Favorite cookware

[Tink]

I need new pots and pans. Years of abuse by teens has taken a toll on what were a cheap set to begin with. ;) I've been looking locally (which is VERY limited) and haven't been able to find ANY I would want. They're all light weight aluminum with non-stick interiors that flake off after a little bit of use. I want something that will hold up and be decent to still use 5 - 10 yrs down the road.

So what kind do you have?
Do you like them?
What would you LIKE to have?

HELP me find some decent ones please!

[Janet]

I love my T-Fal cookware. I've had them a few years now and if you remember to use the correct utensils they will last a long time.

[Marilyn]

My cookware is all stainless steel. My everyday pots and pans are old Farberware (with thick aluminum clad bottoms) and Revere Ware (with copper bottoms), stainless steel with black plastic handles. The handles are wearing from washing them in the dishwasher, but they will last for a few years more. There are some really nice pots available now. I do have a few newer pieces with stainless steel handles.

I don't cook in anything aluiminum, or where aluminum can come in contact with the food. People with alzheimers have been found to have high levels of aluminum in their brains. My mother suffered from alzheimers/dimentia, and if at all possible want to avoid her fate. So no aluminum cookware for me.

Also do not cook with Teflon coated cookware. There are studies showing that this may not have been as safe as once believed. I work around petrochemical plants, and lots of the components that go into making some of this stuff are pretty toxic. I just don't want to take any chances.

All this said.....if I were shopping for new pots and pans, I'd go to a good store where they sell quality stainless steel, or an online store, try to catch a sale and buy the best stainless steel with durable stainless handles that I could afford. This time of year, there are bound to be some good sales.

[Marilyn]

Here's a link to a set that I would seriously consider if I was buying now.
http://www.dillards.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=301&langId=-1&storeId=301&productId=501064686&view=20&No=60&N=1000919&searchUrl=%2Fendeca%2FEndecaStartServlet%3Fview%3D 20%26No%3D60%26N%3D1000919&R=HWP154

You may need a couple of extra pieces to round the set out, but even stores like Target sell some nice individual pieces. I have a very nice heavy stainless steel skillet with alumnimum clad bottom from Target.

Good luck!!!! Hope you find something that you really like and are very happy with!!!

[khardy57]

I've been using the same set of Revere for 20 years and haven't worn it out yet. ( and I DO cook:p )

[Janet]

Hey Marilyn!!!!

Does food stick to the stainless steal very much? I don't want anymore work than I have to have...LOL Can you put them in the dishwasher? I've never had stainless steal but love the way they look. Give some information okay???:)

[Gina]

I have Farberwear pots and pans since I am married.. I do have a few with telfon coating also. The Farberwear seems to last forever, you can put them in dishwasher and all.

[DianaB]

I have a set of Lustre Craft by West Bend Company. I bought them years ago and they still look great. They are a VERY heavy stainless steel with a thick core on the bottom of the pans to transfer the heat evenly. They could really use some new knobs and handles and I have an order form from the company to replace them.

I recommend that you buy stainless steel too and buy the very best that you can afford. I would look for something with a thick bottom like I mentioned that mine have and you'll find that your heat will cook more evenly.

There are home parties that sell cookware and I know that they're expensive but they'll last you a lifetime. I can't remember the name of the company but maybe someone else will remember. A set of them will run about $2,000, I'm guessing.

As for cleaning stainless steel I get a cleaner called "Barkeepers Friend" or "Cameo Cleaner". You can find them at the grocery store or Wal-mart. They're kinda' like comet and they both work great.

[RLC12345678]

I have some pots and pans that we got for a wedding present, but I don't really like them. Food sticks to them too easily! I like THESE pots and pan!!!! :D

http://www.dillards.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=301&langId=-1&storeId=301&productId=500549481&view=20&No=20&N=1590487&searchUrl=%2Fendeca%2FEndecaStartServlet%3Fview%3D 20%26No%3D20%26N%3D1590487&R=HW-290

[khardy57]

The party cookware is Towncraft or Saladmaster. My mother has a set that has lasted forever.

I really thought about this after I posted previously and I find that when I use any sort of skillet, I pull out the old reliable cast iron. I have 4 or 5 that have been with me since I was 16.

[Marilyn]

I have some pots and pans that we got for a wedding present, but I don't really like them. Food sticks to them too easily! I like THESE pots and pan!!!! :D

http://www.dillards.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=301&langId=-1&storeId=301&productId=500549481&view=20&No=20&N=1590487&searchUrl=%2Fendeca%2FEndecaStartServlet%3Fview%3D 20%26No%3D20%26N%3D1590487&R=HW-290

These may be fine, Rebecca, but they are aluminum with an "advanced release polymer". That's some kind of plastic. Again, they may be fine, and they may be safe, but I'd still stay with the stainless steel. Stainless is safe, durable, and you can use any kind of utensil with it.

Janet, my dishwasher gets my SS pots really clean and shiny (I do use JetDry in my machine). Believe me, I am all into not having to scrub. The key to SS cookware as DianaB stated is to get the kind with a thick clad bottom to evenly distribute the heat. If you have thin stainless steel cookware with a thin bottom, things will stick bad where the heat contacts the metal and will be very hard to clean. I have a couple of old stainless pots that have the thinner bottoms. We use them for things that use lots of water like boiling potatoes, steaming vegies, making soups. When things do stick, I just let them soak a little and us a stainless steel scouring pad (the kind with the little curls) and things come right off. The souring pad may lightly scratch the interior where you are scrubbing and give it a very fine brushed look, but who cares??

These are just my opinions based on years of cooking and also observing at the homes of friends and relatives. I'm really into kitchen stuff.

[Marilyn]

The party cookware is Towncraft or Saladmaster. My mother has a set that has lasted forever.

I really thought about this after I posted previously and I find that when I use any sort of skillet, I pull out the old reliable cast iron. I have 4 or 5 that have been with me since I was 16.

I used to be really into cast iron skillets, and still have several. My husband even changed out the range top in a house we bought so that I could use my cast iron, but they don't go in the dishwasher, and they are sooo heavy. I truly love my stainless steel skillet that my daughters gave me last Christmas. It's a Chefmate 12" with a thick copper bottom. I think they bought it at Target, but because of the thick bottom, it cooks like cast iron and cleans really easy.

[DianaB]

Salad Master is what I was thinking of. I've never heard of Towncraft, but I'm sure that they're just as good.

To keep things from sticking to my stainless steel cookware I about always spray it with Pam cooking spray. I put mine in the dishwasher but there are certain things that won't come off in the dishwasher. Cleaning them is not any harder than any other pan.

I bought my cookware before I got married and have used it daily for the last 32 years and I'm sure that I'll still be using it the rest of my life. As in all things in life, you get what you pay for.

[Emmsmom]

I ahve all stainless steel pots and pans. They say that the nonstick coating can be bad for you when it heats up or flakes off. I think it was a certain kind tho I am just not sure which ones. I do like mine. You have to spray a nonstick coating in them at times when you cook but other than that I really like them.

[Tink]

Thanks friends!
I followed your advice and went with heavy guage stainless steel pots and pans. I got ones with a copper bottom, glass covers, measuring marks inside the pots, and a sandblast exterior, with riveted gel type soft handles.
I found them on sale at Menards and paid considerably less than this ad, but here they are :
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000JRFNTC

I was excited to find exactly what I was looking for, so now hope I like them! My old ones are going in the dumpster or into a box for the kids to take when they move out depending on their condition. LOL