I have the All-Clad stainless.I don't know if All-Clad do specifically... I just know it's possible with some stainless cookware, as they do contain nickel.
Nice cookware - what the hell about leeching nickel?
All clad is fucking amazing, but you pay for it. And if you can afford all clad, you can afford Mauviel and de Buyer, both of which are nicer.I think Mauviel is outside my price range, yikes. de Buyer doesn't seem to necessarily cost more so I'm looking into that, thanks.
I have some cast iron that is tough to work with if you don't know heat.
Le Creuset is really good for in oven stuff, but i woulds till rather have a full mauviel set for the range.Electric at the moment... it's a pretty shitty stove in our rental. Le Creuset for in the oven stuff and a stainless set for the range seems like it might be a good plan.
Do you have gas or electric?
Get all clad or de buyer for electric. they heat the most evenly so hot spots are minimized. you don't want cast iron or you'll end up with half burnt food.Aha, thanks.
you don't want cast iron or you'll end up with half burnt food
All clad is fucking amazing, but you pay for it. And if you can afford all clad, you can afford Mauviel and de Buyer, both of which are nicer.Mauvie?! Wow, man, you're a culinary pimp.
I have some cast iron that is tough to work with if you don't know heat.
Really? You're lucky then. A lot of stoves have hot spots on the burner that suck for cast iron.When I first moved out, I went the restaurant supply store route since I was making entry level income and had other expenses to take care of like furniture and stuff. I collected All Clad stuff, piece by piece, though. Same with my knives, which are Wusthof. I'm looking to get a damascus steel blade. Those puppies are so nice, but pricey.
ps. i have shit collected from restaurant supply stores on the cheap. no brand names or anything because every chef i know who cooks professionally uses the same thing, but it sounds like patrickula has specific needs.
My uncle has the full Mauviel set, but he's a cancer researcher.
you should never have to buy another set distant.I agree. My wusthof's have been very good to me. I got another set of knives when I started culinary school. It came with a paring, chef's, santoku, filet, boning, steel, some other knives.
rman: spending the money on a good set of knoves was the best kitchen investment ever.
Anyone have any advice?
Already have one ;)Anyone have any advice?
Find a woman. ;)
my mom used to work for le creuset and as a result her kitchen is filled with le creuset pots, pans, and other cooking accessories.
she loves them and my experience using them was very good as well. i love how, since they are cast iron, that they cook everything super evenly and stay hot for a very long time. my parents have a gas stove so when you combine that with the awesome le creuset cookware it's pretty much your ideal cooking situation, something you'd expect the pro chefs to use.
the pots also all come with a LIFETIME warranty so if anything happens to them at any point in your life you don't have to worry about buying a replacement. even just that partly justifies the very high cost.
also, as far as i know, they still manufacture everything in france, or at least they did when my mother worked there. so you're not paying top dollar for some shitty chinese sweatshop manufacturing. these pots are made to last, man. my mom would constantly hear stories of them being passed down in the family after someone died. the pot will probably outlive you.
of course they're not gonna magically make your food taste any better, but if you're serious about cooking and you want to buy pots just ONCE that will last you for your entire goddamn lifetime (and possibly get passed on to your children) then look no further than le creuset.
one con: they are HEAVY. especially the big pieces. sometimes they are a problem for elderly people to deal with. shouldn't be too much of a deal for you though.yeah for electric you should go with stainless steel. i stand by le creuset however for the oven stuff. :):wtf ???
whatever you decide, you've made a good choice to invest in quality cookware. i'd also like to do this for our kitchen when we have the money. right now the best pot we have is a kuhn rikon (http://www.kuhnrikon.com/products/duro/group.php3?id=3) double-walled durotherm saucepan. it's amazing, though. but sooo expensive.
i didn't know you knew so much about cookware. does that mean you're gonna start cooking now? with "our" pots? :P
Looks like I'll be getting one of the All-Clad MC2 sets after Christmas then, thanks everyone!
There's one off the metro on my way home from work, I'll have to take a look, thanks for the advice.Looks like I'll be getting one of the All-Clad MC2 sets after Christmas then, thanks everyone!
If you have a Macy's near you, I'd consider getting them there. They have All-Clad on sale all the time and they typically offer extra pieces to go along with the set.
I'll just stick with my Wallmart. $20 bargin bin "Teflon-peels-off and I might die if I consume it" pots and pans :'(
I'll just stick with my Wallmart $20 bargin bin "Teflon-peels-off and I might die if I consume it" pots and pans :'(
I'll just stick with my Wallmart $20 bargin bin "Teflon-peels-off and I might die if I consume it" pots and pans :'(
upgrade to rachael ray brand!
I cook basically everything I eat in a giant cast iron pan. It was my great grandmother's, then my grandmother's, then my mother's, and now it is mine.
It is, quite easily, the best, most useful, versatile, dependable, indispensable piece of cooking equipment I own.
I cannot recommend enough that you purchase a cast iron pan, season it properly, and provide it adequate maintenance (I guarantee the cast iron pan will require less maintenance than any other pan you own.) In return, it will embarrass your other cookware on a regular basis for the rest of your life, and should you choose to breed, it will do so for your children, and your children's children.
Damn, I wish I were a partner at a law firm or an investment bank (well, maybe not an investment banker at the moment) so I could afford awesome cookware like this and high quality ingredients to cook in them.
Damn, I wish I were a partner at a law firm or an investment bank (well, maybe not an investment banker at the moment) so I could afford awesome cookware like this and high quality ingredients to cook in them.
Or get married and put them on your wedding registry. :P
Put it on the stove. Turn the heat to medium. Wait 5 minutes. Scrape anything sticky up with a spatula. Scoop anything loose out with a paper towel. You're done.I cook basically everything I eat in a giant cast iron pan. It was my great grandmother's, then my grandmother's, then my mother's, and now it is mine.
It is, quite easily, the best, most useful, versatile, dependable, indispensable piece of cooking equipment I own.
I cannot recommend enough that you purchase a cast iron pan, season it properly, and provide it adequate maintenance (I guarantee the cast iron pan will require less maintenance than any other pan you own.) In return, it will embarrass your other cookware on a regular basis for the rest of your life, and should you choose to breed, it will do so for your children, and your children's children.
Really? I find mine is a pain in the ass to clean. Just wiping it doesn't get all the food off, and scraping it takes the seasoning off.
Damn, I wish I were a partner at a law firm or an investment bank (well, maybe not an investment banker at the moment) so I could afford awesome cookware like this and high quality ingredients to cook in them.
Or get married and put them on your wedding registry. :P
Clearly you missed THAT thread
Put it on the stove. Turn the heat to medium. Wait 5 minutes. Scrape anything sticky up with a spatula. Scoop anything loose out with a paper towel. You're done.I cook basically everything I eat in a giant cast iron pan. It was my great grandmother's, then my grandmother's, then my mother's, and now it is mine.
It is, quite easily, the best, most useful, versatile, dependable, indispensable piece of cooking equipment I own.
I cannot recommend enough that you purchase a cast iron pan, season it properly, and provide it adequate maintenance (I guarantee the cast iron pan will require less maintenance than any other pan you own.) In return, it will embarrass your other cookware on a regular basis for the rest of your life, and should you choose to breed, it will do so for your children, and your children's children.
Really? I find mine is a pain in the ass to clean. Just wiping it doesn't get all the food off, and scraping it takes the seasoning off.
Anyone have opinions on cooking stones?
My wife has one that looks like a pizza server and another that looks like a cookie sheet, but they are almost a half inch thick of what looks like unfinished ceramic. They can't be touched by soap. You are just supposed to scrape off the excess.
I use my cooking stones all the time. they are the best thing bar none for bread.
Having a hot stone will normalize the topping crust dillemma