Up North

My favorite pans have been a couple cheap sets one was the stainless steel set from the Family dollar 20 bucks for the set I used them till the handles fell off and got another set for 22.00 they have stainless steel handles and they do get hot but I can scrub these with steel wool and they are great pans the other favorite is the porcilen pans I used my first set for years and now have a hand me down set they do not stick and when they do an overnight soaking takes care of it. Not sure I want to adventure out. I hate the no sick pans they scratch and you can not scrub them clean

cashs_mom

Wow! Good question. I wonder if there are any?

tropit

I've often wondered that too. I have a lovely, small, French, copper, frying pan that needs re-tinning. I try not to use it much because the food is exposed directly to the copper. I should get that fixed.

Years ago, I was in K Mart and saw a set of Martha Stewart Cookware. It was the last box on the shelf and priced at only $99. I grabbed it, even though it had been previously opened. The only problem that I found afterwards is that someone had swapped out one of the lids for another. The lid that was in my box was just slightly too small for its matching, large pot. Other than that, this cookware is wonderful, works great and looks like it did the day that I bought it. I've since found another lid that fits the large pot and it looks like it belongs. I later bought a Martha Stewart set for each of my kids, but the quality was not the same. Too bad. I don't think that the kids even have theirs any more. I guessed I lucked out with my set.

I'm looking for more cookware right now. I need more pieces and the MS stuff isn't around anymore. I've thought of All Clad, but yikes! It's so expensive! I might try Ebay for some "old school" stuff. I'll look into Copper chef too.

~ C

Onebyone

I was gifted with one of the Copper Chefs but it warped, could have been my fault but my cast iron never warps. I never have an issue with sticking using my regular cookware which is All Clad. Heating metal or cast iron skillets to smoking high temp before adding oil is a must. I can cook an egg in my stainless or cast iron skillet and it will slide right out. For sticky stuff I use ionized skillet or pot. For baking using dutch ovens I like enamel cast iron. I haven't had to buy new cookware in decades. I line all my baking pans with parchment paper so no sticking at all.

Onebyone

I was given a small pot of All Clad when I got married. It was the best piece of cookware I had ever used. I watched the local high end store (no internet then) for sales and specials and would save my money just to get a piece of it. One day my DH surprised me with a complete set of it when he got a bonus at his job.

The seven piece set is about $730 on Amazon. The copper core 5 ply. If young I would say buy it, it will be the best buy for the rest of your cooking life. If your big cooking days are mostly in the past then I wouldn't invest in it, just buy a couple of pieces.

notmorecraft

I swear by my Le Crueset cast iron pans, they are at least 20 years old and still look like brand new. Worth every penny

Murphy224

I too only have the square Copper Chef pan and just like KnitnutBZ, the center is high and everything runs to the 4 corners. Rarely use it except for grilled sandwiches, not happy with it.
I bought a set of West Bend waterless cookware way back in 1967, cost a fortune in those days and have used it ever since, except for the frying pans.....they disappeared at sometime in the past and I have spent another small fortune in frying pans and skillets trying to find the "perfect pan". Wish I had the money I have spent on non-stick cookware over the years.....but I digress.
My daughter bought some All-Clad pans to replace her non-stick ones and is delighted with them. I found a set of 2 All Clad frying pans at QVC online. They were used in the on-air demos and offered for sale without a warranty and as is. I got the 8 and 10 inch All Clad both for 69.00 plus tax and free shipping! what a deal, the 8 inch pan had a few water spots that cleaned up with a quick rub of Bartenders Friend. The 10 inch didn't look like it had ever been out of the box. Been delighted with them.
For those of you are wishing for All Clad but the price is out of reach, (like me) go to All Clad's website and sign up for emails. Once a year they have a warehouse "less than perfect sale" where the prices are exceptional.
I too wonder about the copper chef pans, I don't believe there is any real copper in them at all but have no idea what that coating is.

Battle Axe

This is certainly interesting. I got my copper cookware about ??? can't remember. Then I had a Hida Scan for gall bladder function. It had that radioactive dye, (contrast dye). The next time I had my hair done, the hairdresser said: What did you do to your hair? Now it is brittle and falling out, very frizzy. I used to have thick straight hair. She says it is not growing back in..... yet.

I've had thyroid trouble in the past. Dad got us up to watch a nuclear bomb blast one a.m. We stood on the front porch and watched. Never saw a thing and we went back to bed. After that there were 4 of us that had thyroid trouble. Three (me, friend and her mom) had low thyroid, but my mom had high thyroid.

I'm just trying to make a connection and it is a loose one at that. I took thyroid meds for 33 years and finally they took me off of it. Friend is still on it. Both Moms have passed.

I bit on the $8.00 deal as I wanted the little egg cooker, so cute.

Battle Axe

Looked it up. I have all the symptoms of low copper and only some of the symptoms of high copper. Good Grief!

rryder

Copper should definitely be re-tinned if food is coming into contact with the copper. Otherwise you run the risk of the acids in any food you are cooking causing corrosion of the copper and producing toxic byproducts. Having your pot retinned will assure that it is food safe.

For most cooking involving sauces or making soups and stews or just general every day vegetable steaming or boiling I use heavy stainless steel with aluminum cores that go up the sides similar to all-clad. As long as the cores are sandwiched between stainless steel so there is no exposed aluminum or copper these can go directly into the dishwasher which saves a lot of time in kitchen cleanup.

I also have old fashioned uncoated cast iron which I love. They also clean up easily (just a quick wipe to remove residue) as long as you keep them well seasoned and they are practically indestructible. Plus you can pick them up for cheap at thrift stores because people don’t realize that they can be rejuvenated by removing rust with a wire brush and seasoning well.

Rob