New cookware suggestions?

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Aslanna
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New cookware suggestions?

Post by Aslanna »

I am looking to replace my cheapo T-Fal pots and pans for something new. The main reason being I am trying to eliminate Teflon from my diet as it can't be good for you. So something stainless steel would work. I'm not looking for anything fancy like a $300 pot someone once tried to sell me. Just something decent that will last awhile. So if you know of anything let me know.
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Post by Aabidano »

A set of the copper bottom Revere pots\pans with the glass lids will last forever, are easy to clean and inexpensive. Those and a heavy steel wok take care of nearly all my indoor cooking.

*Edit - from what I've read on teflon cookware, the temperatures where you'd get chemicals in your food are far beyond what anyone would cook at.
Last edited by Aabidano on August 25, 2005, 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Pherr the Dorf »

I like calphalon, and sets aren't bad bought online
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Post by Fairweather Pure »

Cusinart is very nice, yet affordable. It's anodized, not teflon. Not only does it cook and clean up well, it's very beautiful cookware. We recently recieved this set for a wedding gift: http://www.smallappliance.com/store/det ... 8529329847

We then went out and bought a couple extra pieces and we couldn't be happer. The set above is a nice start though.

We also got thier coffee maker, and it's the best coffe maker I've ever used. http://www.smallappliance.com/store/det ... 8529329847
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Post by Akanae »

I use a calphalon set, and like Pher said purchased online the prices aren't too bad.

Just make sure you purchase some bar keepers friend if you get a set of nice stainless steal pots. It will eliminate any "rainbow" effects.

Also All Clad are very nice pots.
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Post by Aslanna »

Thanks for the tips. Will take a look at those and see what's what.

As far as the Teflon goes, I've noticed some wear on the the stuff I have now. So you have to wonder where those Teflon paticles went... More than likely I ate them so it's probably too late for me now anyway.
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Post by Siji »

Aslanna wrote:Thanks for the tips. Will take a look at those and see what's what.

As far as the Teflon goes, I've noticed some wear on the the stuff I have now. So you have to wonder where those Teflon paticles went... More than likely I ate them so it's probably too late for me now anyway.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Aslanna »

Thread necro time!

I finally got back to this 5½ years later...

I am going with Caphalon and trying to decide between the stainless steel set and the Unison nonstick one. Not sure what that's made of but it's not Teflon but who knows what's what these days. So if anyone has experience with those feel free to share. I do like the look of the stainless more than the other but I have never cooked with it before.. Does it look nice and shiny after a few years of use? I imagine so as that's probably the 'stainless' in the name.

Either comes with a bonus utensil set and dutch oven set so that's not bad! I checked places like Amazon and they weren't any cheaper, if at all, than ordering it direct and they didn't include the bonus stuff! Well.. The Unison stuff that is. I can find the stainless for ~$120 less.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Aabidano »

Good stainless stays bright and shiny basically forever. Hit it with an SOS pad and you're good to go.

I can get stained but you've have to do something along the lines of clamping a steel bar to it and submerging it in saltwater for a few years.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Aslanna wrote:Thread necro time!

I finally got back to this 5½ years later...

I am going with Caphalon and trying to decide between the stainless steel set and the Unison nonstick one. Not sure what that's made of but it's not Teflon but who knows what's what these days. So if anyone has experience with those feel free to share. I do like the look of the stainless more than the other but I have never cooked with it before.. Does it look nice and shiny after a few years of use? I imagine so as that's probably the 'stainless' in the name.

Either comes with a bonus utensil set and dutch oven set so that's not bad! I checked places like Amazon and they weren't any cheaper, if at all, than ordering it direct and they didn't include the bonus stuff! Well.. The Unison stuff that is. I can find the stainless for ~$120 less.
I have the Unison version of their cookware and have had it for the last 5 years or so. I've been pretty happy with them and pretty much threw out every other old crappy pan I had. A friend has the stainless version and has for the past year or so. I've cooked using both and I don't know whether I like one over the other. Sometimes my in-laws have used metal forks to stir whatever they're cooking in our pots/pans and I've noticed slight lines appeared. I've heard that you can really mess up the non-stick surfaces doing so and it appears these are no exception. I have no idea if the stainless steel versions would have similar problems.

I guess based on the wife and her family not listening to me about scratching the damn pots, I might go with stainless again if I had to do it again, because I don't see any kind of marks on my friend's set. Although who knows, maybe they never use anything other than wooden spoons etc that don't scratch the crap out of things.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Now that I did a bit more research... I am pretty hesitant on the Unison line in general especially for the price. My assumption is you get what you pay for but that may not be an accurate statement in this case. Even their stainless seems a bit overpriced compared to others. I'm going to keep looking but even the more 'low-budget' brands seem to have better reviews. If I had to choose now I'd probably go with Cuisinart MCP-12 MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel. Wasn't really a brand on my radar but has mostly positive reviews (4-5 star range).
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Drolgin Steingrinder »

You really don't need nonstick except *maybe* for a pan for eggs. Unless you're doing a ton of sauces, you'd certainly be well covered with a non-stick egg pan, a non-stick saucepan, a cast iron pan and have the rest of your pots be regular SS or the like.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Boogahz »

If I didn't use non-stick, I would have lots of messes. I can't afford to replace cookware after every meal! ;)
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Yeah I've pretty much decided against non-stick in general and will probably be going with stainless steel. I don't really trust those chemicals!
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Drolgin Steingrinder »

What? You can scour nonsticks to your hearts content, most of them you can toss in the dishwasher (not your cast iron of course). Unless you cook mostly by tossing random ingredients in a pot, turn the heat to max and go eat what's in the pot when the smoke detector goes off, non sticks should be far less durable than ss/ply/copper.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by miir »

I have a non-stick slow cooker and frying pan... the rest is stainless steel.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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I just saw this on slickdeals.. The MCP-12 (linked above) is presently $240 at BeachCamera. Apparently they sell more than cameras. Anyway, use coupon code CHEFSSAVE15 to take off an additional 15% off for a total of around $205. I went ahead and ordered as that's a nice price considering the fairly consistent reviews it gets.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Seems like a solid deal.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Yeah I think so... Just passing it along in case anyone else was looking!
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Why do I keep getting white spots in my pot! I heard that was from adding salt before the water was boiling.. But I added it after today and I still got a bunch of them on the bottom. Whats the best way to get rid of them... And why do they keep showing up!
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Aslanna wrote:Why do I keep getting white spots in my pot! I heard that was from adding salt before the water was boiling.. But I added it after today and I still got a bunch of them on the bottom. Whats the best way to get rid of them... And why do they keep showing up!
Depends on what sort of pots they are. Non stainless steel and aluminum pots will get salt stains. The old housewife trick is elbow grease and a paste of water and baking powder. You might want to try swirling the water a bit when you add your salt to dissolve it faster - if there's truth to the old 'salt after boiling' thing, it's probably got to do with avoiding large bits of salt getting the direct heat from the bottom of the pan. If you want to be really anal, dissolve your salt in a tiny bit of water before you pour it in.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Drolgin Steingrinder wrote:Depends on what sort of pots they are. Non stainless steel and aluminum pots will get salt stains. The old housewife trick is elbow grease and a paste of water and baking powder. You might want to try swirling the water a bit when you add your salt to dissolve it faster - if there's truth to the old 'salt after boiling' thing, it's probably got to do with avoiding large bits of salt getting the direct heat from the bottom of the pan. If you want to be really anal, dissolve your salt in a tiny bit of water before you pour it in.
Stainless. Link a few posts above! Most of the smaller spots I was able to get rid of but there's about 3 or 4 big ones which is pretty annoying.I didn't think they'd be so hard to keep clean. I thought stainless steel meant it wouldn't get stained!
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Drolgin Steingrinder »

Sorry, didn't remember the thread. Anyway, it's either salt or calcium, or something's wrong with your product. For calcium, just use half water half vinegar and let it sit a while (or cook anything with rhubarb, the oxalic acid will make short work of any calcium staining - actually, an acidic tomato sauce would do the same). How do you clean them? Hand or dishwasher?

Are they spots or are they pits? Because if it's pitting - as in, going into the metal - then something is seriously wrong.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Drolgin Steingrinder wrote:What? You can scour nonsticks to your hearts content, most of them you can toss in the dishwasher (not your cast iron of course). Unless you cook mostly by tossing random ingredients in a pot, turn the heat to max and go eat what's in the pot when the smoke detector goes off, non sticks should be far less durable than ss/ply/copper.
Yeah okay so I should proof my posts. What I meant to say was:

You can scour NON-nonsticks to your heart's content, most of them you can toss in the dishwasher etc etc...

Sheesh.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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I wash by hand. The spots show up even if I don't add salt. The smaller ones usually go away with some vinegar but there are 3 large ones that don't want to leave. It's not a huge deal just a bit annoying. It beats eating chemicals from non-stick coating!

I still have to get used to SS though. I added some crushed garlic to my pan and it instantly stuck and started to burn. it wasn't pretty!
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Aslanna »

Followup! The spots were due to Indianapolis' shitty water and nothing to do with salt. Since I moved to Ohio I no longer have the white spots after boiling water.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

Post by Kluden »

What a great thread necro!

Me and the wife went with the calphalon triply's a handful of years back when we got out of the teflon game too. Haven't had an issue yet. Sure, the cookware stains eventually from use, but who gives a shit. its not like its a huge black stain, just not perfectly shiny silver anymore. Never got those spots...that does seem annoying.
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Re: New cookware suggestions?

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Kluden wrote:What a great thread necro!

Me and the wife went with the calphalon triply's a handful of years back when we got out of the teflon game too. Haven't had an issue yet. Sure, the cookware stains eventually from use, but who gives a shit. its not like its a huge black stain, just not perfectly shiny silver anymore. Never got those spots...that does seem annoying.
I haven't had a problem with cooking with stainless. Obviously there are some things (like eggs) that you wouldn't cook but otherwise I think people are too scared about not using nonstick. People cooked in pots and pans without teflon for hundreds of years! It's not needed.

Haven't noticed any staining on the SS yet.
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