a heavy metal but not as dangerous as copper. It does less damage to the human body than copper.

I never really gave thought to what could leach from my pans. I found this article from last year about heavy metals that one may be cautious about.
https://www.deannaminich.com/toxins-...o-your-burden/

Than there's this article from the NIH that says we have dangers from heavy metals in our drinking water
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28643849

shopping with friends in Macy’s one day. The clothes lover headed for the clothes & accessories section, the home goods lover headed to towels & bedding section. Me ? I headed for the cookware & small appliances !

tranum, you sound like us. That's the first place we always head to. I don't remember the last time I actually went shopping for clothes, shoes, etc.

But, now that I've looked to see what I'm wearing today, maybe I should. :)

I'm always split between wanting the clothes or the home goods- too many dangerous likes! :) Thanks for all the input...it's definitely a good idea to be aware of coatings and leaching. @Chasing Hawk -I'm pretty sure the Tramontina brand was recommended on Consumer Reports - I'll need to re-check that one.
So far, I bought one *quite heavy* anodized pan which I seasoned along with my 3 other cast irons...so I've some 'ok' pieces for now. I'm definitely looking to increase the All-Clad and Creuset herd, maybe I'll try a Made In and see what it's like as well, and will keep an eye out for all sales and discounts! I'd forgotten the one Creuset I have was from a TJ Maxx - I'll keep my eyes peeled there for decent seconds, and sign up for All-Clad's emails! I think that having a pan with *some* weight to it seems to be most compatible with this cook top.
PM'ing you, Bags!

Chesirepat, I tried sending you a PM reply and it found errors and wouldn't send it. I will try again tomorrow! When I'm not as tired and ready to learn how to do something new! :)

Carol

I bought a set of Image Health System waterless cookware in 97 or 98 at the county fair. They are stainless steel and look as good as the day I bought them, even burned on food comes off easily and don't have to worry about surface flaking into foods. I paid around $1,000 for the set and my husband thought I was crazy but after using them for a year he took me to the fair the next year and spent around $500 on additions to the set. They have a thick flat bottom and will work on any cook surface including induction; husband doesn't think I'm so crazy anymore.

Back in November 1990, my ex-husband and I purchased a set of Cordon Bleu "waterless"
cookware.
We purchased from a "pot" party in-home demonstration for pots, and pans. My husband insisted
that I needed this cookware. I didn't think we should spend $1500.00 on it.

Almost 30 years later I'm still using this cookware and love it.

I'm always keeping an eye out for used pots and pans. It's been hit and miss. I found some good looking copper/tin items on ebay, but when I got them, I found them to be too lightweight and thin. I kept them for their look, but they're not very practical to cook with.

I just found these today: https://www.thefoundryhomegoods.com/kitchen/cookware/ They're new, but look well built and practical. Some are stainless steel and some are cast iron, both materials that I like.

~ C