cooking with nonstick or stainless pots/pans (Howe, China: appointed, home)

[Houston_2010]

I'm looking for a new set of pots/pans. I was wondering if anyone had experience with Calphalon for their Unison product (non-stick) or All-clad stainless. I'm debating if I should get one of these or something different. I do want something that is good quality but also that won't break the bank.

A lot of people tell me that if I do buy Stainless, I won't have to buy another set ever again. That's great...but not necesarily my main concern. I would prefer a set that is easy to use and won't cause much headache in cleaning/maintenance.

[Supermac34]

Calphalon All Clad Stainless is very nice, and people are correct, you will not have to purchase a set again, they last forever. My advice is to pony up and get a nice set that is not made in China (yes they do exist) whether its the higher end Calphalon or some other nice brand.

As far as non stick, we always keep a skillet or two around for when we don't feel like a heavy clean up, or if I just want some quick eggs or something. Other than that, we cook on cast iron and stainless for everything.

[lhafer]

I don't have experience with the particular lines you asked about, but I have Calphalon's Contemporary cookware. I have had this cookware for 6 years and LOVE it. LOVE it! It's nonstick, cooks evenly, and is very easy to wash (because nothing sticks!).
Calphalon Contemporary Non-Stick 8-Piece Cookware Set and Open Stock - Bed Bath & Beyond

I cooked an alfredo pasta dish in my 10" pan on evening. I accidentally left the gas burner on low overnight, and didn't find it until the morning. I thought I had just ruined one of my favorite pans. But no! All the burnt on food literally slid off the pan.

You do have to be careful using metal utensils with them. I have made sure to swtich over to wood/plastic spoon, spatulas, etc. But they are well worth the $$ to me.

I also have the griddle, panini pan, and the covered wok (which I got for $25 w/lid at the Calphalon outlet store because there is a tiny scratch on the outside of the pan, which doesn't interfer with cooking at all!).

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by Supermac34

Calphalon All Clad Stainless is very nice, and people are correct, you will not have to purchase a set again, they last forever. My advice is to pony up and get a nice set that is not made in China (yes they do exist) whether its the higher end Calphalon or some other nice brand.

As far as non stick, we always keep a skillet or two around for when we don't feel like a heavy clean up, or if I just want some quick eggs or something. Other than that, we cook on cast iron and stainless for everything.

Everyone needs an outdoor grill, and oven/range, a dutch oven, a big cast-iron skillet, a little cast-iron skillet and a cheap teflon skillet for eggs.

[DrLizardo]

It's your lucky day - I have both and use them every day. Last August ('09) I replaced a set of Cuisinart professional cookware that was 25 years old or older with a pretty extensive set of All-Clad stainless supplemented by several pieces of Calphalon Unison. Since you're interested in cleaning and maintenance, I'll limit my performance comments to say that you won't be disappointed with either.

All-Clad's Stainless and one other AC line are the only lines that AC says are dishwasher safe. And Unison is rated as 100% dishwasher safe as well. I'll break my experience down by brand.

AC Stainless cleans well in the dishwasher but if you have stuck on food you will have to do some scrubbing with a kitchen brush. It will develop stains and spots, like all stainless steel cookware apparently, but it comes off easily with Bar Keeper/s Friend. It's just a fact of life, and in many places where you can buy stainless cookware you will find they display Bar Keeper's Friend right there with it. Whenever I notice a piece looking a little bit off I will hit it with some liquid BKF and stick it in the washer, or even just rinse it and dry it off. In this modern age of convenient things it would be nice to not have to do that, but from everything I have read that is just not the case with stainless cookware. And I hang my cookware from a pot rack so I like to keep it shiny.

The Unison stuff cleans very easily. Occasionally stuff will stick to the rivet heads that are holding the handle on, and that will require a little brush work to knock off. One fry pan gets almost daily use by someone in my house, and the lining is starting to show the wear. Someone used a metal utensil on it and scratched it up, and it's going to have to be replace soon. However, a griddle pan gets almost as much use by me alone, and the general wear of the lining is consistent between the two pieces. My verdict is that while the Unison pieces are generally very easily cleaned in the dishwasher, you need to factor in replacements based on the lining wearing thin (even if spouse or kid doesn't scratch it up).

[ChocolateBabz]

I recently bought a set of Circulon Infinite (can go in dishwasher!!) and love them. I got a really good deal ordering online through Macy's - 2 free pans + free delivery. Yes they were expensive but I imagine they will last for years to come.

[Redrover]

Originally Posted by Supermac34

Calphalon All Clad Stainless is very nice, and people are correct, you will not have to purchase a set again, they last forever. My advice is to pony up and get a nice set that is not made in China (yes they do exist) whether its the higher end Calphalon or some other nice brand.

As far as non stick, we always keep a skillet or two around for when we don't feel like a heavy clean up, or if I just want some quick eggs or something. Other than that, we cook on cast iron and stainless for everything.

Sorry Supermac34 but All Clad and Calphalon are two separate brands of pots and pans. Most of the chefs that I watch on the cooking shows (unless they have their own product lines, like Rachael Ray) use All Clad.

Either brand is a high quality product but I rather think that one shoudl buy the best pan for the job, regardless of the brand. I love my All Clad skillets but I have several sauce pans made of anodized aluminum (highly resistant to corrosion and scratching, and are the strongest, most durable cookware currently available) that I have had for twenty years and will have forever (Magnalite Professional). But for soups and stews I love Le Creuset dutch ovens and everyone should have a cast iron skillet. So what I'm saying is don't try to buy a "set" that includes everything, get the best pans for the particular task you need it for. BTW, Calphalon makes good anodized pots.

As a rule I don't buy non-stick pans but I do have one that I use for eggs. Non-stick pans are not good at all if you are trying to brown anything which seems to be a major component in most of my cooking. And I seldom have any problem cleaning any of my pans, even the All Clad ones - I let them cool, soak them to loosen anything sticking and scrub with hot soapy water and a safe nylon scrubber.

[HoustonRonnie]

I'm not clear on the keeping All-Clad pans spotless by scrubbing the hell out of them. I love to cook and have All-Clad and Cuisinart and am a total devotee of LeCreuset. However, if you, like me, watch cooking shows, then when you see the kitchen in top-rated restaurants, most of the All-Clad and equivalent pans hanging out look like they've been used to dig in the garden and pound nails. Why the obcession with keeping them spotless?

[Redrover]

Those pots and pans that you see in real-life restaurant kitchens are NOT All-Clad. but you're right, they are not obsessed with keeping them pristine. However, they are "clean" in the sense that they have had all the most recent food residue removed, at least from the cooking surfaces. The restaurants buy the skillets and other frequently used pans in restaurant supply stores in bulk (for far less than you would pay at home) because they go through so many in one meal's service and when they have been banged up and mangled to the point of not being serviceable any longer, they are discarded. For this reason they don't buy investment-quality pots and pans. That said, home cooks don't have the luxury of buying in such bulk quantities so they have to take care of the few they have. There is no "rule" that you have to keep them scrubbed to within an inch of their lives but especially if you keep them out on display, keeping them presentable is usually preferred. Because restaurant pans are frequently used over higher heat than home cooks use, they tend to get that black, burned-on patina which doesn't affect their cooking properties - the cooking surface is cleaned after each use. Bottom line, if you are keeping your pans out of sight and don't care about their esthetics, then don't stress over keeping them scrubbed to a fare-thee-well. But frankly, if I have paid $100 for an All-Clad pan, I feel obliged to take reasonable steps to keep it in good condition since I don't have a garage full of waiting replacements.

I can still remember years ago going to an Italian restaurant over on I-10 that had an open food prep kitchen. I would watch the cooks/chefs make an entree in a horrible looking skillet and after plating, they would throw the dirty skillet over to a pile of other dirty ones. They did NOT set it carefully in the sink to soak like we would and they were treated with about as much care as a pile of dirty hubcaps. As a result, these pans were bent, warped, blackened and generally just a mess but as long as they could still sit on a burner and produce the food, back into service they went. Would you treat your $100+ All-Clad pans like that? Not likely.

[HoustonRonnie]

Originally Posted by Redrover

Those pots and pans that you see in real-life restaurant kitchens are NOT All-Clad. but you're right, they are not obsessed with keeping them pristine. However, they are "clean" in the sense that they have had all the most recent food residue removed, at least from the cooking surfaces. The restaurants buy the skillets and other frequently used pans in restaurant supply stores in bulk (for far less than you would pay at home) because they go through so many in one meal's service and when they have been banged up and mangled to the point of not being serviceable any longer, they are discarded. For this reason they don't buy investment-quality pots and pans. That said, home cooks don't have the luxury of buying in such bulk quantities so they have to take care of the few they have. There is no "rule" that you have to keep them scrubbed to within an inch of their lives but especially if you keep them out on display, keeping them presentable is usually preferred. Because restaurant pans are frequently used over higher heat than home cooks use, they tend to get that black, burned-on patina which doesn't affect their cooking properties - the cooking surface is cleaned after each use. Bottom line, if you are keeping your pans out of sight and don't care about their esthetics, then don't stress over keeping them scrubbed to a fare-thee-well. But frankly, if I have paid $100 for an All-Clad pan, I feel obliged to take reasonable steps to keep it in good condition since I don't have a garage full of waiting replacements.

I can still remember years ago going to an Italian restaurant over on I-10 that had an open food prep kitchen. I would watch the cooks/chefs make an entree in a horrible looking skillet and after plating, they would throw the dirty skillet over to a pile of other dirty ones. They did NOT set it carefully in the sink to soak like we would and they were treated with about as much care as a pile of dirty hubcaps. As a result, these pans were bent, warped, blackened and generally just a mess but as long as they could still sit on a burner and produce the food, back into service they went. Would you treat your $100+ All-Clad pans like that? Not likely.

Alas that's exactly what mine look like and they hang on a kitchen ceiling rack. LOL