Like I did with the SnS Kettle, now that I’m done with “yay me” super excited initial posts, I’m going to write thoughts, observations, and experiences with Made In Cookware. When Stacy and I decided to do this 2 weeks ago, we had 2 goals. The first was to get the kid stocked up with pots and pans and she moves into her first apartment. The second was to get us a set of high quality pots and pans that would last a lifetime. I think we nailed both goals 10/10.
Our old cookware was a set of Kirkland stainless steel we bought 12 or 13 years ago. Plus the assorted odds and ends you accumulate over time. Like the 12 quart stock pot I refuse to give up even though it’s 25 years old. And a couple pieces of all All-Clad we got here and there and so on. The Kirkland gear, as far as I could find out was a relabeled set of Tramontina. So, not bad at all, but definitely not All-Clad or Made In level gear.
The new Made In stuff is very high quality. It was obvious coming out of the box. Stainless clad over aluminum cores leaves them very light. Each pan is about half the weight of its comparable Kirkland pan. But they heat up and retain heat extremely well. The carbon steel is amazing. Haven’t tried the non-stick pans yet, but since they are the stainless clad with a professional grade non-stick coating applied, I think they will be a joy to cook with as well.
Prepping to cook is really important and definitely impacts how easy it is to clean up. It also impacts how well the food releases and doesn’t stick. For the frying pan, heat it up dry over medium, or a bit less, flame. When it hits the 5 second rule of heat … you can hold your hand 1” above the pan bottom for 5 seconds …. It’s ready. Add 1 tbsp of oil, spread it out, let it heat to shimmering. Now add your food and cook as directed. Fried eggs was easy peasy on my very first try.
Clean up is extremely easy. Wipe out all the debris in the pan with a paper towel. Wash in warm, soapy water. Dry. Admittedly I haven’t cooked much, yet. But I did do fried eggs in the big frying pan. This always leaves a mess, of course. Took me about 5 minutes to clean up completely and put away. No need for a scratch pad or silicon scraper at all.
The Carbon Steel, both the wok and the frying pan, are very high quality. So far I’ve cooked bacon and sausage in the frying pan. I have seasoned both the wok and the frying pan. Sometime soon I will do a stir-fry in the wok and report back.
Here’s the whole set and shots of the individual stuff. Construction, as you can see, is very high quality. Nice, long handles, smooth edges, sturdy rivets to the pan.
The whole set that we bought, including stainless, non-stick, carbon steel
Carbon steel
Frying pans and saucier (yes CandySueQ you do need this)
Non-stick frying pan and sauté pan
Sauce pans and 8 quart stock pot. I suspect we are going to add more sauce pans.
Action pictures!
Carbon Steel after second seasoning and first cook of bacon
Getting ready to cook breakfast …. Bacon, sausage, eggs was the menu
Bacon in the carbon steel
Eggs in the stainless
Cleaned up afterwards, which was very easy
Our old cookware was a set of Kirkland stainless steel we bought 12 or 13 years ago. Plus the assorted odds and ends you accumulate over time. Like the 12 quart stock pot I refuse to give up even though it’s 25 years old. And a couple pieces of all All-Clad we got here and there and so on. The Kirkland gear, as far as I could find out was a relabeled set of Tramontina. So, not bad at all, but definitely not All-Clad or Made In level gear.
The new Made In stuff is very high quality. It was obvious coming out of the box. Stainless clad over aluminum cores leaves them very light. Each pan is about half the weight of its comparable Kirkland pan. But they heat up and retain heat extremely well. The carbon steel is amazing. Haven’t tried the non-stick pans yet, but since they are the stainless clad with a professional grade non-stick coating applied, I think they will be a joy to cook with as well.
Prepping to cook is really important and definitely impacts how easy it is to clean up. It also impacts how well the food releases and doesn’t stick. For the frying pan, heat it up dry over medium, or a bit less, flame. When it hits the 5 second rule of heat … you can hold your hand 1” above the pan bottom for 5 seconds …. It’s ready. Add 1 tbsp of oil, spread it out, let it heat to shimmering. Now add your food and cook as directed. Fried eggs was easy peasy on my very first try.
Clean up is extremely easy. Wipe out all the debris in the pan with a paper towel. Wash in warm, soapy water. Dry. Admittedly I haven’t cooked much, yet. But I did do fried eggs in the big frying pan. This always leaves a mess, of course. Took me about 5 minutes to clean up completely and put away. No need for a scratch pad or silicon scraper at all.
The Carbon Steel, both the wok and the frying pan, are very high quality. So far I’ve cooked bacon and sausage in the frying pan. I have seasoned both the wok and the frying pan. Sometime soon I will do a stir-fry in the wok and report back.
Here’s the whole set and shots of the individual stuff. Construction, as you can see, is very high quality. Nice, long handles, smooth edges, sturdy rivets to the pan.
The whole set that we bought, including stainless, non-stick, carbon steel
Carbon steel
Frying pans and saucier (yes CandySueQ you do need this)
Non-stick frying pan and sauté pan
Sauce pans and 8 quart stock pot. I suspect we are going to add more sauce pans.
Action pictures!
Carbon Steel after second seasoning and first cook of bacon
Getting ready to cook breakfast …. Bacon, sausage, eggs was the menu
Bacon in the carbon steel
Eggs in the stainless
Cleaned up afterwards, which was very easy
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