Pots and Pans

Our cookware has evolved over the years.  The very first set of cookware we had was Wear Ever, purchased by my wife to be, from a door to door salesman.  It was excellent cookware but wasn't designed to be put in a dishwasher.  Dishwashers weren't common in the sixties.  As they became more common and we eventually got one, we pretty much wiped out our cookware by putting it in the dishwasher. 

Our next set of cookware was Circulon.  We purchased a ten piece set about twenty or twenty- five years ago, when Circulon was first coming out.  It was relatively high end at the time, but has since been surpassed, in my view, by Calphalon as the brand of choice if you are into non-stick pans.  The Circulon did a fine job of cooking, but if you recall, the non stick surface consisted of concentric rings of non-stick coating in the pans with an anodized finish on the exterior.  Food tended to get stuck in between the rings and made the pans hard to clean and keep looking nice.  The stovetop pans did not have metal handles and were limited to low temperature uses in the oven. I just replaced the last one of those skillets that I was still using. 

I got my first All-Clad pan about ten or fifteen years ago, and have become pretty much of an All-Clad devotee ever since.  The best selling line of All-Clad is stainless steel.  It is triple ply with a layer of aluminum in the core to promote even heating and conduction.  The stainless surface of the pans is hard and tough.  It cleans easily and is dishwasher safe. You can keep the exteriors looking like new with an occasional cleaning with Bar Keeper's Friend.  These pans conduct heat more evenly than any I have ever used. They can be used on any type of cooking surface, including induction. Copper pans are great for even heating but the handles get really hot, and they are a bear to keep looking nice.  All-Clad handles are riveted on and they stay relatively cool while being used on the stove top. I never need a mitt.  These pans can also go directly into the oven or broiler.  Overall, I think the durability, functionality,  and flexibility of  All-Clad stainless pans beats everything else in the marketplace.  All-Clad offers other lines, including Copper Core, Brushed Stainless, D-5, etc.  All are more expensive than the basic stainless line, and in my view, the advantage of each of these lines is not offset by the extra cost or the loss of flexibility.   For example, the Copper Core line may conduct heat slightly better than the stainless steel line, but not enough to offset the extra cost.
 
I have built my All-Clad collection a pan at a time.  Even the stainless steel line, which is the least expensive All-Clad alternative is expensive.  Most pans range somewhere from $100 to $300+.  You can save by starting with a ten piece set, but it may not have the range of pans you are looking for. Retail price on that set is around $1300.  As I said earlier, I have built my collection of pans over a number of years.  I watch for sales and as an example, I just bought a 12" stainless non-stick fry pan with a lid, for $119 at Williams Sonoma.  List price was $260.  It was a special promotion and had another 20% off of the promotional price.  Taking this approach to collecting my pans has taken some time, but I have almost everything I want at this point.  I generally have a pan of some nature on my Christmas wish list. This year it will be a three quart sauce pan. (then "I promise I am done") The stainless All-Clad line comes with a lifetime warranty and is made in America.

My favorite pan is my Braising pan. It is in essence a large fry pan, with a domed lid, that is very useful for everything from sautéing to frying to actual braising.  I use this pan almost daily either on the stove top or in the oven.  It is really great for browning meat on the stove and then transferring the pan directly into the oven to finish cooking.

I have several other skillet type pans including a 12" covered sauté pan, 8" and 12 " fry pans with non stick interiors, and a 12"  standard fry pan.  The stainless All-Clad non-stick pans are great for omelets, or fish or other delicate foods that you don't want to stick to the pan.   I also have 2 and 4 quart sauce pans, with a steamer basket for the 4 quart one.  I have a large pasta pot with steamer and strainer inserts.  I love all of these pans, but as you can see we haven't invested in a roaster or any of the other baking type pans.  We still have a beautiful roasting pan that came with our set of Circulon, and I am not willing to spend close to $400 to  replace it with All-Clad.  It is a less frequently used pan at our house and not worth the investment. 

In addition to my All-Clad, I have a couple of other pans that I use frequently.  One is a large Lodge cast iron skillet. This is like the old black skillet your grandmother used to use to fry the Sunday chicken.  If you want to caramelize onions or get a great blackened crust on some redfish, there is nothing quite like a Lodge cast iron pan.  You can sear a steak in one on the stove top and set it directly into a 500 degree oven to finish off the steak. They come in a multitude of sizes and I think everybody should have at least one.  They are made in America and will be heirlooms.

I also have a large (7QT.) Le Creuset Dutch Oven. These pans are made in France.  They are cast iron that is coated with enamel.  The cast iron distributes heat evenly over the entire surface of the pan and retains heat and moisture.  The enamel finish makes them easy to clean.  This pan would be the other reason I haven't invested in an All-Clad roaster.  For doing short ribs or other cuts of meat that need to cook for a long time with lots of moisture and low temps the Le Creuset Dutch oven is hard to beat. You can even bake bread in it, if you are into that sort of thing.  I love to use it to make Paella.  The rice, chicken and seafood come out moist and cooked just right.  The main downside of this type of pan is that it is extremely heavy.  I have the largest size and it takes both hands to lift it.  They are also quite expensive.  A two quart size retails for about $200 and the largest size $360.

Any good cook will tell you that you need a very small sauce pan in which to make sauces.  Often referred to as a saucier these pans are generally about one quart and often don't have lids.  I have a nice Calphalon stainless steel one that my wife picked up at T.J. Maxx. 

So there you have it.  Unintentionally, I have selected specific pans for specific uses.  Mostly they are All-Clad, but not all.   Some are used almost daily and some infrequently, but each one has a use and that is why I keep them.  I don't want to add up what I have spent on pans over the years, but each one has been worth it.  Come to think of it,the total may be less than I have spent on golf balls.  I lose them and I have never lost a pan.