The All All-Clad Cookware Topic

[dennis77]

Since this is my first post to this forum I'm looking for some feedback on the All Clad non stick cookware. Should I just use the non stick in the frying pans. Does this come with a life time warranty. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[tommy]

welcome.

from their website,

“From date of purchase, All-Clad guarantees to repair or replace any item found defective in material, construction or workmanship under normal use and following care instructions. This excludes damage from misuse or abuse. Minor imperfections and slight color variations are normal.”

i have a 12" all clad nonstick pan. it comes in handy for certain applications. i've never had a problem with it.

[mamster]

I also have an All-Clad 12" nonstick skillet. I stole it from tommy. Had it seven years or so, and it's still going strong. I also have a 10" non-teflon All-Clad skillet, and I use them about equally.

[JAZ]

Non-stick skillets can come in very handy for many jobs and are close to essential for eggs and fish (at least for me). But it's also nice to have a regular (i.e., not non-stick) skillet for the times you want to develop a fond for a pan sauce, or want to cook at high heat. I like cast iron in those cases because you can get it hotter than the clad type skillets.

I've never thought that non-stick saucepans or casserole/dutch ovens are desireable. Not that they don't cook okay, but they require special utensils and more care. And in most cases, you just don't need a non-stick surface in saucepans.

In general, All Clad is a reliable brand with a good warranty.

[rdailey]

Cookware & More is a factory outlet that gets seconds from All-Clad and sells them for tremendous discounts (almost 60% off in some cases). They are seconds because they have some minor blemish on them. I have ordered several pieces from them and they are great. The blemishes might be a slight scratch here or there, but its nothing I wouldn't manage to do myself after the first couple of uses. As well, you can return them, if the blemish bothers you too much. Its worth a look considering how expensive they are.

[Suzanne F]

Welcome, Dennis

I just bought a 10" non-stick AllClad Stainless "Fry Pan" (actually a saute pan) at the Broadway Panhandler Yard Sale (NYC), which I intend to use for 2-person omelets and egg dishes ONLY. (The 7" is great for one person.) I prefer regular for everything else, for the same reasons as JAZ. My most-used pots and pans are AllClad; then cast iron; and finally Le Creuset (mostly a 33-year-old set). I've still got one Magnalite covered frying pan that started out non-stick in 1968, and is otherwise still going strong: it's a well-made brand. But anything else, even Leyse, has not held up: the saute pans warp

[slkinsey]

Some facts about nonstick cookwear:

1. All the various nonstick coatings are more or less the same.

2. Eventually all these coatings will wear out. Some designs may last longer than others, but they eventually will wear away.

3. The main thing you are paying for with All-Clad is the cladding (well, that and the marketing). What makes clad cookware special is that you have a nice thick layer of conductive metal (aluminum) on the outside and a nice thin layer of nonreactive cooking surface (stainless steel) on the inside. There is really no value in spending big bucks to have cookware that is lined with stainless steel on the inside if that lining will only be covered with a nonstick surface.

4. Understanding the above, what you want is something that has a nice thick body of conductive metal covered on the inside with a nonstick surface. You can get this WAY cheaper than All-Clad. Just get something thick but cheap and thow it away when it gets worn out or starts losing its nonsticky-ness. This way you won't be spending a lot of money and you'll always have a fairly fresh nonstick surface. A brand new cheapo nonstick surface will always be less sticky than a 4 year old All-Clad nonstick surface. That's just the way it goes with that kind of treatment.

5. On the other hand, if you really love All-Clad and are able to determine that the warranty covers the nonstick surface, then go ahead and get the All-Clad and just send it in to be replaced every time the coating wears out.

I don't have much use for nonstick, but it can be useful to have maybe one nonstick fry pan for delicate fish and things like that. For me, a nonstick fry pan is more of a specialty pan that only gets used every so often... similar to a crepe pan or an omelet pan in that respect. I'd guess that I cook on nonstick less than 20 times a year.

[Fat Guy]

The coatings are alike in terms of what they're made of, but I think there can be more layers applied or other variations in the process -- and of course as you mention the underlying pan matters in terms of heat distribution etc. The thing to do is wait until Amazon puts the Calphalon non-stick on sale. Then you can pick up great skillets for $20-$30. They're heavy -- perhaps not quite on par with All-Clad but quite similar functionally -- and they last a good long time. I've had my Calphalon Commercial Non-Stick skillet now since almost when we started eGullet, and it's still in great shape.

[slkinsey]

The coatings are alike in terms of what they're made of, but I think there can be more layers applied or other variations in the process -- and of course as you mention the underlying pan matters in terms of heat distribution etc.

Well... that's why I said they were "more or less" the same.

My point being that the coating on a $140 11-inch All-Clad Stainless nonstick frypan is not going to last 7 times longer than the coating on a $20 nonstick pan from another manufacturer, and it certainly won't be 700% more slippery. In fact, my experience is that you can buy a brand new $20 nonstick pan every three years and end up cooking on a better nonstick surface over the course of the next 12 years than you would by getting the more expensive All-Clad pan and sticking with it -- and for less money.

[Fat Guy]

Right, that's why the best deal is to pick up the Calphalon ones when they're on sale at Amazon. Buy three or four of them and you're set until they invent a better coating.

[slkinsey]

Right, that's why the best deal is to pick up the Calphalon ones when they're on sale at Amazon. Buy three or four of them and you're set until they invent a better coating.

Werd.

[Fat Guy]

Here's the thread where we monitor the Amazon sales on Calphalon:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=5717

[slkinsey]

Here's the thread where we monitor the Amazon sales on Calphalon:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=5717

Cool! Are people still keeping watch? I'll definitely snap up one or two if they go on sale like that again, and would appreciate the heads up.

[mamster]

"700% more slippery" would be a good advertising slogan if it were true, though.

[pjs]

Recent article in the local fish-wrapper concerning the dangers of non-stick coatings to our feathered family members.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJour...EAD01060303.htm

Alton would approve. Kill 'em with and cook 'em in the same piece of equipment. Multi-tasking at its finest.

PJ

[slkinsey]

Recent article in the local fish-wrapper concerning the dangers of non-stick coatings to our feathered family members.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJour...EAD01060303.htm

From the article:

At 680 degrees, Teflon and other nonstick products release toxic gases, including the animal carcinogens TFE and PFOA, which can kill birds and cause flu-like symptoms in humans...

I can think of a lot of bad things that might happen if you allow a pan with plastic inside it to reach 680 degrees -- like burning down the house. Most people forget that PTFE coatings are essentially plastic, although they can look like they're part of the metal, and that plastic can burn when it gets hot enough. This is another reason I think it's a bad idea to have nonstick everything in the kitchen.

Perfect example:

She accidentally left a pot of boiling water on the stove for several hours Easter Sunday 2002.  Twelve cockatiels in the next room died early the next morning...

Now, what is the point of having a PTFE-coated saucepot for boiling water?

[Fat Guy]

Twelve cockatiels in the next room died early the next morning...

Am I a bad person for thinking that's funny?

Now, what is the point of having a PTFE-coated saucepot for boiling water?

I don't know, but they're good for popping popcorn. Much better results than uncoated.

[slkinsey]

Twelve cockatiels in the next room died early the next morning...

Am I a bad person for thinking that's funny?

If you are, then we're both going to hell. I wonder what cockatiel tastes like...

Now, what is the point of having a PTFE-coated saucepot for boiling water?

I don't know, but they're good for popping popcorn. Much better results than uncoated.

Interesting... I wonder why. What is better about it? Are you popping them in very little oil? I would worry that the pot would get above 600 degrees, though -- possibly degrading the PTFE and releasing "bad things" into the popcorn. To be honest, I pop corn maybe once every ten years, so I ask more out of curiosity than caring one way or the other.

When I was a kid, we had a kind of perforated basket on a long handle that we used to pop corn over the fire in the fireplace. We always thought that was cool, and the popcorn was pretty good.

[pjs]

Now, what is the point of having a PTFE-coated saucepot for boiling water?

Because it was part of a set of non-stick everything.

Not to diss non-stick. A 12" or 14" fry pan is essential for sauteing potatoes. Likewise, a smaller pan for eggs and omelettes. And a crepe pan if you really need one.

I distinctly remember seeing a Calphalon teapot. I hate it when my water sticks.

PJ

PS: FG, you're a bad person only if you have 12 bulldogs in the next room.

[slkinsey]

Not to diss non-stick. A 12" or 14" fry pan is essential for sauteing potatoes. Likewise, a smaller pan for eggs and omelettes. And a crepe pan if you really need one.

Hmm... I've never had any trouble sauteeing potatoes in my regular-stick pans, although I probably would use nonstick if I were making a potato galette or a potato-wraped fish fillet. Is it problematic getting the potatoes to crisp up in nonstick? Especially without overheating the pan?

As for eggs and crepes, once I started using black steel crepe and omelet pans I never looked back.

I distinctly remember seeing a Calphalon teapot. I hate it when my water sticks.

Yea, I hate that too.

[Fat Guy]

To clarify, Calphalon is not by definition non-stick. Calphalon is a brand name. The company makes non-stick as well as other (mostly anodized aluminum) cookware. It's only non-stick if the specific product name says so.

Popcorn, made in a regular pot, will often burn or stick on the bottom. No matter how much oil you use, it is mostly absorbed by the already-popped kernels before the last kernels pop. When you pop in non-stick, you get virtually no discolored or overcooked kernels even at the bottom of the pile.

Though eggs come out tasting great in just about any kind of pan, especially cast-iron or French-steel, non-stick rules when it comes to ease and appearance.

[MatthewB]

Though eggs come out tasting great in just about any kind of pan, especially cast-iron or French-steel, non-stick rules when it comes to ease and appearance.

FWIW, if you want a Le Creuset non-stick cast-iron omelet pan (usually the 7 inch is offered), Amazon tends to offer these as free gifts when purchasing Le Creuset products. I got one--and love it for one person omelets--when I purchased a soup pot.

Edited June 9, 2003 by MatthewB (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Are you popping them in very little oil? I would worry that the pot would get above 600 degrees, though -- possibly degrading the PTFE and releasing "bad things" into the popcorn.

I had the same first thought. But then I realized that popcorn doesn't have to get that hot -- all you need to do is heat the kernel enough to vaporize the water in the center of the kernel -- good old 212. The trick with popcorn is to keep it the exterieor from scorching before the interior gets hot enough.

And since my own damn publisher won't bring it up, here's a link to my article on Teflon. Somewhere in the discussion thread, there's a link to the Dupont website that describes (from a consumer, not a technical perspective) most of the different methods for applying PTFE. The bottom line is really this, IMHO: only buy PTFE-coated pans that have been fabricated using technology licensed from Dupont. They still lead the pack in terms of technology and innovation.

Otherwise, FG and slkinsey are right: buy cheap, and treat them almost as if they were disposable.

[forever_young_ca]

i have the 10" non-stick All Clad saute pan & love it. I have had a series of cheaper ones but found that eventually the coating flaked off when on high heat. I have not had that problem with the All Clad.

I have had the pan for about 8 months and have been reasonably careful with its care, but not obssesively so. Originally I thought that I would get it just for eggs, but have ended up using it for much more. It does not have a scratch on it.

I would look around for a sale. There is no need to pay the full retail price for All Clad.

[pjs]

Is it problematic getting the potatoes to crisp up in nonstick?  Especially without overheating the pan?

Nope. Medium to medium-high heat. I like to use 1/4" slices of par-boiled new small red potatoes. Start them in oil until they are halfway done and then add a good dose of butter to brown and finish them. The non-stick pan helps to keep the potato slices intact. Sprinkle with garlic, shallot and parsley moments from done. Potato heaven.

PJ

Edited June 10, 2003 by pjs (log)