My hubby and I have been married 4 and a half years. We got a set of pots and pans from a walmart christmas special. They are now warped and never cook well.
I don’t have LOADS of money to spend but does anyone that does cook have a good recommendation of a good pots/pans set? I cook to get the job done, but don’t spend hours cooking.
Thanks!
~danielle~
I don’t have the whole set, but I really like the Rachael Ray pots and pans. I think they sell them at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I got mine at Marshall’s though for a lot less money.
There are some great ones out there, but they are expensive. My DD1 has some from Ikea that have lasted her a long time. My other DD2 just moved out and we got her some from there, too. The thing to look for is a good solid pan. Some are not well made at all which is apparently what you have now.
They have some good info about them in general here. The various types are across the bottom of the screen.
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/rooms_ideas/pots_and_pans/index.html
This is the set we got DD2. These were some of the least expensive, but they really seem like they are well made. Note- her boyfriend turned up the heat (gas) way too high and the handle started to melt. No one needs to cook at that temp though so it hasn’t been a problem since.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70082337
If you can afford it these look like a really nice set.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30101168
You might check out the Cook’s Essentials on QVC. I’ve had many different brands of cookware, cheap to expensive, and find I prefer this brand. You can buy set(s) or only those you use the most, which is what I did over a period of time. They are heavy duty and a breeze to clean.
Are you anywhere near a Costco? Ours has sets from $89 on up to $249.00.
A friends daughter took her Rachel Ray set back, didn’t have the quality of her mom’s stainless steel. I’ve always bought ours as we needed them, none of them match.
Personally all I will cook in is cast iron skillets and Revere Ware. Currently I have their entire copper bottom series but I have been told that there new insulated line is very nice as well.
Whatever you do DO NOT get Visions or anything glass as the specific heat of glass is so high that most things will burn to the bottom in the blink of an eye.
I have had all kinds over the years and my favorite are my iron skillets, a VERY close second is my Emeril Cookware. It is NOT non-stick. But all that Teflon is not good for you. I know you have all seen where it’s flaked off of the pan and that means it’s getting in your food… not good.
I have, but rarely use Cook’s Essentials anymore. They were ok, but just haven’t held up like I thought the price should have them.
I’ve never gotten the opportunity to do it myself but when our set finally wears out (won’t take long if we keep putting them in the dishwasher on “accident”:teehee: ) I don’t want to buy a whole set again. I’m talking about the kind that comes in a box with 3-4 pots and pans of various sizes and like… 2 lids that don’t fit. I just want to get one large skillet, one small skillet, one medium pot and one big pot, and I want to get something nice like cast iron or copper-bottom. And lids to fit!! We never use several of the sizes that came with the whole set and the quality of the set is not very good. They’re all right, but I’d rather spend the money and get something that won’t wear out.
And I can’t stress how much I want lids! 
I’m tired of having to put a plate over my skillets!
Another cast iron vote.
I mostly use cast iron.
Good ones have even heating and heat retention (which has good and bad points when cooking). If you scratch the non-stick coating, since you put it there you can replace it. Once broken in they’re as non-stick as teflon without the worries. No need to worry about high heat releasing fumes and killing your pet birds or getting into your kid’s bloodstream.
You can cook with them anywhere (deep dish pizza in a skillet is great). They don’t mind going camping and being thrown on a fire.
Even if you don’t go all cast iron there are things that do better. Blackened fish would destroy teflon after a few uses and warp other metals. Making perfect sunny side up eggs in a cast iron skillet with a lid is fool proof once you get the timing.
I’m obscessed, a few of these are only made on special runs or not made at all now like the loaf pans and tea kettle.
There’s also pizza pans and a 2 burner griddle stored in the stove and a few more in cabinets.
And they’ll give you a reason to knit. The best thing I’ve found for clean up is knitted/crocheted wash cloths.
Other than iron I have a couple stainless steel sauce pots because high acid foods don’t do well in cast iron.
And an aluminum pressure cooker.
I can’t use cast iron…they are toooo heavy for me. I have a nice set of Revere Ware, but they weren’t cheap. I’ve had them for at least 10 yrs and they still look like new.
Mine are like these, but I don’t have any non-stick or teflon. All stainless.
http://www.revereware.com/index.asp?pageId=94&pid=349
Personally all I will cook in is cast iron skillets and Revere Ware
I have my Dad’s cast iron skillets, and I cherish them with each use. That man could put together a four course meal using them along with one Revere copper clad 2 qt. saucepan. Our 2 qt. RW copperclad saucepan was left in a home we aquired. No telling how old it was then, but it’s 35 years older now and still going strong. I do have one Teflon type skillet that I use for crepes, and a large oval Le Cruset ‘Dutch oven’. I find my assortment of pans hilarious as I’m often described as a ‘gourmet’ cook.
I have a set of Revere that I got for my wedding 16 years ago but I could kick myself for not taking my MIL’s copper bottom Revere when we were cleaning out her estate. I don’t think I was thinking right at the time.
As far as Teflon coated, I have two Berndes pans that I love. The trick with Teflon coated is not to use it on a heat source higher than medium. Mine will heat up sufficiently on medium to brown most things. http://www.berndes-cookware.com/ I’ve had mine for years with no scratching, flaking or warping.
I had a set of cast iron, I hated them. I’ve always heard such great things about them but mine never did season and they were too heavy for my hands and a pain to clean. I’d like to maybe buy one nice cast iron pan again and retry because I do believe they could be a benefit in some cooking situations.
Emeril’s has copper in the bottom, it’s not right on the bottom. It comes in different sizes. And with lids, nice lids you can see through. And the lids don’t break easily, my 5 yo puts the dishes away and has dropped them MANY times and they are all great and fit WONERFULLY. If you don’t want cast iron I’d go with Emeril.
You can’t cook when you can’t put things on high. In fact the reason that most people don’t get food like you can in good restutants is that we can’t get our stoves up as high as they can. (And I’m not talking about Applebee’s and other chains)
It just doesn’t seem to make sense to me to not cook on high when that is what is needed.
Oh and also with the Emeril’s the handles are not plastic so you can put them in the oven if you need to. That makes it nice when you have a recipe that calls for cooking it on the stove first and then in the oven, don’t have to switch pans.
Yep, you’re not going to blacken a fish unless the pan is smoking (literally).
When stir frying I cannot get the needed heat to add more than small amounts at a time.
The flame the Chinese restaurant next to where I worked had a campfire sized flame under their wok.
They say 500°F for Teflon to break down but I have my doubts if it doesn’t happen lower. Even so, that rules it out for some of my bakeware.
Even if you don’t use high heat there’s always the empty pan that is forgotten on the lit burner. I think that’s how most people kill their birds. The 500° doesn’t explain why so many Americans have PFOA in their systems when they’re nowhere near a manufacturing plant using it.
If I’m going to get something extra from my pans I’d rather it be iron.
Pots and pans are a personal preference. It is not necessary to get an entire set if you don’t cook that often. But I highly suggest you get a decent priced item so you won’t be finding yourself in this situation later on down the road. A good piece of cookware should last you a long time. If you like to bake goods you should get one that you can transfer from stove to oven. If you live by a factory outlet, you can look there. Caphalon Factory Outlet stores have seconds that you look to build your own “set” from. I suggest you pick what you really think you would use most. You may even luck out at a factory outlet and get a decent priced set, set.
I am unaware of what Rachel Ray’s cookware is like. I heard / read mixed reviews about Emeril’s cookware even though it is subsidary to All-Clad. I’ve read that Kirkland brand (Costco) is pretty decent in the oven and on the stove. [according to consumer reports]
You can either go with.
Cast Iron is quite low maintenance really. Provided you keep it seasoned properly.
Stainless Steel: Look for an 18/10 gauge for sturdiness.
Hard Anodized is like teflon, only it doesn’t have the chemicals that will peel off.
Cooking wise, one should preheat the pan at med-high heat. It is not recommended to cook on high heat unless you need to sear meat.
HTH.
I have had my Farberware for over 30 years. It is constructed similar to Revereware, but has an aluminum bottom instead of copper. When I bought it, it was less expensive than Revereware, but it has held up well. I bought a basic set and the lid from the large saucepan fits the small skillet and the lid from the 6 qt pot fits the large skillet. I have purchased a couple of other pieces over the years to fill a specific need, but see no reason to replace the set ever.
I don’t know, the extra weight around my girth shows I can cook just fine. :roflhard:
I’ve never been a big one to burn my kitchen up with lots of smoke and fire. I cook with gas, get a nice pan warmed up and then brown things. My stove is a professional stove so I think that makes a little difference. If I put that thing on high I’ll incinerate anything. I guess it depends upon preference. I cook with both teflon coated and my Revere and a few other pots and pans that I’ve collected here and there. Each has it’s own special use.
Cookware like purses and wallets is a personal thing, find what you like and use it. If you hate it, it’s just going to sit in your cabinet collecting dust. There really is no right or wrong and the reason restaurant food tastes so darn good is because of the stuff they put in it like a half a pound of butter to saute!:happydance:
I love my stainless steel pots and pans. They are an off brand that we got at Sam’s it seems like ages ago. It shouldn’t matter what brand anything is as long as they have good heavy bottoms, handles are attached well and the materials are something you like to cook with. Do check out the clubs like Sams and Costco though. They tend to have pretty good deals on cookware.
Cast iron is too heavy for my wrists, also. However, I’ve been using 2 hard anodized pieces of cookware - one skillet and one 3 quart pot by Wearever for the last couple of years. They are the very best non-stick cookware I’ve ever used. They are nice heavy pans/pots, but not as heavy as cast iron…probably more like cast aluminum. Wish I’d had them when I first got married 43 years ago.