Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I have a friend that loves cooking and his wife is a talented aspiring baker. They currently live in the Philippines where they run a successful web based business. Down the road they will live either here or in New Zealand. He wants to upgrade his wife's cookware. He's looked here and Calphalon is about the best available, at a somewhat higher price than in the States. They don't expect to be back to the USA in the foreseeable future, so durability is more important than ... say easy warranty exchange or replacement.

I have recommended All Clad as number one, even though their lifetime warranty is problematic when you live overseas, but the quality means it lasts a long time even with fairly constant use (or mine sure has). And the couple of pieces of Calphalon are holding up quite well too with pretty regular use. CI seems to rate them in that order generally though they have Tramontina in their list of sets, which I've never run across before.

But I am not up on the best of the nonstick stuff. Again here I have recommended All Clad based on my experience, but I see some of the anodized aluminum stuff and don't know if that is a good option. Quality, longevity and price in that order are the criteria. Any specific recommendations whether for single pieces or sets? And input for regular and non-stick is welcome.

The Tramontina is only available at Walmart online. They no longer carry it in the stores, but you can order online & pick up at your local store. Has Walmart invaded the Phillipines? We can occasionally find individual pieces (usually large ones) at the discount warehouses like Costco & BJ's, but that's pretty hit or miss. Walmart now carries Better Homes & Gardens clad pans in its stores instead of the Tramontina, which I believe are being made by Tramontina. The handles are better, but they have those (awful) glass lids, and appear to my naked eye to be a little thinner in construction.

I have a mix of clad pans from AllClad, Calphalon, Cuisinart, Tramontina. I pick up individual pieces at the discount clearance stores like Ross, Marshalls, Bealls, etc. Of them all, my favorite is the Calphalon. (Crystal hasn't been here for a while, so maybe she won't see this). The handles on the Tramontina feel skimpy for my large hands. The AllClad and Tramontina have the same flaw - no pouring lip on the saucepans. The Calphalon has the best handle AND a pouring lip.

I don't do the kind of testing CI does - I just cook with them. And although I'm happy with all of my 'special finds', I really like the Calphalon SS clad best.

I long ago gave away all of my anodized aluminum. No matter how much care I took with it, it just started to look shabby after a few years. And the dark color made it hard really hard to judge the color of fonds, caramels & sauces, etc.

All non-stick wears out. Even AllClad. The pans last a lifetime, but the coating won't last.

Thank you, SilverSage. No, Tramontina has not invaded here yet, but I was looking up recommended pans and sets over at Cooks Illustrated where it did show up, but at a much lower cost than All Clad and even cheaper than Calphalon. I agree that Calphalon is pretty good stuff, particularly for the price. It used to be sold by one shop here in the Philippines but has disappeared since it was considered vastly extravagant for Filipino budgets. I expect to buy a couple of sets of it when we return to the States and give it as presents to family members so they have some better quality gear to work with, in particular the brother-in-law who is currently living with us and studying culinary arts along with hotel/restaurant management.

But for a purchase that will be shipped half way around the world and needs to last for a long time, I want to recommend some good choices. I really do appreciate the advice on the aluminum cookware because I've no experience there at all. I'll steer them clear of it.

*If* the person is conscientiousness are caring, I would recommend DuBuyer frying pans over All clad for non-non-stick. IMO, they are quite a bit better and a lot cheaper to boot. However, they are plain carbon steel, so care is required; specifically, they must be dried very thoroughly before storage (I heat my on the stove before storage). I also lightly oil mine usually. I have 4 or 5 of these and they are ultra durable and really lovely to use.

If they use gas, I'd avoid the disk bottom stuff for smaller saucepans if they intend to make more delicate sauces. I find they corners just get too hot. Use all clad (if not the brand). On brand of sauce pans, I prefer copper stuff, but that is outrageously expensive. If country of origin and the last 1% of performance means anything, AC is good, but otherwise I think there are better values. I'm trying to live life a certain way, so I try to buy NA or European made pieces, but if you are OK with stuff made in China (and it is inevitable sometimes), much more economical pieces can be had.

For stock pots, pasta pots, etc. I think AC is massive overkill. Go cheap. You're just boiling liquid.

I would point out, though, that my single probably most crucial piece of cookware is quite likely my (LC) Dutch Oven. Its usefulness cannot be overestimated.

Timely, I need a new non stick and can get DuBuyer. I actually was going to pick up one today without asking anyone's opinion which did make me a tad nervous.

Mary

I have a set of Sam's Club - Member's Mark that I quite love. Not sure if you can purchase online since the link I've found doesn't seem to have that as an option, but maybe you can get them to ship to you, or perhaps someone in the US can purchase them for you and them ship.
No picture, but if you choose a location you can see the price.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=205906rl

I have a few other pans, All Clad, Calphalon and Cuisinart but the member's mark set is quite nice and was a really good value.

For non-sitck, I buy cheapish pans and replace every 3-5 years. My last set is from Costco, about $25 for 3 pans and they are quite sufficient.

On the Non-Stick stuff, I have several of the QVC (Quickly Vanishing Cash) pieces (name escapes me) that were gifts from my addicted MIL that I have been using over seven years that are still going strong.

I mostly use cast iron - Lodge and a couple of vintage Griswolds. What I espcially like about them is the fact that if the finish gets messed up, I can just re-apply it myself. I also get a lot of use from my two Le Creuset enameled cast iron French (Dutch) ovens. Other than that, I have a cheap T-fal omelet pan and a no-name stainless steel multi-purpose pan -- I don't know what to call it. It's a sort of shaped like a chicken fryer, but it has two short handles like a Dutch oven. Anyway, I'd like a saucier, but those pans serve me quite well.

I also agree with Paul about stock and pasta pots not needing to be all awesome. I have had a Revereware stock pot for the last 20 years and it still boils water just fine. On top of that it only set me back $15 and came with a colander that I also still have.

I think they may be Cooks Essentials Technique (proprietary brand exclusive of QVC....easy to order online and fairly inexpensive, but the shipping may kill you.) I have a few of their non-stick and not a scratch or flake in sight.
Most of my other cookware is either All Clad or Le Creuset. I noticed that Bed, Bath and Beyond had a 10 piece SS All Clad set on sale for somewhere around $750....that was in store last week. Don't know if they have that offer on line.
Ilene

Just to clarify, I was referring to their plain steel (non-non-stick). Well treated and used, they have some non-stick properties (it is actually very rare I've had to do more then wipe one out will a little soap), but they aren't nonstick in sense Teflon is. And I've not tried the bane of pans, scrambled eggs. Did lots of fish in them though (but with butter...)