We use Revere ware but my wife won't let me use the frying pans anymore and so I have a cast iron skillet of my own for that.

Growing up, my Mom had Lifetime SS pans that I inherited. Very nice to this day, 40+ years later. I have added to them via Ebay for good prices.

Probably about 30 years ago we bought a set of Saladmaster pans. Not sure about how it's sold now days, but back then it was like a Tupperware party and you bought it at someone's home. My mother in law had a party/demonstration at her house. It's made in the USA, ours is stamped that it was made in Texas. Wife's grandmother also had a set.

https://saladmaster.com/

I’ve had a lot of pans, and used more than I can describe in kitchens of restaurants, friends, etc.

My go to pans at home are a set of Kirkland Signature stainless steel. They do just fine for almost everything I cook in them.

At some point I will pick up an aluminum pan and a carbon steel pan. I used these a lot in an Italian kitchen I used to cook in. You have to know your foods, because aluminum, like copper is reactive. So you can change or really screw up some dishes in these.

When I make it a priority to get aluminum and carbon, these will be what I pick up.

Aluminum Pan

Carbon Steel Pan

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:


My go to pans at home are a set of Kirkland Signature stainless steel. They do just fine for almost everything I cook in them.

The Kirkland has my attention. Also thinking about the Made In pan. I can get the entire set of Kirkland for $200 or the Made In with no lid for $80. Hmmmm

Check out Winco stainless steel pans. They're used in professional kitchens and are great quality for low prices.They can be found at restaurant supply websites. I have a Winco 6-quart stainless steel sauté pan purchased from LionsDeal.com restaurant supply that is excellent.

I picked up this carbon steal pan. I got tired of coated pans. You have to season them. Once that’s done they are awesome.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a couple of Made In pans - they are AWESOME!!!

As good or better than the All Clads, for a lot less money. I have the 3.5 qt sauté pan and the 12” non-stick skillet.

They just work so well, and the ones I bought are made in the US.

I have a bunch of All Clad stainless pans to include the frying pans. Honesty I hardly ever use the frying pans. Maybe a few times a year. I much prefer a 3 or 4 quart sauté pan for my uses... much more versatile pan. On accident I picked up the Zwilling Aurora 5 ply 3 quart sauté pan and I probably use it ten times a month. I absolutely love the look, feel, heft, quality, and how it cooks. It says made in Belgium on the bottom of the pan, so a nice European pan not made in China, which is of course a nice bonus. And the pricing is very competitive in this segment for a non made in China pan.

https://www.zwilling.com/us/zw...okware/aurora-5-ply/

Doing my homework, I was able to find out that the very expensive 5 ply Demeyere pans are made in Belgium as well, and might be the same company that makes these Zwilling pans...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bubbatime,

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
I cook with All Clad Copper Core, and Demeyere.

The copper core is All Clad's best line, and Demeyere is amazing. But it costs.

https://www.demeyere-online.com/uk/en/home.html

Agreed. I have a set of All Clad but for skillets the Demeyere Atlantis Proline series pretty much blows them away, especially using induction, at least in my opinion. Not cheap, like you say, but the 9.4” was only $99 at the time I got hooked. I liked it so much after a few months that the much steeper prices for the 11” and 12.6” were easy to justify, plus my grandchildren will likely be using them someday.

I’ve had good luck with Berondi in Düsseldorf, Germany for decent online prices if you can’t find a sale anywhere. You don’t pay VAT and there’s no duty assessed at customs.

Heat slow to the hot level, seasoning the pan before and after use, use only soft spatulas etc. and have patience when cooking with stainless. Treat it like cast iron! Cost is not an indication of usefulness! Aluminum or copper clad bottom for even heat, but single wall will work with patience!

My wife went through gaggles of cheap non stick pans and then decided to spend a few bucks on something that works and lasts. We now have two Le Creuset frying pans one an Enameled Cast Iron and a Toughened Nonstick PRO along with several other Le Creuset cookware deals. She's happy in the kitchen now. These thing really perform and are easy to care for. Lots of $$ though.

Only All-Clad piece I have is a nice small 7.5" Tri-Ply skillet bought back in 2002.


Normally we use one of our two Stargazer 10" cast iron skillets but when large stainless is called for our 20 year old Tramontina Brazil made Professional Gourmet 28cm (11") skillet gets the call. It has bested other pans we have on hand such as an expensive French Sitram Cybernox 26cm.

For non-stick we have been using Tramontina Pro-Line 8" skillets for years. We replaced a 20 year old pair in 2015 through COSTCO after they finally wore out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

I have a 10" cast iron pan and that is my go to for stove top cooking. It is about 30+ years old. It s a Lodge, the kind with the "pebble" finish. I spent time with my palm sander and sanded it completely smooth inside, seasoned and it is great!

I have All Clad D5 and they are excellent. I first received the D3 by accident and the D5 is noticeably nicer, so I am very pleased with the D5 set. Buy the Made in USA All-Clad and skip the Chinese made knockoffs even though they are cheaper.

Even when hot and with lots of oil the stainless will stick more than your average cheap non-stick pan. For browning chicken where having some char left in the pan is ok the stainless works great. But eggs will generally be a mess. I cook a lot of eggs so I still use a non-stick for them.

Other than the Copper Core, the finishes on each of the All-Clad pans doesn't affect its performance. I personally like the older LTD finish, others are just fine with the basic stainless.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
To save a ton of money on All Clad and get something that still works great I recommend these...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod..._title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This the exact set I have and they do work great.

I recently bought a set of Farberware stainless pans from Walmart. I think it was around $70. Two covered saucepans, two covered skillets, and a stock pot. They’re reasonably heavy material and seem to work fine on the glass top range in the apartment. They also included a set of crappy plastic kitchen utensils in the deal.

I have always despised nonstick cookware and plastic spatulas.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I recently bought a set of Farberware stainless pans from Walmart. I think it was around $70. Two covered saucepans, two covered skillets, and a stock pot. They’re reasonably heavy material and seem to work fine on the glass top range in the apartment. They also included a set of crappy plastic kitchen utensils in the deal.

I have always despised nonstick cookware and plastic spatulas.

I had a set of Farberware non stick pots/pans for my primary pots and pans for 14 years before I replaced them with All Clad and gave them away (still usable), honestly I was surprised at how good they were for the money.