Good cookware worth the $$$?

[PointlessForest]

How worthwile is it to get some really good cookware? I really love to cook but all I have are shitty pots and pans. What are the pluses to having good cookware?

[AE5150]

I would say it's definitely worth the investment. Having quality equipment makes things work so much smoother, and there are qualities to good cookware that simply aren't present in cheap stuff (even heating, longer lasting, less likelihood of rust, less likelihood of the Teflon/nonstick-material breaking down, durability...I could go on). If you're serious about cooking, decent cookware is a long-term investment, and makes the actual cooking part much more enjoyable.

[superspeedz]

yep, i have a set of paderno pots and pans and they really are worth the investment. You can literally taste the difference, due to the heat transfer, with good cookware the heat transfer is much more evenly distributed.

[PointlessForest]

Hmm... evenness of heat sounds pretty awesome. All my pans now are only hot in the middle lol.

Any recommendations? Should I collect it piecemeal? Or is it better to buy a set?

[Alamo]

If your going for an actual nice set your looking at a nice chunk o change heh, if that's not an option sets are good for the matching factor and usually price breaks. I usually buy single pans/pots to save the cash but if you treat it properly it should hold up and be a great tool. A pan I love to use which is a great buy if you don't mind it being heavy is a cast iron skillet, long life, even spread of heat and cleaning is really easy, hot water good rag no soap and it retains flavor and seals itself. Either-way you definitely pay for what you get in cookware.

[puzld]

I like enamel coated cast iron. I've got all of mine from the thrift store, but Lodge now makes it and also I've seen some on Amazon from another company, I think the name is Staub or something like that, but sometimes they have sales and it is very reasonable, much less then the le Creuset stuff from France.

But you will get very even heat distribution with cast iron. You can also get the plain old cast iron, but it can be troublesome because of the "seasoning" involved.

[NoSkills]

good cookware is very nice to cook with - but I hear so many stories of people buying ridiculously expensive cookware when they don't know how to cook and expecting it to taste incredible. then they chuck it in the dishwasher.

the cookware does not produce the meal, the cook does. while good solid cookware is great, you can still produce good meals with cheaper stuff.

I have a couple of good pieces (Le Creuset etc) and they do make cooking easier - but that doesn't mean I can't cook as well with my IKEA cookware.

[Mantikore]

the funny thing is, a do have a lot of higher end pots, saucepans, chopping boards, silicone baking mats etc, yet my chefs knife is a crappy $10 thing i picked up at a discount store. it just seems to be the most comfortable.

anyway, i havent particularly noticed anything different between cheap and expensive pots and saucepans, as long as they both have that heat disc at the bottom. as for non stick, i find a middle range one is as good as a high end one.

though i use a cast iron skillet and carbon steel wok for a lot of things, and i picked each of them up for less than $10

[ratfrink]

I have a set of Le Creuset pans and a casserole. I found all of them in the cupboard in my old rented house, the inventory just said 'set of pans, green' so I just replaced them with cheap green pans and took the Le Creuset ones for myself.

[AE5150]

good cookware is very nice to cook with - but I hear so many stories of people buying ridiculously expensive cookware when they don't know how to cook and expecting it to taste incredible. then they chuck it in the dishwasher.

the cookware does not produce the meal, the cook does. while good solid cookware is great, you can still produce good meals with cheaper stuff.

I have a couple of good pieces (Le Creuset etc) and they do make cooking easier - but that doesn't mean I can't cook as well with my IKEA cookware.

Agreed...good cookware can make a talented cook better, but it won't make up for a lack of skill. That's an important thing to remember.

The dishwasher analogy is true. Whatever sort of cookware you get, the care and maintenance instructions are probably there for a reason. Yes, it takes a few extra minutes, but again, this is supposed to be a long-term investment. There's no reason to replace good cookware every couple of years.

[Euda]

http://www.all-clad.ca/index.htm

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