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I love my Revere ware ... most of which came from auction boxes. The older pans are much heavier than the newer ones. I'd wanted a Revere ware double boiler for years and finally struck gold with a $20 box of pans ... two double boilers in the bottom along with a half dozen other Revere ware pans. I did buy two new Revere stock pots one is dutch oven size and the other a large stock pot and I do like both. However, my favorite stock pot is from a 1940's set I got at an auction for $1. I have another large stainless stock pot that I got for $6 at an auction. I also have an Oneida non-stick skillet that was brand new from an auction box (of course) that I really like. Its small and I'm hoping to find a larger one one of these days. I think good pans and good knives are essential and I never put either into the dishwasher. Of course, now days dh is my dishwasher so I don't have to worry.
 
Too me, good cookware is like good wine--Until you try it, you don't know what you are missing. I LOVE my All-Clad.. I have been adding pcs for several yrs and I hope I never have to buy another cheap pot or pan.. The All-Clad cooks evenly, quickly and at lower temps... I do ALOT of cooking and canning/ food preservation..
 
I have a set of Belgique that I bought around 17 years ago, I think I paid $125 for the set. Later I added two more saucepans from the open stock shelves. These have lasted years and are still going strong. I did go back to Goldsmith's last year, I wanted another 1 1/2 qt saucepan. Unfortunately, Belgique has apparently revamped their line and the pans weren't nearly as nice and heavy as my old ones. Now I'm waiting to see what I can find at TJMaxx or Marshall's.

I think the better cookware is a good investment. I spent 9 years fighting with cheapy nonstick coated cookware from Kmart.
 
I am the cheapest person I know, but good cookware is a must. When I was young, I had cheap cookware and I hated cooking, nothing turned out right. My dh bought me a set of 18/10 stainless steel good and heavy cookware. Wow what a difference. :dance: Now I love to cook and most things I cook turn out petty good.
 
The best advice given to me by my mother was 'when it comes to buying saucepans, pay for the best you can afford, plus a little more - you're going to be stuck with whatever you buy for the rest of your life!'.

I took her excellent advice, and 40 years after I bought my first decent set of cookware, they still look near-new (and boy, have they had a battering at times!). They'll probably become a family heirloom!

Yes, generally-speaking, you get what you pay for with saucepans. Go for the best. If you get cheap and nasty, you'll regret it bitterly.
 
But what I absolutely hate about it, and DH didn't realize until I had opened it and started reading the "instructions", is that I can't put it in the dishwasher, I have to hand wash it! :Bawling: I had stopped using my cast iron because I don't have time to wash dishes by hand, and because even when I do have time, I hate it. So those facts being what they are, I offered to take my "fancy new pan" back, but DH told me that if I kept it, every time I use it, he promises to hand wash it for me!! He's only not kept that promise about three times in the last few years :happy:

So my advice to you is that if you do opt for a pan that is more expensive, consider what the requirements are for care.
It takes just as long to rinse off the pans to put in the dishwasher? :shrug:

Id never stop using my cast iron just because I actually had to clean them.......and if the non stick is so great on this pan then all you should have to do is a quick swish and rinse? :confused:
 
I had stopped using my cast iron because I don't have time to wash dishes by hand, and because even when I do have time, I hate it.
Good cast iron (Erie, Griswold, etc) that's seasoned properly really doesn't require cleaning. Just a swipe with a towel should be enough. If you've got food sticking, I'd re-season it.

We started out with several pieces of copper bottom Revereware but found that some of them warped on the bottom when we first started using our wood cookstove. We now have a set of 3 very heavy-bottomed saucepans from Martha Stewart :eek: that we received as a gift. I'm ashamed to say that it is made in China. But they seem to work well, the heavy bottom sits nicely on the stovetop and heats evenly. We use cast iron a lot, too. We got probably 15 pieces of various sizes plus a few cast iron lids. I have a wonderful square pan that holds strips of bacon perfectly. :1pig:
 
My wife thought I was nuts when I bought an $80.00 Calphalon all clad 12" skillet at my favorite store--Bed, Bath & Beyond(she won't let me go there alone anymore) But she quickly came to love it as well. Sauteing, sweating, frying, braising, risotto, etc. It is an awesome pan. Later got a pair of Calphalon hard anodized aluminum non-stick skillets for $45.00. Watch for those deals. Separately $110.00. We would wear out 20 $10.00 WM skillets before we have to replace these. Buy the best you can afford.
My daughter works there and she bought me a set. Really exceptional cookware and well worth the money!
 
The Martha Stewart stainless steel with copper bottoms cookware at Kmart is wonderful--heavy and cooks beautifully. I don't use the frying pan as always use cast iron for that. All my kids got sets for wedding gifts. Especially love the deep dutch oven that makes a generous batch of soup...we are all soup lovers. And a reasonable price for something that will last. Like the perfectly flat bottoms as have a glasstop stove and nothing warped will work. DEE
 
I have found that you can simmer vegetables in water in anything.

If you don't want to be scrubbing scorched on food, use a GOOD pan for your spagetti sauce and other challenging things!

I have used both!
 
You do realize that once someone spends a great deal of money for anything - it's really really difficult for them to admit that maybe it isn't worth the cost right ;)

That being said...being a foodie -- my dream is to own the best of everything be it cast iron or All Clad...it's how it does the job that really matters.

Marlene
 
I have a collection of assorted stainless steel saucepans & skillets from yard sales & thrift stores. The performance of old copper bottom Revere ware rivals the nicest Kitchen Aid pan that I bought new. Some of the new 'designer' brands have uniquely shaped handles that are either annoying to grab, or prevent stacking in the cupboard. I have some of the really expensive 'waterless' type pans, which I don't like and that have been demoted to melting soaping oils.

The best investment I made, many years ago, was a Vollrath commercial 5 gallon stainless stockpot. The bottom is heavy and I only ever have trouble with scorching if I get too caught up in multi tasking and forget to stir.
 
When it comes to kitchen ware I like having the "good stuff". Done correctly a cook will be spending more time in the kitchen than they will with their mate, would you look for a cheap spouse or do you want a good one? The good stuff costs a bit more but is much cheaper in the long run, easier to use, better food on the table, and you only have to buy it once. I love good cast iron thats taken care of properly. My cast iron can be cleaned with a quick wipe of a paper towel. My pressed steel skillets, both roughly a hundred years old are nearly as good although I do have to clean them about once a month to keep them shiney on the inside. That takes about 5 minutes with bartenders friend to clean and then reseason with a bit of crisco. I also use several peices of enameled cast iron, wonderful stuff! Antique shops and flee markets are where I shop for all my kitchenware. :)
 
I have a set of Farberware pans from 1981. I added another set in the later 80's after my family outgrew the first set. I will never give up my pans! I will never cook on cheapo pans! Everything burns, sticks or the freaking pans warp. My pans have been scrubbed, dishwashered, scoured with sand, hauled on camping trips, used over open fires, burnt up, cooked on, used as mud pie molds, dog water bowls, barf buckets, soap buckets, water fight warriors and just about anything else you can imagine. They still look just as good as ever, still cook as good as ever and they were the best $100 (a lot of money in 1981) investment I ever made.

Jena
 
I have 2 small, well seasoned cast iron frying pans - never need washing - eggs never stick. I also bought once a heavy cast aluminum pot with lid for popping corn. After countless batches of popcorn and bread which I baked in it too I can cook rice in it without degrading the thick layer of seasoning.

I'm not a fan of teflon - it does rub off the surface and even though ingesting it might not be harmful I'd rather not do it.

I like large cast aluminum frying pans better than cast iron mainly on the account of their weight - they season almost as well and have bare metal handles which makes it possible to use them in the oven too.

When it comes to stock pots or sauce pans - definitely heavy stainless steel with extra thick bottom. I have one 4 gallon pot with a 1/2" thick bottom and I wish I could get smaller ones like that to make a set :) The Reveres we use must be 40 years old - can't really kill them short of baking them in hot oven and burning off ebonite handles:)
 
It's that hard to wash a non-stick pan?
Hi Lisa, when you work two jobs and care for a special needs daughter, a husband with a serious mental illness and an elderly mother with dementia, and a bunch of animals, well, time-wise, yes it is! If I can throw it in the dishwasher, then I can do something else while it gets scrubbed. Or, I can throw it in the dishwasher and leave for work and I come home and everything's wonderful again! And did I mention that I hate doing dishes no matter what kind of coating is on them? (I know even if I wasn't so busy, I'd still be "dish-lazy"!)

For me, this year especially, every single second of my time counts.
So DH cleans the pan :eek:
 
Other than several pieces of cast iron cookware that I've owned for decades, I can honestly say that every pot and pan we have was given to us used. It's really not that important to us. And I'm willing to bet that WIHH's cooking is as good...if not better...than most. Even our pie pans, cake pans, cookie sheets, water bath canner, and pressure canner are all hand-me-downs.
 
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