One of my pots started leaking yesterday. Seems it rusted through where the spot weld for the handle was, so now I think it might be time to say goodbye to our $39 (made up price) Kmart set and welcome something of slightly higher quality into our lives.
Having said that, the Kmart ones did an okay job, so I don't want to spend any more than $200 for the set. Needs to be at least three pots with lids.
Thanks!
Amazon have good deals everynow and then. It is what im currently using.
Can I recommend a pot dealer?
It's what I opened the thread for.
I thought this thread was going to be about Jalna…
Me too… didn't even think this was cooking-related.
I thought it was garden pots.
Non stick? Size?
Don't buy sets!! Spend good money on what you use, when you need to buy them. Sets often have pieces you will hardly use.
Yes and no. I bought a 3 piece Swiss Diamond saucepan set 2 years or so ago for $80 and I reckon I've used all 3 equally.
I can definitely vouch for the IKEA pots/saucepans. Speaking of which, I've never actually had to get rid of ANY of my pots through the years. Moving homes and stuff were the only reason we ever let go of any of them.
On the other hand, saute pans/fry pans, if they are of the non-stick variety have always eventually failed whether in the $20 range, all the way to the $300 range. The problem with the dearer ones is that because someone paid so much for them, I tended to just suck it up and insist on using them even when they were no longer performing to the standard I would like. Nowadays, I stick with the $20 ones.
All of my stainless steel (not non-stick) pans are still in excellent condition. Some are the pricey kind and some are the practical priced ones.
My 2 cents is ignore the branding and pay attention to the quality of the material and know what your requirements are.
Just some things I tend to think of, I'm sure others will have more:
- Lids? Glass or non glass
- handles - phenolic (heat resitant) or steel (will need pot holders, but can safely stay in the oven or not melt if accidentally left over the burner)
- bases - thicker ones with a core of steel of copper, will add weight, but aid in heat retention and distribution.
And finally, price paid is not a measure of the ultimate quality and experience you're going to get.
When I was overseas, I had a visit at a commercial kitchen supply place… Not the fancy kind that has all sorts of bright lights and really expensive brands. This was more like a Bunnings only with less space in aisles and shelves were FULL of stuff. They had no name brand stuff that really felt like they could take a beating and keep on trucking and were priced so affordably. *If anyone has ever seen Jon Favreau's "Chef", the place looked exactly like where he bought his son's first knife and the plancha for the cubanos
Can you please elucidate what you mean by your non stick “no longer performing to standard”. I have a Scanpan wok that is over 10 years old but seems to be ticking along fine. However, I don’t use it on high heat. I will use my regular wok to do that.
There are Commercial kitchen places in Melbourne. Some do have “name brand” stuff but there is plenty of generic as well.
Most of my saucepans/pots are over 10 years old, some are over 20. I prefer heavy based stainless steel with stainless steel handles. I bought some silicon barbeque gloves from Bunnings and they work well for “oven gloves”, they also work well for sterilising jars because they are water proof.
The problem I would have with the $20 non sticks is if, when they fail, it is due to the non stick stuff breaking off and ending up in your food.
Thankfully, over the last three or so decades, the non-stick stuff breaking off terribly has become a less significant issue. I mean, I still get them, but they seem to be a lot better now in that only small specs come off when they do.
When I said "no longer performing to standard" I mean they're no longer as completely non-stick as when they were new. Food no longer glides around as effortlessly or cleanup is no longer as simple as the ads show where you just wipe with a paper towel. Yep, my two scanpans are still perfect (both naked stainless steel). They seem to be made pretty well.
Thanks for the tip about the silicone BBQ gloves. Sounds like something I should look into.
Can’t see the gloves at Bunnings anymore; but I’m sure you can find something similar around. I also use a chop stick to manoeuvre the jar so I can grip the bottom and pour the water out.
My non stick Scanpan still cleans off pretty easily with a nylon brush. The wok is, probably, the thing we use most.
My grandmother, never the greatest of cooks, when she burnt food to the bottom of her saucepans she used to put them outside and let the rainwater soften the burnt stuff. Then she would, periodically, collect them and wash them. Needless to say I didn’t vie to inherit her cookwear.
@try2bhelpful: TBH, I miss my old $10 Carbon steel wok. It was seasoned so well, it became non stick too! I let it go when I moved over to induction. Still, I love the ease of clean up and high heat output of induction so much that I don't see myself going back.
when she burnt food to the bottom of her saucepans she used to put them outside and let the rainwater soften the burnt stuff. Then she would, periodically, collect them and wash them. Needless to say I didn’t vie to inherit her cookwear.>
My goodness. I don't think I would like to inherit that cookware either! But still, bless your grandmother, she still cooked anyway. :)
@tebbybabes: Our old Wok is pretty well seasoned. We have a gas cooktop, with a wok burner. We got a stand-alone induction burner to try it out, which cooktop did you get and what do you think? Our current cooktop is over 25 years old and we will probably need to replace it soon.
You wouldn’t say “bless her” if you had to eat the food. I grew up WASP in the 60s so the family cooking history was very well done meat and vegetables boiled to their constituent parts and coloured grey. Fortunately I grew up in Geelong so a lot of my friends came from European migrant families. It formed my view that migrants are very welcome as long as they bring their food.
Tefal or IKEA.
You haven't specified what size or types you want so cannot link you an example.