NEWBIE needs help with cookware for registry...

[by350]

I am an aspiring chef and looking to add some nice cookware to our wedding registry. I have been looking at the Calphalon Commercial hard-anodized set, as well as the AllClad stuff. I'd love to have the AllClad, but it seems to be a bit too pricey.

What do you all recommend? If I go with the Calphalon Commercial hard-anodized set...am I making a good choice? I also like that I can find plenty of pieces on sale at Amazon.

Thanks for any advice!

[MatthewB]

Welcome, by350.

Have you read this thread?

[Fat Guy]

Welcome. Where are you registered? That will limit your choices, and thus the scope of what we'd recommend.

[by350]

Hi, MatthewB...yes I have read that thread...thanks!

I am registering at Macy's. They offer Calphalon, AllClad, Circulon, Anolon, and a few other lines. I'd really like to stick with a Calphalon or AllClad product, but I'm open to suggestions.

ALSO...I do NOT want nonstick cookware, correct?

[Bux]

I am an aspiring chef and

Should I assume you're headed towards a professional career cooking in a restaurant as in chef = chief of the kitchen brigade, or do you just see "chef" as term synonymous to good cook? I ask relative to a recent thread, "Chef" -- Who is? Who ain't? It's an important question as we have many culinary students and professionals here on eGullet.

As I've mentioned on the other thread, I'm not a big fan of anodized aluminum as a cooking surface. Others disagree with me and I haven't had all that much experience with these surfaces as I didn't enjoy the using the one pan I bought. Thus I would choose the All Clad. In fact I have several All Clad pots and pans. I don't care about how the used pots look and don't put them in the dish washer. Thus I buy the plain aluminum exterior with stainless interior.

I have a couple of pieces of non stick cookware. I was suspicious of their usefulness and didn't get good ones. Once again that may have hampered my appreciation for them. I think they serve a good function in any kitchen, as long as they stay nonstick.

[bilrus]

I agree with the last post. I think you need at least one nonstick skillet for eggs, etc. I know it is not as easy to do it this way, but as I am sure the previous thread mentioned, you might want to eschew a set in favor of a mix and match if different pieces for different uses. Some AllClad, some LeCrueset, some Calphalon, some Lodge cast-iron, some non-stick, some cheap.

Edit - also, my first set was Analon non-stick and it has held up very well for pretty regular home use.

Edited June 23, 2003 by bilrus (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

I love my 6" Circulon I use strictly for eggs. I use a heat resistant rubber scraper as an implement. It is the only nonstick I use with regularity.

A 2-4 qt saucier is also a great pan, it takes the place of so many miscellaneous pots.

[Bux]

By the way, we make omelets in a commerical aluminum pan. It's never used for anything else and is perfectly seasoned. If an omelet ever sticks, the pan gets a quick salt scrub and a little oil. I found I could not season an anodized aluminum pan and that they stick as much as a stainless lined pan or maybe more. I don't like the dark color as I can't judge the degree of browning nor sauce reduction as well.

[Fat Guy]

I'd really like to stick with a Calphalon or AllClad product, but I'm open to suggestions.

As between Calphalon and All-Clad, I think you'll find for the most part that the two companies continually mimic one another and therefore offer many comparable items. Calphalon is now available with regular anodized aluminum, non-stick, and stainless interiors, and in some permutations within those categories (copper exterior, stainless exterior, etc.).

Quality-wise, everybody seems to think All-Clad is better but I can't quite see why. Certainly, if there is a quality difference, it is a minor one, and Calphalon tends to be substantially cheaper.

[hotle]

i guess i agree with fat guy. i've got a combination of calphalon (two 12" non-stick omelet pans + old anodized pans) and allclad (10" omelet and 5qt high-sided saute pan) in stainless. i've also got a 5/12 qt cuisinart stainless, (the clad, not the biscuit-on-the-bottom-type, which i think sucks), which works just fine.

i use the non-stick when i don't need the brown bits on the bottom of the pan for color or flavor, and the stainless when i do. good quality in both cases, calphalon seems cheaper, and non-stick's easier to clean and requires less oil. we (my wife and i) still use calphalon anodized saucepans and stock pots that we got for our wedding gifts, which was.....um......20 years and 1 month ago, so that should speak to the quality of these implements! we don't use the fry pans, though, and really didn't like them all that well even back when they were new......food stuck way too easily.

were i to set up my pan selection right now, i'd have:

1 8" or 10" omelet pan, non-stick (for crepes and small omelets)

2 12" omelet pans, stainless

1 12" omelet pan, non-stick

1 4 or 5 qt saute pan with lid, stainless

2 massive aluminum or stainless stockpots (as big as will fit on the cooktop!) - the cheap ones are fine for stock

couple of smaller saucepans (personally, i don't use these much, so i have no idea how many cups are 'small')

couple of larger saucepans (same caveat as above - but prob'ly 8 cups or larger)

1 le creuset dutch oven (big as you can afford)

1 carbon steel wok (NOT non-stick, NOT electric! that you'll NEVER wash with soap)

1 crock pot

then, give me a martin yan cleaver, a santuko, a good paring knife, a bread knife, a thin slicer and a boos cutting board, and that'd just about fill out my cutting/stovetop needs, in terms of registering! all this stuff should be available at the major cookware stores (w-s, chef's catalog, fields, crate&barrel etc.).

good luck!

matt (this is very cool to find a board like this!)

[JFLinLA]

So I'm not a chef and don't pretend to be. I'm just one of those amateur good cooks and bakers. It's been a long time since I registered for wedding gifts. Made some good choices and some not so good choices. I've also bought quite a few kitchen goodies for myself since then. (Geez, I'm sounding old.) So here's what I've learned -- get the good stuff. It's better to get a few great things which you will love and will last forever, then to get lesser stuff that ends up unused or in the trash after a little time. Over time, you can fill in as I have done. Think about what you want if you can only have 3 pans (a small one for sauces,etc., a medium one for say pasta, and a large stock pot), 2-3 pans (again, small and large), and 3 knives (a paring knife, a large chefs knife or cleaver, and something for slicing). Just remember, with cookware price has something to do with quality but not everything.

[slkinsey]

Quality-wise, everybody seems to think All-Clad is better but I can't quite see why. Certainly, if there is a quality difference, it is a minor one, and Calphalon tends to be substantially cheaper.

I guess I tend to think this way, with some limitations, and this is why:

1. Anodized aluminum is, IMO, a crappy cooking surface. I don't like the dark color and, unless one keeps it scrupulously clean, it quickly becomes sticky.

2. Every single Calphalon piece I have used that has a large cooking surface (i.e., fry pans, saute pans, roasting pans) has eventually warped from high heat cooking.

Due to the above, I will never buy another piece of Calphalon. All-Clad has neither of these problems.

Now... this is comparing "regular" Calphalon to "regular" All-Clad. When you start getting into some of the other Calphalon designs -- specifically those with an interior lining of stainless steel -- the cookware starts to become more or less equal. Of course, the prices start to become equal as well.

My one exception has to do with the nonstick lines. Calphalon Commercial nonstick reportedly has a great surface (certainly equal or similar to All-Clad's) and nonstick cookware is not used at temperatures that would cause the pans to warp.

[oraklet]

if you want non-stick for other than crepes, go for a surface that can take some serious abuse, like scanpan. not quite as insanely nonstick as teflon, but doesn't peel off, nor warp. not exactly chap, though.

[Chad]

Hmm, my Calphalon 5qt saute has warped, too. And this is the second one. I'll keep taking them back to BBB until they get sick of seeing me.

One kitchen essential that no one has mentioned yet is a 12" cast iron pan. Absolutely essential. About $15 and available at most hardware stores, Lodge is the reigning king of cast iron. I use mine more than any other pan in the kitchen.

Chad

[rickster]

. Anodized aluminum is, IMO, a crappy cooking surface. I don't like the dark color and, unless one keeps it scrupulously clean, it quickly becomes sticky.

Not only that, I had a Calphalon pot that got all discolored from having some acidic tomato related sauce sit in it too long.

I bought some Calphalon and was then given some AllClad. I'll never go back to Calphalon.

[Fat Guy]

What the heck are you guys doing to your Calphalon? I'm merciless with the stuff: I have as powerful a DCS gas range as one can get, legally, for home use and I use it on full throttle often. I put Calphalon skillets under the 1800-degree infrared broiler. I've never had a problem.

[slkinsey]

What the heck are you guys doing to your Calphalon? I'm merciless with the stuff: I have as powerful a DCS gas range as one can get, legally, for home use and I use it on full throttle often. I put Calphalon skillets under the 1800-degree infrared broiler. I've never had a problem.

Do you ever let it sit empty on a full flame for a few minutes to get really hot before you throw something in?

[Fat Guy]

What the heck are you guys doing to your Calphalon? I'm merciless with the stuff: I have as powerful a DCS gas range as one can get, legally, for home use and I use it on full throttle often. I put Calphalon skillets under the 1800-degree infrared broiler. I've never had a problem.

Do you ever let it sit empty on a full flame for a few minutes to get really hot before you throw something in?

I put my pans on the stove full blast before I even start my mise en place!

No, seriously, I just don't use Calphalon for that application. That's what super-heavy vintage Griswold cast-iron is for.

[Dave the Cook]

What the heck are you guys doing to your Calphalon? I'm merciless with the stuff: I have as powerful a DCS gas range as one can get, legally, for home use and I use it on full throttle often. I put Calphalon skillets under the 1800-degree infrared broiler. I've never had a problem.

Mine are warped, too -- but just the anodized stuff. The non-stick is fine, and I don't treat it all that nice.

I don't think temperature alone is responsible. My range probably has a little more than half the output of yours. Warping is caused by temperature differentials, I think.

[Chad]

Mine are warped, too -- but just the anodized stuff. The non-stick is fine, and I don't treat it all that nice.

I don't think temperature alone is responsible. My range probably has a little more than half the output of yours. Warping is caused by temperature differentials, I think.

Ya know, I've wondered about that. I have a crappy electric stove with what seem to be smaller than average burners. I has occured to me that uneven heating due to the pan hanging off the edges might be the culprit. The weird thing is that when the pans warp they seem to bulge in the center. I've taken to whacking mine with a hammer every once in a while to even it out.

Chad

[Dave the Cook]

I've taken to whacking mine with a hammer every once in a while to even it out.

And that works? Or does it only help with the frustration?

[slkinsey]

Do you ever let it sit empty on a full flame for a few minutes to get really hot before you throw something in?

I put my pans on the stove full blast before I even start my mise en place!

No, seriously, I just don't use Calphalon for that application. That's what super-heavy vintage Griswold cast-iron is for.

Yea... See, I probably warped most of my Calphalon stuff back when I didn't have a lot of other options. That said, I have issues with cookware I can't crank up all the way unless it is an occasional-use pan with special properties (e.g., nonstick) or would never really be used that way (e.g., enameled cast iron French oven). For me, something like a fry pan or a skillet needs to be able to go all the way up. Why would you want a saute pan you couldn't preheat this way?

I get your point about the cast iron, although as discussed in other threads I have found that heavy copper seems to be able to soak up more heat than the cast iron that I have experienced. Of course, YMMV if your cast iron is thicker than mine. I have all my grandmother's and great-grandmothers' cast iron, which must be around 75-100 years old at this point. It's all Griswold and Wagner. Maybe Griswold made other designs, but mine don't seem all that heavy to me and experience has shown that they don't have the same thermal capacity as my copper pieces. I am also a little reluctant to subject these pans to too terribly much high heat when empty, as that would tend to burn off or otherwise damage 4 generations of seasoning. If someone made a cast iron skillet that was 5 mm or 7 mm thick... I'd totally get it. That would be a piece to leave on the stove for ten minutes at full blast.

Anyway, and more related to our discussion on a different thread... I'd be interested to hear what your experiences would be if the next time you wanted to sear a steak or something you massively preheated your copper skillet instead of doing the same with your cast iron.

[Fat Guy]

I happen to have some steak samples coming in from a mail-order place, so I'll do that. Typically I just use the broiler, but it will be an interesting experiment Mauviel v. Griswold. Does anybody locally have a Raytek Minitemp I can borrow for a day to measure the surface temperatures?

[Fat Guy]

Also could use some calipers to measure thickness.

[slkinsey]

Sounds like fun... and of course you get to eat the results! What's not to like?

If you can get me some measurements, I could probably get some of my science geek friends to figure out the thermal capacity of the two pans for comparison and also offer some advice on how one might do a fair comparison of the two in use. For example, you would have to decide whether or not to leave the two empty pans on the heat for the same amount of time (which might favor the copper pan) or until they came up to the same temperature (which would make the experiment a lot harder to conduct).

Question... do you know how thick your Mauviel is? There are three different copper lines at something like 2.5 mm, 2.0 mm and 1.6 mm in thickness.