All Clad is the first choice. Still made in USA. Rachel Ray is the choice if budget matters more. I have both. The Rachael Ray pots and pans are lighter weight but have held up well.
Frying pan dilemma
- Thread starter SZR48207
- Start date
Calphalon for nonstick.
All-Clad for stainless.
Cast iron.
That’s all we use.
When cooking in any nonstick, use oil and not PAM.
All-Clad for stainless.
Cast iron.
That’s all we use.
When cooking in any nonstick, use oil and not PAM.
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
Please expand on dry salt cleaning please.Cast iron is tops in most categories. We have a decent variety. Essentially non-stick, great thermal retention, rugged and you can get it really hot and it's just happy to be hot. The only coated pans we own are the Green Pan Valencia Pro line. Not cheap but the durability is good, however even this pan we never overheat or use for hot searing. We have some stainless sauce pans, but we just don't use stainless fry pans anymore.
Wife didn't even know how to treat and cook with cast iron when we married 35+ years ago - now she loves it but leaves the cleaning and seasoning to me, which I love. Cast iron is almost a living thing to me. Hahahha but they rarely see water, almost always clean with dry salt. I even enjoy a complete strip and redo. I just did this with the antique Griswald #9 flat griddle (it had some rust for year underside) and groad build up on the periphery. Stripped in a 4 hour oven clean cycle. Amazing, just ash on the surface and some hidden rust underneath. Wire wheeled then sanded. Now on the seasoning stage but cooked a flat iron steak on it last night and it was great! (Red one is a Staub, which I like better than Le Creuset )
As simple as it sounds. DRY pan, pour in coarse salt (a couple tablespoons), rub with clean rag or paper towel. Repeat if necessary with clean salt. Wipe out. Oil pan with a little heat and grape seed oil. Done. Pans will be spotless and smooth and almost never need to see water.
The only time our cast iron sees water is when somehow there is a wet gooey sticky mess, and it's just going to be faster with hot water. But dry really well, heat and oil after.
No soap on hot cast iron pans, GROSS.
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FWIW All Clad's aluminum non-stick products are made in the good old PR of C. Their website indicates the ones that are stainless on the bottoms/side and non-stick inside are still made here.
Correct. My stainless steel All Clad pots and pans are made in Pennsylvania. Nice, heavy duty stuff, but not non-stick. The Rachael Ray non-stick cookware with the orange handles was made in Asia. But I recently bought some "Calphalon Classic" pans at a good price online, and they appear to be made in Toledo, OH.
Tell the truth Pablo, AMSOIL for the seasoning?? LOLCast iron is tops in most categories. We have a decent variety. Essentially non-stick, great thermal retention, rugged and you can get it really hot and it's just happy to be hot. The only coated pans we own are the Green Pan Valencia Pro line. Not cheap but the durability is good, however even this pan we never overheat or use for hot searing. We have some stainless sauce pans, but we just don't use stainless fry pans anymore.
Wife didn't even know how to treat and cook with cast iron when we married 35+ years ago - now she loves it but leaves the cleaning and seasoning to me, which I love. Cast iron is almost a living thing to me. Hahahha but they rarely see water, almost always clean with dry salt. I even enjoy a complete strip and redo. I just did this with the antique Griswald #9 flat griddle (it had some rust for year underside) and groad build up on the periphery. Stripped in a 4 hour oven clean cycle. Amazing, just ash on the surface and some hidden rust underneath. Wire wheeled then sanded. Now on the seasoning stage but cooked a flat iron steak on it last night and it was great! (Red one is a Staub, which I like better than Le Creuset )
we have a mix of Cast Iron, and various of the newfangled non-sticks. tried most of them.
the latest, and so far pretty darn good, is the "Blue Diamond" line.
https://www.bluediamondcookware.com/
if the claims can be believed, they're the bees knees. and so far the 2 we have have lived up to the promises (only 2 months or so in)
the only problem i can see is if you have an induction cooktop.
they're not induction compatible
the latest, and so far pretty darn good, is the "Blue Diamond" line.
https://www.bluediamondcookware.com/
if the claims can be believed, they're the bees knees. and so far the 2 we have have lived up to the promises (only 2 months or so in)
the only problem i can see is if you have an induction cooktop.
they're not induction compatible
I agree, a spray oil like Pam is not good for non-stick surfaces. It will cause the pan to lose its non-stick abilities. My wife has proven you wrong about anodized pans not warping. She has a set of Calphalon pans that have warped bottoms. Too much heat will do it every time.
Yup a properly seasoned and maintained cast iron pan is awesome. Maintenance is higher but results are worth it.
Agreed. Properly cared for cast iron is the best. For non-stick, we've found the skillets in the restaurant supply area of Sam's Club to be at least as good if not better than any of the expensive brands we've owned and disposed of over the years.
Give those Blue Diamond pans a few months. I guarantee you'll change your mind about them when they start to stain, chip and food starts sticking. I thought the same. I bought the large sauté and thinking it was great, bought another for our brach house. I tossed the first one afterv5 months. I'm sure the other one will be in line for the trash can in a few more months.
FYI Costco shoppers, starting today they've got a 10 piece Calphalon Signature line (one step down from the top of their lineup) set on sale for $200. Wife and I have been planning to replace our old nonstick stuff (pretty old and remarkably good "Cook's Essentials" from QVC I got as a housewarming gift many years ago) and so have been narrowing it down and waiting for a good price. Picked 'em up this morning, they look nice, have good heft, we shall see on the longevity. Always handwash and never use metal utensils no matter what they say. 10" and 12" fry pans, 2 and 3 qt sauce pans, a 3 qt saute pan, and an 8 qt pot with lids. We also have a 10 quart or so stainless pot of unknown origin, an All Clad 12" stainless pan, and a DuBuyer 12" carbon steel pan, each of which have their uses but I do like my PTFE for day to day usage.
jeff
jeff
Any experience with granite pans, like the one below?
Given the price, I'm not expecting it to last 10 years - I'm OK with that. Just don't want it to poison me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y9FHH58
Given the price, I'm not expecting it to last 10 years - I'm OK with that. Just don't want it to poison me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y9FHH58
That's not REAL granite you know.
Well obviously, given the price.
Coming probably from China, so why not?
My understanding of all these new "granite" or "sapphire" like pans, is that they are just teflon with granites and other hard stone bits mixed in to increase its strength, and creating bumps to hold up the scraping while the coating in the "valley" will not get scraped away easily. Real stone cookware are like fired clay cookware, they do stick and they do wear out / crack, they are also porous unless you glaze them, but I think they may last longer than teflon alone.
In the past, I abused my teflon coated pans... so now, I'm taking more precautions using my non-stick pan from Ikea
https://www.teflon.com/en/consumers/teflon-coatings-cookware-bakeware/safety
To keep your nonstick coatings performing well:
https://www.teflon.com/en/consumers/teflon-coatings-cookware-bakeware/safety
To keep your nonstick coatings performing well:
- Avoid preheating nonstick pans on high heat without food in them—always start at a lower temperature using a fat like oil or butter or with the food already included. Empty pots and pans reach high temperatures very quickly, and when heated accidentally over 348 °C (660 °F) the coating can begin to deteriorate. Butter, fats, and cooking oils begin smoking at 204 °C (400 °F).
- Do not use nonstick cookware and bakeware in ovens hotter than 260 °C (500 °F). Higher temperatures can discolor the surface of coating or cause it to lose some of its nonstick properties.
- Use your stove’s exhaust fan when cooking.
- Use a stove burner that matches the size of the pan bottom.
- Remove any cookware or bakeware stored in your oven before using an oven's self-cleaning setting
The other reason to use oil or equivalent is to transfer the heat to the object that is being cooked regardless of the pan being used.
We have a set of cast iron stuff that my mom got in 1939 from her mom..use it often.
We have a set of cast iron stuff that my mom got in 1939 from her mom..use it often.
