I have a Tramontina 3 qt multicooker that I love. It came with a steamer and a double boiler insert. Nice, thick bottom, and good quality. Glass lid. I use it quite a lot.
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I got this set right at a year ago. https://www.amazon.com/Viking-3-Ply-.../dp/B00JLUO41Q
It doesn't have the coated non-stick pieces, but they do have them I believe. I did some research and found this to my liking. If I follow their recommendations and use medium heat or less, I have found they are non-stick and clean up very easily. The only knock I have read about them is the bottoms turning darker than the rest of the pot/pan. I don't expect cookware to stay the same color, so I haven't tried the cleaning recommended. I just hand wash and use them daily.
It's a little pricey. I was lucky and found them on amazon at half the price. I love cooking with them.Comment
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Sam's Club has a Viking set for a couple of hundred in the stores, I may have to research them. Consumer Reports was not a fan though, and I didn't see any other professional reviews. -
I can't find the reviews I found last year, but they were from Amazon, Wirecutter, and the like. I looked and all of the great reviews for this set are gone, updated for 2019. The new reviews knock this set due to discoloring (true from my experience), and uneven heating - I have not noticed this on my set. But, I have followed Viking's instructions for cooking at medium mostly, so quickly going to very high temps may cause uneven cooking? I'd be interested in what you choose, how it works!
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I recently got a set of Cuisinart non-sticks (pans and pots) as a thank-you prize for my 10th anniversary at work and I gotta say they are wonderful. Lifetime warranty too. Not much else I can add, just a shout-out to Cuisinart.Comment
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Also check out restaurant supply houses cheap workhorse pans and stock pots. I grabbed a giant no-name stockpot for short money its like 8 gallons. Use it to make huge batches of stock for holiday cooking and lobster bakes. It only gets used a few times a year but when you need a big pot...
Sorry I digress, my point is restaurant supply stores can be a good source of quality that is less expensive than the brand names.Comment
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Check out Cooks Standard multiply on Amazon. For non stick, take a look at Geenpan Ceramic non stick skillets (I found at Target). Been very happy with both for affordable cookware. That being said, I’d love some All-Clad, but I’d rather have the money in my grills and I do most of the cooking here. So far, Greenpan has lasted longer than anything else we’ve tired in the under $30 range for skillets.Comment
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All clad is the best imho. Tried and own others like it but they don’t clean up as well. Build your own set out of the various retailers specials - those extra low price loss leaders to get you hooked.Comment
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Before you even think about anything other then LeCreuset for your dutch oven needs, take a look at this video....
...pay attention to the last thing she says..."they will last you a lifetime". It's a solid investment in cookware, they will literally make you a better cook.Comment
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I have a 3qt skillet, 2 & 3qt saucepans from All Clad, a 12" carbon fry pan from Matfer, a 5 quart coated cast Iron dutch oven of unknown origin, a 6qt stainless stock pot from the local second hand store, and a 8" ceramic coated fry pan from Henckels. The 8" is my "eggs only" pan,the 3qt skillet and 12"carbon pan do about 95% of the cooking. If I had to give all of them up but one, then all my cooking would be done in the 12" carbon pan. I have learned to love that thing! My All Clad stuff all came from the closeout/seconds sale they run every few months online, and to be honest, I can't tell you what was wrong with them or why they were selling for a discount. They looked like new, and cook like the quality pans they are. The only thing I would change is swapping out the 3qt saucepan for a 3qt saucier. The GF has a $15 set of 3 non-stick pans that she swears are the best pans she ever bought, and raves about how they have lasted for years. I'm smart enough not to mention to her that she cooks 2 meals a year, and only uses one of her beloved pans.
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I'm still looking, and as expected, the wife freaked out when I showed her the price tag on even a cheap Tramontina set (Best Buy over at Cooking Illustrated) that was a couple of hundred bucks online at Walmart. AND she just had a tooth crack, and is looking at a crown - she already had a root canal and a different tooth crowned earlier this year, and the dental insurance is already maxed out for the year, meaning any repairs will be out of pocket next week.
So with the dental expense looming large over Christmas, my thoughts for now that we are cooking on what we already have, and gradually replacing it as I find quality individual pieces on sale. Probably gonna get her a new 12" non-stick immediately, go for the 12" All-Clad skillet eventually if I find one on sale, and teach her to start using my Lodge 12" CI more. The rest of the pots and pans will be a gradual replacement. She has never used a dutch oven beyond the old crappy ones in the cookware we got 30 years ago, and as pots to boil stuff in. So she is not sure she will use a fancy smancy porcelain coated cast iron dutch oven, so the highly expensive LeCreuset is out of the question. I have my Lodge 5.5 uncoated dutch oven, so think she might be better served with an 8 quart stainless dutch oven or stock pot, to supplement 2 or 3 nice sauce pans. If I can get her to use the Lodge 5.5 DO, then we will consider a coated one.Comment
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On our Honeymoon (1988), my wife and I were gifted a couple of nights in Santa Barbara. We also had $500 in gift money. We went to a shop that had French China. I saw a set I loved and the price tag was $300. Sold...until I found out it was $300 for a setting. I almost fell out. When I asked why it was so expensive the saleslady said "The French have to eat well." That honeymoon money helped pay for a Weber kettle. -
a 3qt saucier and a small butter pot should go for the sauce pans. Stainless for the saucier.
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This thread made me start thinking about how much i needed some new non-sticks. I had never heard of tramontina before but i just ended up picking up a ceramic coated one from amazon. Pretty cheap, we will see how it goes.Comment
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Let us know how it goes. I am tossing Tramontina's in 8, 10 and 12 inch sizes. They still work great, and have held up longer than any other non-sticks we have ever owned, but they have a white non-stick coating that is dingy and dirty looking, and SWMBO wants dark coated ones that won't always look dirty... Check out the review here: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/equ...stick-skillets
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Ok, thanks for all the advice, you all gave me a LOT of pots and pans to look at!
I've pulled the trigger on two replacement non-sticks to replace the old worn out ones, which are the pans SWMBO complains about the most. They work fine, but the white non-stick surface has discolored over time and looks dirty - probably from tomato sauce and such if I had to guess. The new ones are Oxo Pro non-stick, recommended by Cooks Illustrated, with a dark interior, and I've got 8" (eggs) and 12" on the way. I've got an Amazon wish list built of the rest of it, and will get new pieces as budget allows.
I am basically following the advice here:
We have a LOT more pans than we need. I counted in addition to my 12" Lodge skillet, 14" Lodge pizza pan and 5.5 quart Lodge DO, we have probably a half dozen assorted skillets, with only 2 of the non-stick often used, a 2 burner cast aluminum griddle (not getting rid of that - its my goto for pancakes), 2 stainless dutch ovens (probably 5-6 quart from 2 different old sets), a double boiler that we never use, and about 4-5 sauce pans of assorted sizes, from 2 or 3 old sets. The only thing with a recognizable name on it are a couple of old Tramontina non-sticks (which have lasted admirably, but stained), the cast iron of course, and one or two Farberware pots. And there are a half dozen assorted cookie sheets and jelly roll pans too. Oh, and a wok hanging on a hook over in the pantry.
It's like what Spinaker said about his folks kitchen. TOO MUCH STUFF Need to simplify, as right now, the pots and pans take 2 24" base cabinet sections, and stacked in a hodge podge fashion, on the bottom and the shelf of each of those cabinets. You have to fish what you want out of a stack, and hope everything else doesn't fall out in the floor.
So, let's now continue this discussion in the goal of what does it take to have a fully equipped, but minimal kitchen?
If you go by the article I linked, the minimum would be a dutch oven (large 7 to 8 quart), 4 quart sauce pan, and two 12" skillets. I have to think you also need a stock pot (I have a 2 and 5 gallon stainless ones already), and at least one smaller 2 quart sauce pan. I feel a smaller skillet like 8" is good for making something like a couple of eggs, but don't see why I need an in-between 10" skillet if I have 8 and 12 covered.Comment
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I chucked a lot of our cookware a little over a year ago and went with cast iron for skillets and Fissler for pots. German made, pretty high quality. I recommend them, but I think some of the other suggestions are good too.Comment
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When I was a young, free, man I had one big CI skillet, one small pan for brewing tea, a medium pan for soups and all, a large pan for beans, chili, etc... and a roasting pan with grate and lid.
Now, I have the Viking set, old small pan for tea, large CI-like pot (what it is escapes me now), CI skillet, old medium pan for whatever, Instant Pot (because it is fantastic
), Ninja blender, somewhat big food processor, smaller hand crank processor for salsa, older stand mixer with glass bowls, large roasting pan, 4 sizes of casserole dishes and one deep casserole dish, 3 sizes of shallow baking pans and other things around like George Foreman haha, and at least 3 or 4 coffee makers (I don't know why). Pretty certain I am forgetting a couple of things.....
What I need now is a new house with a larger kitchen.
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