Kitchen saucepans

[Tengu]

Well, I was stupid and ditched my ratty stainless set when a friend foisted a new one on me.

Its absolute rubbish and most of the lining has ended up in my stomach, I think.

So, I need a decent pot set for my Nesting box kitchen.

I would rather fork out on a nice set than a cheap one...something to last.

How about lined copper?

 

[Keith_Beef]

Do you have children?

If you have children, you might like a night out, and get a babysitter.

A babysitter is the worst thing that you can possible let loose on your expensive cookware. It will blunt all your knives and scratch the enamel from your expensive Le Creuset enamelled cast-iron pans.

 

[Janne]

Do not get lined copper pans. Decently priced ( still expensive though) are usually of crappy quality, compared to same priced S/s ones.

Quality copper, lined, are exprnsive.
And high maintenance.

Do not buy cheap S/s, not even IKEA. We bought IKEA pots and pans, their more expensive range, for our second home, and the goddamn things rust.

We bought german made Fissler around 20 years ago, and despite daily use, dishwasher, general abuse, they look like they left the factory.

 

[Janne]

If you can buy slowly, look for used Swedish Nilsjohan pots on the net. I have a couple of small pots, the model with the copper bottom, and they are fantastic.
But, of course, they are not made anymore.

 

[Robson Valley]

What's in a commercial kitchen? Ask who they buy from.
I bought Johnson-Rose long ago. Recently bought some ROCK pans. I like glass lids.
I'll never buy a set even if Lagostina looks good. I want open stock. Usually buy pans and pots 2 at a time.
I need oven-proof metal handles.

 

[Janne]

If you have strong arms, or want to save money and avoid a gym, you have the US made cast iron make Lodge. No enamel on the inside.

Also, you need to know what your heating source is.
Gas? Halogen? Induction?

 

[lou1661]

Ikea stuff is fine, you wont go far wrong with that. Failing that just get what ever kak your local supermarket has, you should get 10+ years out of any "stainless" cook wear.

 

[Robson Valley]

Are there any big old Asian grocery stores left in the UK?
Away down the back is where they usually keep all the dishes.
I don't think you're expected to cook in a s/s tiffen but I'm tempted.
My best wok is 50. My best wok spoon just broke, must be about 40, no fix.

 

[Nice65]

I don’t know what your budget is, but I see these nice looking pans on sale in supermarkets and have heard good things about the coating.

https://www.jmldirect.com/kitchen/pots-and-pans/copper-stone-pans-saucepans-8-piece-pan/?pos=266

Not a colour I’d want, but they’re pretty good value at £99 for 5 pans and 3 lids.

If you know anyone in commercial catering, pub kitchens etc, they may be able to get decent pans a bit cheaper than RRP.

 

[Janne]

I guess IKEA is good if you are ok having traces of rust everywhere after a couple of months of using and dishwasher cleaning.

An excellent source of Iron maybe?

I think I saw those copper coloured pans for sale at a certain US channel, I think they were something like $19.99 plus p&p, and if you ordered them before a certain date you got another set for only p&p.

 

[Nice65]

Don’t put pans in the dishwasher, especially those used to fry. They’ll stick every time. My good lady did it to my wok and destroyed about 10yrs of the seasoning in half an hour. Very hot water and a brush, preferably bamboo, no detergent.

 

[Janne]

For my cast iron frying pans, only rince with hot water. Hot, but cold enough not to burn your hand. Dry with paper.

I got one Skultuna pan parents gave me when I was 16. Is now virtually non stick, the carbon layer is around a mm thick.

We are now working on two newish pans, Lodge both of them.
One we do fish and veg in, the other one everything else.

We have one huge Staub enameled cast iron. For casseroles, slow oven cooking.
Cheaper than the ‘other’ french brand.

I like kitchen stuff. New Espresso maskina is being sent as I write!

 

[Janne]

Mu point recommending high quality stuff is that it should last the life out. Plus your childrens life out.
I had a handle detach from the largest Fissler after around 10 years. Emailed a picture to the factory, asked how to weld it.
They send a new pan, no charge. Did not even want the old one back.
That is customer service, and high customer satisfaction!


We have two Teflon pans, original Tefal. They last maybe two years.
Yes, we use metal spatulas, which is wrong.
Wife prefers those, they are light.

In Norway we try to be on a low budget. We buy loads of stuff second hand, from local charity shops. We find fantastic, Norwegian made pots and other kitchen stuff.
I just replaced the wooden handle on an old Øya bread knife. It cost me what, £1?

All our pots are old, mismatching styles. The main thing is the bottom is flat, and handles solid.
Most are sold with burn marks. Autosol polishing compound and cordlrss drill with sheepswool pad and a few minutes = looks brand new!

 

[Woody girl]

Charity shops have wonderful pans if you are prepared to hunt them out. Get friendly with the staff and ask them to notify you if things come in. I've had a couple of very expensive pans for less than a fiver each. Of course it takes time and patience to wait for them to appear but visit regularly even daily and you'll get what you need. All my pans are stainless steel with copper bottoms. I put up with cheap ones untill I got my collection together. Still looking for a stock pot but my cheap ikea one is great. Even use it to make chutneys and marmalade as well as stews.

 

[Janne]

Today the norm seems to be s/s with Aluminium bottom, but in my parents times ( my teens!) the norm was s/s and copper bottoms?

Wonder why they changed? Mom (85) has all her 1960’s Cu bottomed pans, hard used by perfect!

That was one of the joys of living in
UK, all those charity shops!

 

[Stew]

I've got a set of pans from Judge and a set from IKEA. Had both for years (nearly ten?) and they both are going fine. I wouldn't be surprised if they never needed replacing - no issues. The only additional is a random large stock pot that gets used for big risotto , jambalaya, etc dishes.

 

[Robson Valley]

The construction has to do with heat transfer. Copper spreads the heat very quickly.
That means that you can cook to the edge of the pan just as well as you can in the middle.
The engineering problem was to bond the copper to the rest of the pot.

If the kitchen used to be a woman's domain, they got cranky about the weight of the copper bottom pots.
So they fell in looooooove with the light weight aluminum shell pots.
You can smarten them up with a set of Lodge cast iron cookware. They will sing a different tune.
Once heated, cast iron is a relief to cook in.
My cast iron griddle spans 2 elements on my electric stove and weighs in at 13 pounds.
Hindsight tells me that a couple of 30cm pans would do just as well, if not better.
The griddle was $140.00 new, lady never used it, I got it for $20.00.

Nice65, you have my condolences over the harm done to your wok.
I hope it recovered. I use hot water, a fine sanding pad and some days, salt.
My best wok is about 50 now, another is possibly pushing 30 and the kid is less than 10 years old.
= = =
Buy 2 woks. One for cooking and one for curries.
Couple of spoons, a gas ring, a brass wire sieve, 2 bamboo steamers,
maybe a tempura rack and a lid. Two cleavers, big and little.
I know this sounds odd to many but the results speak well of the tools.

 

[Jared]

Netherton Foundry in Shropshire make spun iron saucepans... downside is £70+ a pan. https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

 

[Woody girl]

Having converted to copper bottom stainless steel pans after years of cheap enamelled or aluminium pans I'd never have any other sort again tho hopefully I won't need to as they seem pretty bullet proof. I have a tendency to wander away and get engrossed in something else untill the smell of burning reminds me that I should be in the kitchen. I've found these pans much easier to clean if I do forget, and I burn things far less often, as the heat distribution is far more even, and a decent simmer can be maintained for longer with less risk of burning things.

 

[Robson Valley]

Those spun iron pans from Netherton = I could get comfortable with those in maybe a minute.
They look "life-time" so the prices are about what I'd expect for good pans here.