The OUTSIDE of your pots and pans

[Suzanne F]

All the recent discussions of cookware got me wondering: how important to you is the outside of your pots and pans? Do you buy copper to display as well as cook in, and obsessively polish it to keep it beautiful? Le Creuset or other enamel-ware that matches your wainscoting? Only AllClad Stainless or LTD, because they look so cool? Or, like me, do you buy without concern for presentation / looks, so long as the item works well (so I've got mostly AllClad MasterChef with one LTD thrown in, plus motley LeCreuset and other enamel)?

Wish this could be done as a poll, but . . .

[CathyL]

I'm in the function-over-form camp too, and have a sentimental regard for my old chipped Le Creuset enamel.

But recently I got an itch to polish my copper pots (bought years ago from grumpy Fred Bridge), and they do look beautiful. We'll see whether I keep this up...

[JAZ]

I have to say that although I would never buy something just because it looks good, I do care about what my cookware looks like. Since I work at a cookware store, I can get some good deals on some brands (plus quite a few free pieces from vendors through incentive programs or vendor demos). I've been getting Le Creuset (blue) for years and have quite a few pieces of that. Now I wish I could trade them all for the cool new "granite" color, but that's the way it goes. I clean them regularly with Le Creuset's cleaner, so they look pretty good. I have a couple of All Clad pieces (free) and one KitchenAid (ditto) but what I buy is Demeyere's Sirocco line. It's a clad construction like All Clad, but most of the pieces have a copper core rather than aluminum. Functionally I prefer it because a) I think the handles are more comfortable than All Clad and b) the handles are welded rather than riveted, so you don't have rivets inside the pan to collect gunk. Aesthetically, I just think they look cool. I try my hardest to keep them looking good (Bar Keepers Friend) but since they clean up pretty well, it's not too hard to do.

I don't have any copper pieces, primarily because if I had them, I know I'd want to keep them in the original condition, and I don't want that particular headache.

[Craig Camp]

With as much as I have spent on them I feel obligated to keep them looking good.

I have some 25 year old Le Creuset that I think I have developed a close personal relationship with - they've been with me longer than my wife or kids. Am I spending too much time in the kitchen?

[mamster]

I mostly don't care, and I have mostly All-Clad Master Chef, too, but once I was at a cooking class and watched someone using a 10" LTD skillet, and I was gripped with envy. So I guess I'm Suzanne.

[tommy]

i try to keep mine looking new because they're beautiful. if you can have a little more beauty in your home, why not?

[Marlene]

If I'm going to pay in the hundreds for a single pot, pan (roasting pan ) etc, I'm going to take the time and effort to keep them looking nice. I do prefer function over form, but there's no reason you can't have both

[Human Bean]

I keep the insides clean; don't care about the outside. The undersides of my saute / frying pans are pretty gunky; lots of baked-on brown oil that probably wouldn't come off without sandblasting. It doesn't affect the food, and doesn't even smoke when the pan gets hot. Pots on the other hand, are reasonably, but not obsessively clean. I have some old Revere pots (gifts; look nice when new, but have very thin metal and plastic handles - avoid them) that have copper bottoms; occasionally (maybe once a year) I'll scrub them with a salt/vinegar mixture to bring back the bright shiny copper surface, but they're soon back to normal (oxidized) so ultimately there isn't much point in cleaning them.

[jeniac42]

I have a husband who's a graphic designer and am myself a big fan of beautifully designed functional objects (cf. KitchenAids, and why did they come out with the new pale blue color? just to spite me?). So most of my pans are All-Clad Stainless, although I'm not buying anymore AC saucepans - no lip? What's up with that?

Function comes first, but design and appearance are also reasonably important.

[fifi]

Looks are important to me but I wouldn't buy something on looks alone. It has to work. I am currently in a snit because LeCreuset doesn't have the dark green anymore. I have a braising/soup/whatever and an oval French oven in green that I bought at the outlet in San Marcos about 4 years ago. I am now in need of the really bigger round oven and I can't get the green. Trying for black. That looks iffy. WHAT IS WITH THESE PEOPLE ANYWAY! I did order the gratin in white and finally got it. I have all white dishes so the color was important for serving at the table. All-Clad is cool. I don't have any but I bought sets of the Chefmate knock-offs for the kids. They love "the look" and... oh yeah... they cook good, too. I have a lot of Calphalon on the advice of my metallurgy and heat transfer experts. I like that look.

[Kim WB]

Le Creuset or other enamel-ware that matches your wainscoting?

not my wainscotting, my tile backsplash, silly!

I have a giant pot rack with the clean, pretty All Clad, and the rarely used Calphalons, and some non-creuset enamelware for color. I also have some bright aprons and such hanging, to brightne things up. My kitchen is mostly white and stainless, so I need a color punch. My everyday most used calphalon and all-clad stainless are in a pot drawer in the kitchen island.

[elyse]

My Le Creusets are all at least 40 years old, and clean, clean, clean. other pots and pans too. Not for looks, but because I want them to remain clean when stacked. My Le Creusets, by the by, are red/orange, pale yellow, and turquoise and grey. Possible those are not Le Creuset. I'll check. They're purdy though.

[fifi]

Come to think of it... my most beautiful pan is my grandmother's cast iron skillet. It is all glossy and black on the outside and black on the inside, and that is smooth as a baby's tush. Makes the best Texas corn bread in the state. Touch it with detergent and DIE!!!

Edited March 11, 2003 by fifi (log)

[MsRamsey]

Looks are important to me but I wouldn't buy something on looks alone. It has to work. I am currently in a snit because LeCreuset doesn't have the dark green anymore.

Have you tried eBay?

[fifi]

Yeah... No go on eBay. I even called all of the outlets.

[MsRamsey]

Yeah... No go on eBay.

Just keep trying. It'll show up. You can set it up so that the eBay 'bot keeps looking for it automatically.

[awbrig]

I have a copper All Clad saute pan and it is A PAIN IN THE ASS to maintain....the rest of my set is stainless steel All Clad which I absolutely love and its easy to maintain....and looks great with no maintenence...