Q & A About Cookware

admin answers:

No such thing in there for low price and quality is fair traded (same price everywhere) real cooks rarely use non-stick coated pans, cast iron enameled, big price, save up and only buy what you are truly going to use.

admin answers:

If you cook quite a bit, or think you may be getting into cooking, don’t buy Cook’s Tools. They are cheap, lightweight, and won’t retain heat well.  As a rule of thumb, pick up the 3 qt sized piece in any set of pots and pans. If it doesn’t feel pretty heavy, don’t buy the set. Look for sets in the $200 range that have metal handles and have some heft to them.

If you REALLY like to cook, $300-$400 will get you a fantastic set that cooks noticeably better.

But that Cooks Tools set is for rental houses and college kids who are just heating up canned ravioli. Check out Sams’, Costco, or Bed Bath and Beyond for good, even great cookware at a decent price. Heck, even QVC and HSN have some pretty okay stuff.

Look for “hard anodized”, oven safe, metal stay cool handles, lifetime warranty, and a nonstick that is also nonTeflon.

Good pans make an enormous difference in how and what you cook. It’s really worth it.

admin answers:

I would definitely contact them!

admin answers:

Http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=101936259 – go to that site. We hope that helped and GO TO google.com and put the name of the product.  If you’d like to see the picture go to the images AREA.

admin answers:

The bottom line is to think about your personal needs, and purchase only those items that you will use on a regular basis.

Most of us cook, and maybe we do not love trying to decide “what is for dinner”, but there are some things that will help you make the experience more pleasurable. For nearly 30 years I cooked with an assortment of hand me down pans. I was happy to get what someone didn’t want, and then one day I actually bought a set of some generic brand from Sears. It had a good assortment of pots and pans, but still it was nothing special. It was hard to clean, and frankly I had more pieces than I needed.

Still, I would add a piece or two, something that I probably did not need, but the price was right. Frankly, I had a real hodgepodge assortment, and more pieces than I really even needed to do the job. All of this “stuff” was taking space in a cabinet, and most of it was not used very often, even though I cooked regularly for a family of six.

So what was wrong? Well, I had too many pieces that actually were near duplicates of the other. For example I had two similar stockpots, and one would have done the job just fine. Finally I decided it was time to get serious about cooking, and do major pot cleaning out, and start over.

For some years I had looked at the high-end cookware like Calphalon, All Clad and Berndes. It bothered me to spend around $300 for a set of cookware when I already had more than enough, but finally decided that the time had come, and broke down and ordered a set that had most of the pieces that I thought I would need.

I considered this a starter set which consisted of an 8 qt stock pot with lid, 3 1/2 qt sauce pot with lid which I have found to be in constant use in my kitchen. There were two omelet/frying pans, one 10” and the other 6”. Also included was a “Windsor” pan, which is somewhat like a saucepan, only larger. It is rather unusually shaped, as it is smaller at the bottom than at the top. That was my basic set. I decided to add a 1 1/2-qt saucepan as nothing was that small in my set, and it was a perfect size for all the odd jobs.

I felt like I was pretty well set. Everything had a purpose, and there was not the duplication of products. I put all of my mix and match old collection in the garage, gave some of it away, and only use the Calphalon cookware. For the first year, I kept strictly with the pieces that I had. Which was a total of seven not counting the lids. I have since added a 2 1/2-qt shallow saucepan and one extra 1qt saucepan. These pieces all work well for me, have little duplication of purpose, and provide excellent cookware.

So how does this help you choose a cookware set? Simple! Think about the pieces that you need. For example, you are not going to need some large things if you are cooking for just two. On the other hand, your needs will be different if you have a large family. Be sure and purchase good quality merchandise. If you consider that you may spend a little more, but own cookware with a lifetime guarantee, there are no questions about having to replace it.

Be sure and shop around for the best prices. Our daughter just started setting up her first apartment, and I sent her four basic pieces of Calphalon from Amazon.com for a little over $100. Each piece has a separate use, and when you consider $25 average cost per item, that is a great start on lifetime cookware.

My recommendation is spend a little more, get the pieces you will use, and most of all, get a wall pot rack to hang them on. I purchased such an item for about $70, which holds all my Calphalon, plus has a place on the top for the lids. This gives me easy access, and saves tremendous cabinet space.

Hope this has been of some help when you consider how to put a cookware set to your best use.

admin answers:

I like Tramontina. You can type the name in your search bar to go to their site for styles and prices.

admin answers:

I take it by 8 pieces, they mean 4 pots and 4 lids.  I had a cheap T-fal set from Wal-Mart 13 years ago and they’re still working fine, although the paint has come off the outside.  But we got a 20 piece non-stick set from Costco 3 years ago which is absolutely great. That was about $90.

admin answers:

I have my peach-fronted Conure and Quaker parakeet on opposite sides of my kitchen doorway in my apartment, and I use Corning French White and Visionware cookware, as well as good old cast iron.  There are some really attractive enamel-coated cast iron pots, pans, and skillets that heat evenly, and you can spray them with PAM, which helps a lot. I believe the Calphalon Anodized Aluminum pans are safe.  I also have stainless steel-coated cast iron cookware which is great, too.  But I do shy away from ANY “nonstick” cookware, because I couldn’t forgive myself if one of my flock were to die because of the fumes.  Hope this helps some.

admin answers:

Getting “good” pans and having things not stick are usually two different questions.

As for things sticking, most pans will work if the right technique is used (…also, non-stick pans should work unless a lot of their non-stick material has come off –those should be thrown away anyway).

The most common things that people do “wrong” when they have sticking problems are:
…not letting the pan heat enough before adding the oil
…not letting the oil heat enough before adding the meat/poultry/etc.
…crowding the pan too much, which lowers the temperature
…moving the food before it’s cooked long enough to be able to release naturally–after carmelizing (browning) on its surface.
You can see some of what I’m talking about in this video:
http://rouxbe.com/cooking-school/lessons/170-pan-frying (…there are 8 short parts to this total video, but they’ll each play automatically in sequence)

As for the brands of cookware, the biggest thing is getting pans that are thick enough on the bottom to keep from overheating on the bottom, and which won’t warp.  Cheaper pans are usually made from thinnish aluminum so they don’t work the best.  More expensive pans may be stainless steel and have an extra layer of metal (sandwiched aluminum & stainless steel) on the bottom which helps keeps that from happening.
Cast iron is wonderful but it isn’t “washed” the same way most pans are, and has to be lightly coated with oil between uses to keep it from rusting.
Also, different kinds of “non-stick” surfaces can be better or worse, though none of them will last forever (..personally, the only pan I have that’s non-stick anymore is an 8-in “omelet pan” because eggs/omelets really need a non-stick surface–unless you don’t mind using a lot of fat in a regular pan, and I do).

Here are many links that discuss how to buy cookware to get the best one for you (there’s seldom any one best though, but are some guidelines):

http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+choose+cookware

Diane B.

admin answers:

If you’re willing to go vintage/antique you can’t beat Griswold — but you’ll pay nearly 3x the price as the same sized Lodge.

Wagner goes a bit cheaper and is still very good — equally as difficult to find.

If you only want new than I’d also go with Lodge, pretty sure they’re the only ones still making cast iron in the U.S. — they are usually found in high end hardware stores with a camping section.

Visit antique stores near you or estate sales for the Griswold.  My mom says to mention that she inherited her set and it has been handed down three times and still is in new shape.