Poll: what type of cookware do you use?

[Tuffoldhen]

I have had my stainless steel cookware for 39 years and use it everday......its waterless....plus I have a set of iron skillets almost as old ...I could never do without either........

My stainless is Seal O Matic....bought in the Spring of 1969...

 

[blossom hen]

Have a set of Wearever aluminum clad stainless (waterless) cookware I purchased in Aug., 1968. Have used it daily ever since and never had a problem except some of the handles have worn loose. Over twenty years ago I contacted the local sales rep and he got me a couple of replacement handles and put them on for me. Other than that, I have one cast iron skillet that was a wedding gift in Sept., 1968. It's always been my fried chicken/fried potato pan.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Quote:
Since the melting point of aluminum is 1,220 degrees fahrenheit there is NO way this could have happened. My oven's highest setting is 550 F. & the exposed stovetop elements wouldn't even reach that temp. Your friend was exagerating.

 

[cybercat]

We have a Lodge store near us. Which is interesting to walk thru as you can see all they have in person and handle.

I have one of there 12 in frying pans with a lid and a loaf pan. Also bought their morter and pedestal set which I use for grinding herbs. Plan on getting a few more thing from them soon.

Most of my cooking wear is a mix from the cast iron to glass to TFal non stick which I love. Years ago when my dad died I gave aways all my cast iron frying set. Now I can kick myself for that mistake.

I have moved so many times in the past 8 years I have lost alot of cookware. Right now I am in need of replacing bake ware. I have a few corning left but not much and need alot more mixing bowls.

We are planning on building a brick grill and oven outside. I will only use cast for that as temps will be higher than what I cook in the kitchen. I do not use high temps for my TFAL for I do not need to, unless it is to start a boil then I can drop it down and keep a boil going.

So doea anyone have a dream peice of cookware that they want but either can not or have not bought yet? Our is a big cooking kettle which runs around $400.

 

[Wynette]

Okay, this all has me REALLY worried! I have bought pieces as I need them, and pay a high price for what I THOUGHT was one of the best out there - Calphalon commercial stainess with Teflon!

Sounds like I need to be worried....but, I though with cast iron you had to use quite a bit of lard or oil, and I'm avoiding extra calories. How does that work?

Also, what the heck is "waterless" stainless steel? I've never heard of that...

 

[Yogiman]

Being retired, I am promoted to chief cook and bottle washer. Cookware and kitchen gadgets are my passion. Especially cast iron. I have dozens of cast iron pots. You name it, I probably have it. I have some iron pots that are aproaching 100 years old, handed down to me and still in use. I also have a full set of Magnalite aluminum cookware and use them along with the cast iron daily.
Teflon cookware is a waste of money in my opinion if you use it daily. It won't hold up to repeated use. My storage building is loaded with cookware that did not make the test.
Sam's Club has a set of Wolf Gang Puck ??? stainless cookware that has proven to be a good buy. I have bought three sets for the kids and they are doing excellent.
Word of caution: As with most things, there are good products and then the low end products. The chinese made cast iron cookware now out has proven to be low end and is a poor investment.

 

[tvtaber]

OK, first of all, beathe! Now step back and think about how you cook. Do you heat up the pan and then add food (bad)? Do you religiously turn on a vent fan over the stove (good)? Do you use high heat (also bad)? Teflon pans are really good for some things, but any scratch should send them to the trash can and you need to have the food in them before you start the stove. This means pancakes, sauteed chicken, anything that needs a warm pan before you add the food it is not good in a teflon pan.

A good balance is to get a Lodge or other preseasoned cast iron pan and use that for these circumstances, and use your teflon for everything else. With the preseasoned pans you still need to not use soap in them and rub with oil after cooking, but you can cook with them without excess oil right out of the box. I don't know about you, but I always add some oil or butter to the teflon pans anyway. The same amount works in my cast iron.

having said all that, the only pans we use in our house are cast iron, because we bought a few and got hooked! The single exception is scrambled eggs and omelets for which we use teflon as we cannot keep them from sticking in the other pans.
Vicki

 

[ole-crone]

If it had been any other friend, I might say that she was exaggerating but this one doesn't. Don't know what to say if it doesn't conform to known melting point for aluminium but there must be something in the design that enables it to happen since hers wasn't the only complaint I was able to find.

But to make everyone happy, I'll say... maybe she was incorrect about what was in the underside of the pot or I misunderstood her, but whatever, the added bottom to the cookware failed, causing whatever was in it to pour out and severely burn her foot to the point that she had to have skin grafts, rehab and walk with crutches for almost a year. She's just glad that she was the only one burned that day.

As for the search. I found:

As a safety precaution, you should always use low or medium heat and never to allow a pan to boil dry.

and the following complaints...
... when one of the saucepans boiled dry, about a tablespoon of the molten metal core oozed out.
... the pot heated up and the outer lining fell to the floor as if it melted and burned the floor beyond repair. It started the rug on fire and the floor in the kitchen must be replaced. It resulted in molten metal everywhere in the kitchen causing burns to our feet as we were attempting to put out the fire.
...boiling water in the pot, and the aluminum melted off the bottom of the pot. The melted aluminum dripped down into the stove, and when I picked up the pan the aluminum driped on to the vinyl flooring in the kitchen causing deep burns.

Just be careful about what you buy and not assume that the cost guarantees that it is the safest.

 

[BearSwampChick]

tvtaber, I use my 18/10 stainless omelet pan for scrambled eggs and omelets. If you heat the pan on medium with oil and if you want, a little butter, just until the oil looks shimmery and runs freely over the surface , then spray lightly with cooking spray and quickly add the beaten eggs, it's as good as teflon. The trick is just getting the pan to the right temp (as Miss Prissy said in a previous post) and loosening the edges of the omelet before you slide it out of the pan. It might takea couple of times to get it right.

 

[hencackle]

I too, fix scrambled eggs in a stainless skillet. Only difference is that I use lard or bacon grease (about 1/2 tbsp) and swirl it around the pre-heated pan so it coats the sides. After the eggs are poured in, I found that the trick is to not stir the eggs too often because it removes the grease coating.
If there is stuck egg residue, just fill the skillet with water and reheat until the gunk loosens and can be scraped with a wooden spatula. (I love the look and feel of wooden utensils).