Best Pots and Pans?

[ChooksinChoppers]

2 years ago I bought an OrGreenic set online because of the late night add on TV..Very dissapointed in them! Eggs and cheese stuck in them within a few uses and the flat stove top "grill" warped and steaks etc stick really bad.
I would so love to do fried eggs and omlets without them sticking.
They say you dont have to use high heat but you cant get a good seal on meat unless you do. I am ready to throw all these out the window!

What do you all have and love?

 

[sonew123]

Lifetime cookware. Bought them for 1500$ almost 20 years ago and have collected much more since! That was alot of $ back then but well worth it. I add a cookie sheet or a pie tin etc..every year If I can-My BIL is a dealer so he gives me a price with a small discount so he makes $ and I get a small deal

 

[Katy]

Can't beat my cast iron skillets for non stick cooking.

 

[KenK]

I don't think they are necessarily the "best" but I'm happy with my All-Clad stainless. I've been replacing Calphalon a few pieces at a time with it.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Cast iron for frying eggs. Make sure when you wash them that you don't scrape off the seasoning, because that is the nonstick part. Also only use nonstick pan type stirrers and spatulas- not metal.

 

[Posh Chickens]

Put a bit of olive oil in the pan before cooking, makes it not stick

 

[dkvart1]

I prefer cast iron.

 

[EweSheep]

There are a few things I have in my kitchen:

Cast iron, must be well seasoned (I can not stress that enough) for meats and occasionally eggs.
Stainless steel pots and pans like Saladmaster....GREAT but very expensive. Makes great noodle and rice and soups. Never tried eggs except for boiled eggs.
ONE teplon non stick pan, a small one, for eggs over easy or fried eggs (that is the only time I use them in a hurry otherwise cast iron would do).

AND yes use olive oil for cooking. (or your choice if you choose to do so but the other oils and shortening would make cast irons "gummy" or sticky, so use bacon or lard grease).

 

[bigmike&nan]

I'm real old school. Over the years I have collected more than my share of cast iron pans. They have heavy bottoms and sides, distribute heat evenly and with a minimum of care last for decades. I must have 20 cast iron pots and pans.
But my favorite pans are something called Descoware - you all might see chefs like Mario Bitale, Rachel Ray, Emeril, Julia Childs and Martha all use on tv shows. They are heavy cast iron pans that are coated inside and outside with baked enamel. Tough as nails and really great for stews, sauces, roasts - just about anything. They are not cheap, you likely see them in stores sold as Le Creuset. Not cheap. Look for auctions on eBay selling Descoware - a competitor brand "back in the day". Really terrific stuff. I hear too many bad things about the fumes that non-stick cookware emit if allowed to get too hot. Here's a link to one Descoware item on eBay, a small group of pans, just so you get an idea of what it is. You get the benefits of cast iron with out any possible food reactions (say making a pasta sauce in a cast iron pan).

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-DESCOWA...aultDomain_0&hash=item3f09f6a790#ht_556wt_907

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

How do you season a cast iron pan? and do you need to use any oil when frying eggs?
Thanks for all the quick replies!
Also is there a "better -best" brand of cast iron?
The lifetime cookware looks and sounds great (really no water?) but if you paid that much back then I bet they are wayyyy out of my price range now

I went to their web site and am always leary of places with no prices shown.