Cookware Recommendation

15 August, 2020 | HTM

[HonkyTonkMan]

FReepers, it’s time to purchase a new cookware set. My current non-stick pan is chipping.

I have lodge cast iron pans for occasional use, but would like an everyday non-stick pan.

Any suggestions?

[varina davis]

My Greenpan set has lasted well, cooks very good and cleans easily.

[Paladin2]

Some Canuck Bank I think...

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I bought some old farmhouse cast iron skillets at a Missouri farm absolute auctions around 1970. Still using them and they are still flat and smooth as can be on the cooking surface. They were made 100 years ago or more. I’ve got a couple of Griswolds. They have the bottom heat ring that sat inside the opening of the kitchen wood cookstove.

I’ve got one marked “Erie” which indicates it piece was made somewhere between the late 1880 or early 1900s. They put the place of manufacture on the skillet instead of the manufacturer’s name. The “Erie” line was made by Griswold.

We have some modern non-stick cookware, but I really like using my cast iron skillets.

[FlyingEagle]

Lately enjoying some Le Creuset brand skillets and sauce pans. Watched for sales at Williams Sonoma

[GOPJ]

Lodge carbon steel... all the advantages of cast iron - none of the drawbacks...

[Colorado Doug]

Well, I just learned from this thread that AllClad makes non stick too. I wouldn’t trade my copper and stainless for non stick but the brand is good and much of their stuff is made in the good ol US of A

[Paladin2]

Band, or covfefe , or donut shop or sumpthin’.

[matthew fuller]

I have done that with my Black and Decker Mouse sander, works great to smooth the pan up, but did not seem to make much difference in the way it cooks. The skillet will smooth out as it seasons over time anyway. Also if you really screw the skillet up, the sander makes a good “eraser”. You can clean up a skillet with burnt on stuff by boiling with baking soda and water, the instructions are on the Lodge website under care of ENAMELED pans. Then you have to reseason of course.

[Mariner]

Use the Lodge and drop any idea of toxic non stick.

[hanamizu]

Agreed. And cast iron lasts forever.

---

Some of the treasures the Indians traded pelts for were cast iron pots. To the Indians they were a miracle. They made cooking much easier and a pot could last several lifetimes, for them an heirloom.

[jonrick46]

I would get a carbon steel skillet. They require the same kind of care as a cast iron. They are much lighter and heat up quick. Such steel has been used to make woks. I have a 16 inch wok I bought from Jeff Smith (known as the Frugal Gourmet)in 1975. It in perfect condition and it is non-stick.

I have a Matfer Bougeat 11-7/8 inch fry pan (Amazon, $53.98) that was the pick by Cook’s Illustrated. It does pan seared steaks like magic. Fried eggs fly around on its non-stick surface like ice. Watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-suTmUX4Vbk

[HonkyTonkMan]

thanks for the suggestions! Another reason FR is awesome - many chefs, many experiences. and preferences.

[hercuroc]

Bought a set of 3 from Costco made by Henkels...the same company that makes the knives.
Really work good and they are granite.

[null and void]

I convinced my kids that the smoke alarm was a dinner bell...

[null and void]

You can sand smooth and re-season. Or patiently cook pound after pound of bacon.

I'm not seeing the downside...

[Yardstick]

Carbon steel is the best. Has the characteristics of cast iron but is relatively light weight. Probably the best kept secret in the cooking world.

If you use enough fat you don’t need non-stick. Eggs slide out of any pan—nonstick or otherwise—as long as you’ve cooked a few slices of bacon beforehand and kept the fat. That’s what the pros do.

[jonrick46]

I do the same with my pan, only I start with the frying of hash browns, which I make from baked potatoes I store in the refrigerator. After the hash browns, in goes the bacon. My pan loves that bacon grease and so do my eggs, after the bacon is cooked to absolute perfection. Yes, my carbon steel does bacon real good. After the bacon, I shut the burner off and fry my eggs, over easy as the pan slowly cools off.

[RandallFlagg]

Bookmarking

[Jeff Chandler]

I don’t buy non-stick cookware because I only like to buy cookware once.

[Yardstick]

My De Buyer carbon steel 11” fry pan is a total super hero—it does everything well. Sautés veggies, deep fries meatballs, eggs any way you like, browns meat. I don’t even bother with my other pans.