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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Please recommend your pots/pans
Looking at the Cuisinart Green gourmet line but open to any recs!
Mommy to Giovanni Louis -- 3/5/2007 and Dante Michael due 10/25/2011
Re: Please recommend your pots/pans
That looks nice for pieces where non-stick is necessary - but I wouldn't get a whole set. I prefer pots without a coating, as they then won't ever wear out. I have a basic Cuisinart Classic Collection set I got for my wedding 5 years ago and they're still like new.
It's often better value to mix and match what you'll actually use vs. buying a set.
Non-stick cookware has many health and safety risks. The Environmental Working Group has an overview here: Skip the Non-Stick to Avoid the Dangers of Teflon. A summary:
While there are a growing number of new cookware options on the market, we don't know enough about them to know if they're safe -- even if they're advertised as "green" or "not non-stick." The EWG recommends cast iron and stainless steel cookware as safer options for stove-top cooking, and oven-safe glass for baking. These safer pans might be a little harder to clean, but your health is worth it.
We have several Lodge brand pieces, they're inexpensive and you can get them at Target. We love love them. For soup and sauce pots, we bought individual Stainless Steel ones at BB&B. We only bought the pieces we needed, which was much cheaper than buying a set. We have a small and medium sauce pot, a large stock pot, and a huge pot for boiling down pasta sauce before canning it.
I have multi-clad from cuisinart. I got a 600 set off of amazon for 260. Iron skillet is a must. I cook my eggs in it instead of my SS and it works the same as a non stick in my book. Vinegar and baking soda gets all the hard stuff off and so does a scraping tool.
ETA: I use the whole 10 piece set of my MC.
We have a bunch of Calphalon that we got for our wedding five years ago and I like it. It is still like new and we cook 5 - 7 days per week with it. We have the 11 piece Tri-Ply Stainless set and use all of it. We use the sauce pots and the saute pan almost daily and the skillets at least a couple times a month. (All of that was in the set). We also use the 12 qt. stock pot a lot, which was an individual piece.
The other individual pieces weren't on our registry but people bought them for us. I couldn't figure out how to use the grill pan without burning it and the non-stick is just gross. Who wants chemicals leeching into their food? Hello garage sale.
I use a Lodge cast iron skillet in place of the non-stick crap.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Thanks everyone!
I have a few Le Crueset pieces that I love and intend to add too, but haven't researched the safety of the enamaled pots. I really need sautee and grill pans. I guess i should just make the jump to stainless steel. I will look into all of these!
I love my stainless steel tri-ply Calphalon. We got the set when we got married over 5 years ago and they are still like new, even though we've cook with it just about every single day of those 5 years. I think the sets are good value as we use everything but the 8 inch frying pan regularly. We've also added individual pieces over the years.
It's also hard to go wrong with cast iron, especially if you are on a budget. Though ours is all in storage because our rental came with a $$$$ stove that we supposedly could ruin with cast iron.
With some practice, good heavy pots and pans that heat evenly, and some Barkeeps Friend, you'll learn how to use stainless steel and cast iron such that food doesn't actually stick to it hardly at all. And then you'll wonder how the non-stick coatings ever became so popular.
But I have a confession to make. About 3 months ago I purchased a stainless steel 15 inch electric wok at Goodwill for $8. Now I use it every day and only use my good pots and pans when I need a second thing to cook stuff in. Part of me feels silly for owning good pots and pans now that I'm using them so little. I think a large part of why I'm not using my pots and pans anymore is because at our new apartment this $$$$ stove is a glass-top electric thing that takes a million years to heat up. Maybe if we ever go back to cooking with gas, I'll go back to using my saute pans...
We have the basic Cuisinart pots and pans too and love them.
I bought All-Clad. They are made about an hour from where I lived at the time and are excellent quality.
ETA- as to the non-stick issue: I like to have ONE non-stick pan for when I *really* need it. Otherwise all my pans as stainless steel.
I have been picking up stainless steel pots and pans at Goodwill. I have been able to put together a good assortment of sizes, and havent paid more than $4.99 for any piece. I havent purchased new cookware in years, only used.
I have also put together sets of pans for my children, when they moved out into their own apartments.
Goodwill is also a great place to pick up dishes and glassware. Our store sells glasses for 25 cents a piece, and plates are 50 cents. I recently bought 8 complete place settings of stoneware from Pottery Barn for $8.00.