Best Pots and Pans?

[ChooksinChoppers]

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

Thanks! I placed a watch on that set. nice color too! same question as the cast iron pans..do you have to use oil to stop, say, eggs from sticking? I don't like to fry my eggs in oil.​

 

[bigmike&nan]

These are not "non stick" pans. They are a tremendous tool in the kitchen. Like cooking with any regular pan you need to use some cooking oil to fry with - when making a large batch of eggs I cook off a couple strips of bacon in the pan, then with the bacon grease fry up or cook off my scrambled eggs. And a lot of people say don't wash cast iron in soap and water, I do. What I do is let the pan cool on the stove, I take my sink sponge and squeeze a couple of spongefuls of hot soapy water into the pan while it cools. Then a quick wash up in the sink, dry it with a linen towel and heat a few minutes on a medium flame to truly dry the pores of the cast iron out. Then occasionally I'll wisk in a tiny bit of olive oil with a paper towel to seal her up real pretty...

The Descoware is great. You would be best to get a large dutch oven, it's probably the pan I cook the most in. If it broke or someone stole it I'd go right out and buy another. No fooling. I have one of these and when I'm making a huge batch of stock or soup or want to roast off a very large roast or do a pulled pork for a party (look for my recipe) this pan is a God send...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Yellow-...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c1bb58917#ht_1960wt_907

 

[bigmike&nan]

I got a notice from eBay on some other items I was watching and they pointed me to this lovely Griswold cast iron pan. THIS is for cooking....

http://cgi.ebay.com/GRISSWOLD-3-777...s=63&clkid=9199011243952492556#ht_4247wt_1141


Folks gotta get into the longevity of their purchases. If you're like my momma she buys cheap non stick skillets and aluminum pots at the grocery store. It's a wonder that I am her kid, our kitchen cupboards are so dissimilar. Buy things made well that will last a long time. Buy a piece of Descoware or a cast iron pan, then later when you have a little more money and find a good deal get that too. I built my collection of pans hitting estate and garage sales, while camping a hardware store in Mendocino had a massive cast iron pan with GRILL things on it so I could put grill marks on my steak cooked on the campstove. LOL eBay is a great resource for hard to find stuff, but quaint old towns and estate sales have the sleeper items. Good luck. It's an adventure.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Cast Iron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cast-iron_cookware

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm

And the best cast iron was your grandmothers or the one you picked up at a garage sale for $1.00

 

[KenK]

The old cast iron cookware is absolutely better than the new, no matter the brand. I probably have a good 200 pounds of the stuff that I bought and inherited. I see the Griswold pans at antique stores for crazy prices and want to buy it but I know I won't use it and have nowhere to store it.

I only like it for a very few applications. Deep frying stuff which I try to avoid and baking.

I did just buy a Lodge enameled dutch oven the other day because I didn't have just what I wanted to braise a pot roast. Only used it one time but I like it so far.

The only non-stick pans in our house are a few my wife brought with her when we married. She uses them for the 3-4 times a year she cooks.

The number one rule for me for any cookware is that it has to be able to go in the oven. Don't care if it is a sauce pan or a stock pot. If I can't put the whole thing in a hot oven I don't want it.

This is my cornbread pan. Passed down from great grandmother to grandmother to mother to me. It's at least 120 years old.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Use lots of oil with cast iron while cooking. It is not a low fat way to cook!

I also coat it with oil after drying my pan off (never let it sit wet).

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
What a splendid pan!

 

[card5640]

cast iron and Descoware all the way, this is the only kitchen ware I use, love love it

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

bigmike&nan :

These are not "non stick" pans. They are a tremendous tool in the kitchen. Like cooking with any regular pan you need to use some cooking oil to fry with - when making a large batch of eggs I cook off a couple strips of bacon in the pan, then with the bacon grease fry up or cook off my scrambled eggs. And a lot of people say don't wash cast iron in soap and water, I do. What I do is let the pan cool on the stove, I take my sink sponge and squeeze a couple of spongefuls of hot soapy water into the pan while it cools. Then a quick wash up in the sink, dry it with a linen towel and heat a few minutes on a medium flame to truly dry the pores of the cast iron out. Then occasionally I'll wisk in a tiny bit of olive oil with a paper towel to seal her up real pretty...

The Descoware is great. You would be best to get a large dutch oven, it's probably the pan I cook the most in. If it broke or someone stole it I'd go right out and buy another. No fooling. I have one of these and when I'm making a huge batch of stock or soup or want to roast off a very large roast or do a pulled pork for a party (look for my recipe) this pan is a God send...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Yellow-...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c1bb58917#ht_1960wt_907

I agree about using soap and water on cast iron. I take one of those green sponges that are kind of scruffy looking and a little soap. I gently scrub (not too long) and then dry it off. Then coat it with more oil.

That is a good idea to heat the pan afterwards. I will have to use it.​

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Thankyou so much everyone! I WILL be going with the descoware and Cast Iron! Thanks especially Big Mike for the links and I will be certainly looking up your recipes

Oh another question ...is that a good price on the roaster? If it is I will use buy it now. I can see I would use that one a LOT.