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Pots & Pans?

brent.kidwell

I'm in the market for new pots and pans in the home kitchen. I'm curious about the brand and style the Chef Steps folks are using in their kitchen and videos, as well as what others in the community have used successfully. Thanks, in advance, for your thoughts.

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Comments

seijoed

I go to restaurant supply stores and buy $15 pans.

Just season them well. - That is just me though.

Mason_Perry_34060

I also have cheapos that I got as a set as a house warming present. I am not sure what they are but they are all stainless steel, I don't like teflon (I have one teflon pan for crepes). It's one of those things where they aren't anything special, and they work so I have just never upgraded, money always seems to go to other stuff...

Chris_Young_80640

@brent – If I want a nice pot or pan, I might splurge at a restaurant supply store and get something like a Vollrath. But, honestly, I think expensive pots and pans are entirely overrated. Conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and most other material factors are minor compared to have an appropriately sized and powered burner beneath the pan.

Grace_95227

Hi @brent - since I live in a tiny apartment with a tiny kitchen, thought I'd share my absolute essentials with you which should cover most cooking needs:

1) a heavy-based cast iron pan - very versatile with even heat distribution: works for searing/frying, stir fries and roasting. One good example is this, it has an extra handle and a lip (for pouring sauces).

2) A small/medium non-stick saucepan - great for sauces, cooking grains/pasta, blanching vegetables.

3) Large stock pot with lid - great for pasta sauces, stocks, soups, curries. A simple stainless steel one should do.

4) Casserole pot / Dutch oven - if you like stews and do a lot of braising in the oven, this is great for bigger quantities.

Mason_Perry_34060

Great post!

Chris_Young_80640

@Grace – Agree, this is an excellent and versatile list of the basics. I might add that I personally like to have three or four of the same small pots, something like a 2 liter / 2 quart size.

Mason_Perry_34060

@Chris good call I tend to end up using 3 or 4 of those everytime I cook, sometime not even on the stove but to transfer water from the bath to ice chest or hot water into the bath.

seijoed

Cheap cookie sheets that are quick to clean is something else I find indispensable for moving food stuffs around.

Chris_Young_80640

@Johan – Agree. I like to have a bunch of small, inexpensive baking sheets with rims. We use these to organize our mise en place and tools. Since these stack easily, so they are fairly efficient when you're tight on storage space.

Mason_Perry_34060

I also have about a dozen stainless steel mixing bowls that seemed to be used A LOT

Grace_95227

@Chris - indeed. But space constraints of an apartment applies (especially since I had to make space for my Kitchenaid) - to make space for everything else :P Hence why we all love your Seattle kitchen!

Mason_Perry_34060

@Grace I feel your pain, I moved from an 800 square foot studio with LITERALLY 8 square feet of kitchen counter space, to a 2300 square foot house that has a 500 square foot kitchen! In our old place I had to place my cutting board over the sink to use it as the real counter space was so close to the old stove I couldn't prep anything! And at that time I didn't have a sous vide, chamber vac or my stand mixer.

Grace_95227

@Mason - you made my day. 500 sq ft kitchen is what I need, been wanting an island for ages! But yes, survivign and getting used to the 15 sq ft kitchen.

Mason_Perry_34060

My wife wanted this house because of the Italian marble shower and I wanted it because of the amazing kitchen!

michaeltran

I can tell you what not to buy - Calpahlon Unison - supposively their "top of the line". Its awful and will scratch if you use anything other than silicone on it. (regretful owner of the full set)

Mason_Perry_34060

That's a pitty, that is a nice looking set.

Brendan_Lee_56950

The only non-stainless pans/pots I own are either enameled cast iron or the all clad ltd2 which i believe is actually anodized and not a teflon coating.

seijoed

I've thrown out anything I could find with a coating, I only have cheapo pans aluminum, stainless steel or cast iron.

Brendan_Lee_56950

I bought my all clad as "second" (aka factory rejects) from cookware and more so they weren't too outrageously priced, but my go to is cast iron for the majority of things. I could probably make due with my le creuset dutch oven and my large cast iron skillet alone.

Mason_Perry_34060

I hate teflon pans, I saved one flat one for crepes and nothing else. I cook a ton of stuff in my carbon steel wok.

seijoed

I have cast iron pans from my great gramma for pancakes (Swedish style that are close to creepies).

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Restaurant supply stores are a great resource for tools and storage, but I've found that the best place to get decent cookware are closeout stores like Tuesday Morning, or Ross, or Home Goods. you can equip your entire kitchen with multiples of each size pot and pan for a couple hundred dollars and be on your way to Flavortown. Most of my stuff is Cuisinart, but there are a few other bits and bobs in there (like big Meyer saute pans). I don't have a particular affinity for the brand, it's just the most plentiful in those stores...... which, come to think of it, might actually not be a good thing!

And if you want to get into more specialized pieces, they will be cheaper as well; I got a Mauviel roasting pan two months ago for like $130. (I think the thing retailed for something like $500.)

(First post, yay!)

Mason_Perry_34060

Yup I have hit Ross and Marshalls a few times with the wife and I always head to the cooking/gourmet food isles first, some of the Palm pots and pans look nice, I got a big Dutch oven there for 39 bucks.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

I mainly use cast iron and carbon steel pans and a mixture of stainless steel pots.

The pots I use the most are butter warmers which are the perfect size for sauces, deep frying garnish and reheating vege (mainly I cook for two).