I have no idea about brands of cookware but i love to cook and the pans that I have get the job done but I find some meals stick and others just dont cook right at all. I have one cooks brand pan that works awesome. I need to know what brand of cookware i should put on my christmas list. HELP PLEASE (=
What brands of cookware (pots and pans) are good ones that will cook wonderfully as well as last a long time?
07
Jun
alcats51
June 7, 2010 at 3:39 am
A few years ago (sick of scrubbing sticky pots) I purchased at at top department store (macy’s is good) but you never know Walmart these days and then there’s Costco a basic set of Circulon Cookware on sale. Ten years later they are as good as new. Special care is necessary but just in heat and utinsil types of use. Nothing ever sticks and I love them. They are different as with most high end cookware now in use. For instance, this set should only be used with non metal utinsils. Now they have Cook’s Essentails and I own several of these. More hardy but same methodology.
You will never have to scrub again with these or pull out sos pads. No rusting if cared for right. Expensive? Sorta but last so much longer than the cheaper stuff.
You also have to learn how to use them. They are ‘heat conductive’. In other words, they are made to spread the heat evenly everywhere. No more moving food around to the ‘hot’ or ‘cooler’ spots. They will continue to cook even when turned off so when done, get the food out or when experience with them, turn them off early and let them cook by themselves. Checking, of course.
Good Luck!
Diane B.
June 7, 2010 at 4:09 am
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 thin-ish aluminum so don’t work 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
HTH,
Diane B.