My new favorite products - kitchen products

[glypnirsgirl]

AllClad absolutely is my favorite--pricey, but top quality and excellent temp consistency for frying or sauteing due to the true all clad construction. Also highly recommended by Cooks Illustrated if that matters.

Thanks --- I have been wanting one of the AllClad pans --- they are so pricey I was reluctant to buy one without a personal recommendation.

I love the Cooks Illustrated books and the America's Test Kitchen. Of all of the new recipes that I have tried, by far my favorite is the Cider Braised Pork Chops --- succulent, deliciousl, tender --- fantastic!

I am longing to try the chicken and dumpling recipe that is posted here (PJ? Heathpak?) on the cooking thread --- Ian (who doesn't like chicken) keeps on nixing it. And he loves gnocchi so I think that he would actually enjoy the dumplings.

elaine

 

[Passepartout]

AllClad: I wanted to try this, but because of the price, I just bought the little 1.5 qt saucepan. I have a set of Cuisineart copper-chef, and actually prefer the Cuisineart to the AllClad. They both tarnish- duh, it's copper, but the one thing that galls me about AllClad is the straight top edge. It is impossible to pour from it without whatever used to be inside drizzling down the outside.

Oh, yeah, you are right Elaine, crack eggs on a flat surface. Cracking them on the edge of a bowl or other rim, just pushes shell- and whatever is on it- into the egg.

Jim

 

[ScoopKona]

AllClad: I wanted to try this, but because of the price, I just bought the little 1.5 qt saucepan. I have a set of Cuisineart copper-chef, and actually prefer the Cuisineart to the AllClad. They both tarnish- duh, it's copper, but the one thing that galls me about AllClad is the straight top edge. It is impossible to pour from it without whatever used to be inside drizzling down the outside.

Jim

All-Clad's cop-r-chef series pans are for decorative purposes. The copper on those pans is so thin as to be thermally useless. (EDIT -- They're still good pans. But they're not good COPPER pans.)

If you're looking to experience cooking with copper, go with Falk. Get their saute pan. That's where good copper comes in handy -- unless you've got mad BTUs in the kitchen. (Then it doesn't matter what metal is used, provided it doesn't react with food.)

 

[MuranoJo]

Scoop, I think Jim was referring to Cuisinart copper-chef (or cop-r-chef), not AllClad. But then again, AllClad also has a copper line, so maybe...., but I only get the AllClad stainless.

 

[ScoopKona]

Scoop, I think Jim was referring to Cuisinart copper-chef (or cop-r-chef), not AllClad. But then again, AllClad also has a copper line, so maybe...., but I only get the AllClad stainless.

I read it that he bought a 1.5 quart All Clad Cop-R-Chef saucepan in addition to his Cuisinart pans.


But All-Clad or Cuisinart, doesn't matter. Manufacturers of good copper pans reveal the thickness of the copper exterior layer in the product description.

All-Clad and Cuisinart have a "looks good" thin copper veneer. Mauviel has several lines ranging from "serving copper" of 1.2 mm, to "cooking copper" of 2.5mm

All the 2.5mm copper pans out there are made by metal manufactured by Falk. So buy Falk. It's spendy. But it's one of those purchases that lasts forever.

However -- if you have the BTUs, copper isn't necessary. It's a little more responsive. But that doesn't justify the expense and cleaning effort. Copper's main advantage is giving the home cook with limited rangetop firepower the same experience as a professional cook using a Vulcan with a 1" gas pipe.

That being said, all our pans are copper. But we bought them at thrift stores and used restaurant equipment stores. We have pieces from just about every manufacturer, including All-Clad. They're still good pans. But they're not anywhere near as good as Falk.

 

[CarolF]

I'm lusting after a Thermomix but at $1900 (that's what they are charging us in Australia ) it will be on my wish list for a long, long time.

http://www.thermomix.com.au/

 

[glypnirsgirl]

I am cooking on a Kenmore dual fuel range. DEFINITELY low BTUs for the gas burners.

I have never heard of Falk pans --- but I am willing to go on a search mission to find used ones at a good price.

Jim - thanks for the critique of the AllClad pans. My regular pans are Farberware that I have had since 1976. They are still in great shape. The skillets have straight up and down sides instead of a slope --- and that is what I am looking for - almost an omelet pan, but deeper.

elaine

 

[Passepartout]

OK, you guys are onto me. My pans are just 'cosmetic' copper, like Scoopy said. One All-Clad and the rest are Cuisinart copper coated from Costco (now discontinued as far as I know). I DO have a Viking with pretty good cooking horsepower, so it doesn't matter a lot. I also have some French enameled cast iron and a soapstone pot that functions as a dynamite slow-cooker for two.

Jim

 

[heathpack]

I am cooking on a Kenmore dual fuel range. DEFINITELY low BTUs for the gas burners.

I have never heard of Falk pans --- but I am willing to go on a search mission to find used ones at a good price.

Jim - thanks for the critique of the AllClad pans. My regular pans are Farberware that I have had since 1976. They are still in great shape. The skillets have straight up and down sides instead of a slope --- and that is what I am looking for - almost an omelet pan, but deeper.

elaine

What you have with the straight-up sides is currently called a "saute pan." What you are looking for is a skillet.

We have a Lodge cast iron skillet that we love but we mostly use it for searing and pan frying (and beer-can oven roasted chicken). Its best property is that it holds heat well so the pan's temperature does not drop when food is placed in it.

For our regular skillets we have Vollrath brand, both Teflon and regular. These are commercial grade skillets with a very heavy "disc" of stainless-coated aluminum at their base. The aluminum is very conductive (as is copper), the stainless is just an easy-care finish. Aluminum or copper are both great for cookware becuase the temperature of the pan changes very quickly when you change the heat under the pan. This means that the temperature of the pan spends more time at the temperature you are trying for it to be. The Vollraths are known to be workhorses that can go straight from stovetop to oven at a decent price.

H

 

[pjrose]

pots and pans

Our best pans are Calphalon hard anodized - without the non-stick coating. For stir-frying or other use I also use a Domo non-stick sort-of-wok from TJ Max, and for omelets I use a ceramic(?) non-stick TJ Max 8" pan that claims to be "green". DH's favorite pan is an 11" square Kitchenaid no-longer-non-stick; haven't found a good replacement for it yet. (WalMart has a similar Paula Dean but it's heavier.)

For pots, we use stainless Revere Ware and Farberware, and for the really big pots a 40 year old Copco enameled cast-iron dutch oven and a big Calphalon hard-anodized. I have a beautiful set of copper-outside, stainless-inside pots and pans from the 70s.....not sure of the brand but they were darned expensive at the time. Don't use them much, though, just don't have room for everything.

I still have some of my father's Guardian Ware.

Hmmm......sounds like it's time for some downsizing to just the half-dozen "go-to" pots and pans

 

[ScoopKona]

One last thing about pans.

GOOD pans are heavy. Real heavy. The heavier, the better. A good 2.5 mm fry pan will be quite a workout when sautéing. Most people I know simply do not have the arm strength to wield a good pan. Good copper pans are prized because they have the ability to respond to temperature changes quickly, yet HOLD HEAT through sheer mass. I cook all day with heavy pans, and thus I have Popeye arms.

A $500 set of pans from Bed, Bath and Beyond isn't going to be able to do nearly as much as a good $400 fry pan or sauté. (That's why I buy my pans at used restaurant supply stores and thrift shops -- I'm not about to spend $400 on a pan. But I find them all the time for $5. I've bought almost 20 pans this way.)

Here are some tips:

1) Do the pans have a Celebrity Chef's name on them? Don't buy.

2) Do the pans have a name that ends in "lon?" Don't buy.

3) Are the pans teflon coated? Then only buy if they're cheap. Because teflon pans don't last very long. Why spend $100 on a pan that's only going to last a year, after all? I cook eggs with teflon, and nothing else. I never clean these pans. I wipe them with a rag when I'm done with them and put them away.

4) Run your fingers over the cooking surface (when they're cool, naturally). Do you feel any kind of texture? Then don't buy.

5) Are the pans lightweight? Is the cooking surface made out of aluminum? Don't buy.

6) Do the pans have plastic or rubber grips? Don't buy. How the hell are you going to put them in the oven if they have plastic or rubber grips?

7) Are there any screws on the pan? Then don't buy. Only buy pans which have handles attached with rivets.

 

[pjrose]

That's a helpful list, Scoop.

I'm especially with you on #3, Teflon. We got an enameled cast iron pan for a wedding present, enameled outside and Teflon inside. It was one of our favorites, but even with wood and plastic utensils, the little black specks started peeling off into the food. Bye-Bye probably expensive pan. Our non-sticks are of the TJ Maxx variety.

I do a lot of thrift-store shopping; what should I look for to score a really good pan? How do I tell a Scoop-approved $400 pan?

 

[MuranoJo]

To my knowledge, we don't have used restaurant supply stores around here, but we certainly have thrift shops. I check the thrift shops once in awhile but it's mostly junk. But I'll certainly have to look closely at the cookware from now on, Scoop--just in case a restaurant dumps some old inventory there.

PJ, we also have a Calphalon, 12" skillet, but it's an old Commercial grade non-stick, and it just gets better the older it gets. It's very heavy, and DH's favorite. Unfortunately, they haven't sold that line for several years.

 

[Twinkstarr]

That's a helpful list, Scoop.

I'm especially with you on #3, Teflon. We got an enameled cast iron pan for a wedding present, enameled outside and Teflon inside. It was one of our favorites, but even with wood and plastic utensils, the little black specks started peeling off into the food. Bye-Bye probably expensive pan. Our non-sticks are of the TJ Maxx variety.

I do a lot of thrift-store shopping; what should I look for to score a really good pan? How do I tell a Scoop-approved $400 pan?

I found an All-Clad 3-4 qt sauce pan at TJ Maxx just before Xmas. Was only $110, many upset fellow shoppers who had never thought to look for kitchen stuff before. Didn't mind spending the money as it was replacing a Revereware pot that belonged to my mom.

 

[Elan]

My collection of Lodge cast iron keeps growing. Latest addition is a 14" cast pizza pan. I haven't used it for pizza yet, but I've been getting into making my own pies lately, and the stones weren't cutting it. No ambitions to be Peter Reinhart, but I've cranked out some pretty good crusts.

Our "other" pans are very heavy (heavier than All-Clad) stainless with copper sandwich bottoms. Bought at the Bon (now Macy's) 20+ years ago. They were made in Belgium and more recently in China (imagine). It's actually really nice cookware, and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Heats evenly and cleans up respectably well. Having said that, I really only use the sauce pans much anymore as I tend toward the cast skillets and saute pans.

 

[pjrose]

My collection of Lodge cast iron keeps growing. . . .

Lodge is great stuff; I don't have any, but my sister loves it. I have a flat-top stove and am afraid Lodge might scratch it (?).

(Yes, I know gas is the way to go.....it's not available where we live and we never got around to putting in an LPG tank.)

 

[MuranoJo]

I found an All-Clad 3-4 qt sauce pan at TJ Maxx just before Xmas. Was only $110, many upset fellow shoppers who had never thought to look for kitchen stuff before. Didn't mind spending the money as it was replacing a Revereware pot that belonged to my mom.

Same here--I see AllClad quite often in TJ Maxx. The price is definitely better, but I'm going to start hitting those thrift shops, LOL!

 

[Passepartout]

in-drawer lights

I saw these at IKEA the last time there. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50126605/ Got a couple and they are COOL! Open a drawer (or cabinet) and they come on for 15 seconds. I have no idea how long the batteries will last, but since they take 6 AAAs I'll say it will be a long time- like years. So far I've had them for 6 months or so and they have worked flawlessly. Installation is either with 2 small screws or the included foam tape. They are 11 1/2" long and unfortunately not available online- just in IKEA stores.

Jim

 

[Kal]

Hmmmm, if the room is so dark that you can't see inside a drawer, the light stays on for 15 seconds so you can find something, say a knife. Then the light goes out and you have a knife in your hand with no light in the room to see what you're doing with it. Then maybe turn on the kitchen light so you can see what your doing.

Why not just turn on the kitchen light to start with??

 

[Passepartout]

Hmmmm, if the room is so dark that you can't see inside a drawer, the light stays on for 15 seconds so you can find something, say a knife. Then the light goes out and you have a knife in your hand with no light in the room to see what you're doing with it. Then maybe turn on the kitchen light so you can see what your doing.

Why not just turn on the kitchen light to start with??

Y'know, you can see what's in your fridge without a light in there, but it sure is nice to have a light turn on when you open the door. Same deal.

Jim

 

[Kal]

Y'know, you can see what's in your fridge without a light in there, but it sure is nice to have a light turn on when you open the door. Same deal.

Jim

I never thought of keeping the refrigerator door open to light up the kitchen so I can see what I'm doing. For the drawer, I could keep opening and shutting it so I can continue to see the counter top.

 

[Passepartout]

For the drawer, I could keep opening and shutting it so I can continue to see the counter top.

The drawer light doesn't illuminate the counter top no matter how many times you open and close the drawer.

 

[Kal]

The drawer light doesn't illuminate the counter top no matter how many times you open and close the drawer.

Drat, that won't work. So maybe just leave the refrigerator door open so as to see the countertop. If all else fails, may have to turn on the kitchen light.

 

[pjrose]

This is too funny! :hysterical:

How about a light-up knife, or heck, light up utensils and a light up cutting board? Then you wouldn't have to open the refrigerator or keep opening and closing the drawer!

 

[Kal]

This is too funny! :hysterical:

How about a light-up knife, or heck, light up utensils and a light up cutting board? Then you wouldn't have to open the refrigerator or keep opening and closing the drawer!

No, no, no, no! All you need is a miner's helmet! That way you can look in drawers, cabinets and peer into the ketchup bottle. Even use it when the refrigerator light burns out. I hear you can get a solar powered miner's helmet so there's no need to install those pesky 23 AAA's that always get gooey stuff on the ends when you don't look at them.