I have been getting emails from this place for a while. Never heard of them but some of the products and deals look interesting. Anyone have any experience with them?
I believe I've seen them recommended as the best option for affordable cookware rivaling All-Clad but at a much lower price. Hopefully, someone can verify. I think maybe Serious Eats was the source?
I've got a 13" carbon steel paella pan on order from them. I'll inspect for quality and give a report when I get it.
That being said, I think I'm going to return it immediately. I had been on a wait list for a Blanc Creatives pan for a while and it finally opened up so that'll probably be the direction I go.
We have the 13" carbon steel paella pan and have been very happy with it. The pan has a nice heft, much more solid than the inexpensive paella pans you can get just about everywhere. Must admit that this is the first carbon steel pan I've worked with, so we're still on the learning curve. But the two paellas we've made have been great.
I got one of their stainless skillets pretty close to when they first started a couple years back. It is an awesome pan. Very well constructed, cooks great, and is much cheaper than a comparable All Clad. I have since picked up a couple of their other pans.
I also got one of their non-sticks thinking it would hold up better than a cheap $20 non-stick but no luck there. It lasted a couple years and then lost its non-stickyness.
I was looking at those. There are some reviews online, I think from cooking websites, that weren't terribly favorable.
Haha I bought three sets of the Kirkland Costco copper core pans. One for the lady takes care of my mom, one for her daughter, one for the little boy who lives in the lane (that's me I guess, it is still in the box). She says they are awesome.
One difference I noticed with these clad pans is the weight. I realized there is less of moving the pots and pans around, more like bringing the water to the pot, not bringing the pot elsewhere for serving, etc. Just too heavy especially with the food. They just sort of stay stationary.
BTW the Tramontina gets very high marks, rated almost as good as All-Clad but much more afforadable. You can check the reviews online, I don't remember which site did thorough comparisons with testing and so forth, ATK or wirecutter perhaps ?
Tramontina is made in Covidvirusstan. The enamel on those starts to get rough after a couple of years of average use. They are inexpensive, but not durable.
Have their non-stick skillets (one each of the three sizes). Good stuff. My father-in-law has a couple of their stainless steel pans and really likes those two. Would recommend without hesitation.
Paella pans should be thinner rather than thicker metal. You want a paella pan to heat up quickly and cool down quickly. A thinner pan helps with the sofrito and achieving a proper soccarat. A thinner pan sheds heat more quickly so there will be less carryover heat which might cause the soccarat to be burned rather than staying that nice golden brown.
I've noticed a couple of manufacturers boasting about the thick walls of their paella pans as if they are supposed to be competing with a cast iron skillet or a heavy duty carbon steel skillet. I'm guessing being thicker is sort of like how some manufacturers make some items feel heavier as so many folks think "heftiness" equates with quality.
All that said, I have no doubt that good results can be achieved with any pan but personally, I wouldn't let the thickness of a paella pan be my main criteria.
I have a Madein Wok. It's a beast. Heavy carbon steel. Once seasoned, it is a pleasure to use. I have an old carbon steel Peking wok I use outside over lump, but I wanted something for inside that was aesthetically pleasing. The Madein isn't the cheapest, but the quality of the French made carbon steel is noticeable.
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