What brand of cookware do you own?

[renovation]

this is becouse my wife saids it really make a difference.

[chrissy]

Princess House Stainless Steel.

It does make a difference.

[renovation]

she has Calphalon pot and pans . i just finished off her set for her (ok i think i did ) this stuff cost me a ton .last year she didnt want to tell me when she spent $80 for one pan. now she owns 12 asst pots and pans by them plus a bunch of glass lids.

[oblongmelon]

I have alot of Griswold Cast Iron, but I recently bought a set of Kitchen Aid RED pots and pans...not sure if I like them better than my Farberware that I've had for ages.

[oblongmelon]

Princess House Stainless Steel.

It does make a difference.
I didn't know Princess House had cookware!
I remember going to the PH parties that everyone used to give and picking up some beautiful crystal!..I haven't seen or heard of anyone selling PH for ages!

[GraingerGuy]

Analon...and I'm really liking it.

[chrissy]

I sold it for a while to buy my stainless steel! I L-O-V-E the cookware. (I love my cast iron too, but I tend to only use it every so often.

Check out the website. (and I think you can contact a consultant via the site) They have some very nice stoneware too (and the new stuff comes out in January)

[Daedalus]

It seems all restaurants use cheap, stamped aluminum saute pans. I know there are differences, but how much do they really matter to the dish that's served?

[renovation]

It seems all restaurants use cheap, stamped aluminum saute pans. I know there are differences, but how much do they really matter to the dish that's served? this im not sure .but when it comes across the forehead i think i rather it be aluminum then cast iron :)

[gear02]

It seems all restaurants use cheap, stamped aluminum saute pans. I know there are differences, but how much do they really matter to the dish that's served?

Yeah, I've always wanted to go to a restaurant supply store to get some of their pans, pots, and sheet pans. I think they are cheap compared to the stuff people buy at home, but I look at it like golf clubs. Hackers (like me) get those uber fancy stuff to help us with our game while the pros just get good quality blades. Same for chefs I think. They're so skilled they can just use good pans, but without the fancy gadgets and be ok with it.

Also, I think we at home buy certain pans because they hold the heat in better, but I think in restaurants they don't have that problem because their burners are 100x hotter than ours at home.

[Daedalus]

To me it's just a matter of adjusting to the differences. I worked in restaurants for 6 years, including a year in a couple kitchens. I recognize the differences between the restaurant cookware and what I use at home, but there's no difference in the food that's served. The restaurant pans are just a lot less messy...because the dishwasher guy washes them. :D BTW I'm fine with my gas stove at home, but I don't know how my parents can make good food on their electric range.

[ray]

On Daedalus' point, electric stoves SUCK compared to gas stoves.

I use anything that's stick-free. Makes my cleaning up so much easier.

[Jeffbx]

:stupid:

I'd cook with gas in a cheap pan WAY before I'd cook with electric & a great pan.

[gear02]

To me it's just a matter of adjusting to the differences. I worked in restaurants for 6 years, including a year in a couple kitchens. I recognize the differences between the restaurant cookware and what I use at home, but there's no difference in the food that's served. The restaurant pans are just a lot less messy...because the dishwasher guy washes them. :D BTW I'm fine with my gas stove at home, but I don't know how my parents can make good food on their electric range.

What are the differences? Is it worth going to a restaurant supply store and using the pans they sell?

[oblongmelon]

wasn't it discovered a while back that cooking in aluminum pans increases the chances of Alzheimer's disease? Eh..never bothered me! Where was I?

[gear02]

wasn't it discovered a while back that cooking in aluminum pans increases the chances of Alzheimer's disease? Eh..never bothered me! Where was I?

or that non-stick pans causes cancer?

[Layla]

Wolfgang Puck stainless steel. Not super expensive. Work well. Easy clean-up. I have a few cast iron pieces, but I just don't do well with them.

[baggio248]

We have All Clad Stainless. They are amazing pots and pans. We also own 2 nonstick pans and a nonstick wok, and the essential cast iron frying pan.

[Daedalus]

What are the differences? Is it worth going to a restaurant supply store and using the pans they sell?
I prefer home cookware overall. Restaurant pans are just lighter and heat up a lot faster. You can actually tell the difference between a new pan and an old one that has a lot of carbon built up on the bottom of it. They are great in the fast-paced environment of a restaurant, where you may need to turn over 50 disher/burner in single shift. Plus their weight makes doing the job possible. If they were heavy like home cookware, cooks would probably all be on medical leave with carpal tunnel syndrome. They're bare, and I much prefer non-stick pans. In a restaurant that's OK because the pans don't sit around long enough for the food to get caked on. Something else that's unintended but a big difference, at least in the Italian restaurant I worked in, is that over time, the pans actually deform, so they get rounded or cupped from the constant heat and sagging at the center of the burner. It's a good place to saute the "mix" with just a little oil before adding the sauce. With a flat pan it takes a bit more time and effort because only part of the mix is in the oil at any given time. When new pans come in cooks always reach for the older ones first.

[RIVERWIDOW]

Revere with cooper bottoms. but I do have 2 cephalon woks that I really like.

[renovation]

Revere with cooper bottoms.
thats what the wife had for last 25 plus years .she wanted and got it as wedding presents.

[zippyjuan]

Especially on electric, pans with thinner bottoms tend to not heat very evenly and burn more easily. Stainless is very easy to clean but slower to heat so they often have copper or aluminum added to the base to help draw and distribute heat.

[InfiniteNothing]

I like the semidiscontinued Calphalon Pro line. It seems to have the best nonstick surface. It has really pretty handles that are hollow so they aren't too hot. I also feel like it's more forgiving. If you don't heat up the oil properly or don't defrost all the way, it seems some how harder to mess up your food. I also have one of their hard anodized non-nonstick pans. Seems to have good thermal properties (thermal mass, heat transfer, etc)

[Mommypooh]

I have Circulon I think is how it is spelled. I love them. I also am a T-Fal fan. I used those at home when I lived with my mom and just bought her a new set for Christmas. She was super excited.

[Napoleon54]

I've had a couple of Calphalon's cheaper pans (like $35-range) for maybe 3 years and I'm a bit ticked that the coating is starting to peel. I thought they were anodized. I have an 3 1/2 quart anodized Anolon pot with a straining lid that I absolutely love.

Favorite cookware, though, is the cast iron frying pan that is always on the stove and never gets washed... just occasionally scraped clean then oiled and salted. It has a flavor all of its own.

And I 100 million % agree with the criticism of electric ranges. Hate hate hate electric, gas is SOOOO much better to cook and bake with. Bleh!!!! Electric range has been THE major criticism I've had with my current and former apartments. I'm thinking about asking my landlord if I can replace the ancient electric range with a gas one. I'd volunteer to run the gas line myself and would be willing to split the cost of the stove with them if that's what it would take.

[InfiniteNothing]

Anyone use induction? I heard that's a pretty spiffy way of heating a pot up

[RIVERWIDOW]

thats what the wife had for last 25 plus years .she wanted and got it as wedding presents.

Just celebrated 34 years om the 23rd and some of the small pots were wedding gifts.:)

[gwilks98]

I wish I could tell you what brand I use, I can't. However, I can tell you what brands I don't use: anything from a grocer. Everything I've ever bought from the grocery store has come back to haunt me in the form of rust or quick breakdown.

Even pampered chef products have done this.

I would say yes, it makes a difference just like it makes a difference when you buy crap electronics vs. high end.

When dealing with food, stay away from cheap. You don't want crap seeping into your food.