pans

beautiful-dreamer

msb5262 wrote: »

I was looking at Kitchen Confidential (by that chef, Bourdain, can't remember his first name) today. He says that the key question is weight - the heavier the better. Not much good if you have arthritic wrists, like my mum, but that's the theory in choosing pans.
HTH
MsB

The Stellar ones are really quite heavy, especially if they have potatoes in them :rolleyes: I agree they are no good if you have arthritic joints

Cruiksl

We got John Lewis pans for a wedding present 8 years ago. They're stainless steel and come up looking like new every time. Pricey but well worth it.

purpleivy

I swwear by the German SKK ones. AWT used to endorse them and then Delia Smith I believe. I got my last ones at Professional Cookware at the Cheshire Oaks outlet.

A Heavy Bottom makes a good pan!

morwenna

I agree with the above - Stellar are fab, I wanted them for ages. However when the opportunity came to invest (ten year bonus from my employer) I went with Circulon Elite as Debenhams had a good offer on them. Six months on, they are still like new, despite me "testing" them every way I could think of. They have made jam, chutney, soups a plenty and my son even burned custard on one. Every time the only cleaning needed was achieved with a JCloth and a little Fairy Liquid. So with my H2B's Xmas money & mine, we have added a stock pot, griddle pan and milk pan from the same range.

IHTH

Pink.

Hi edindie

There's an existing thread with lots of advice on buying saucepans that may help:

which saucepans to buy?

I'll add your thread to that one later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

angeltreats

mutley74 wrote: »

circulon is a good make

This is what I have and they are fantastic. They're about six years old now and still like new, only the frying pan is showing much wear but it's actually getting better with age. They have had all sorts burnt onto them as well and they clean up very easily.

socks_uk

I too have Circulon 2 Hard Annodised pans. I bought a set of 3 last January sales but then found a frying pan and a wok from TK Maxx.

jessicamb

I love my Stellar pans and can see them lasting for years. One thing I check for is strong handles as I once picked up a cheap pan full of boiling gravy that then dropped off the handle and all over my foot (no lasting damage thankfully).

sunflower76

I buy pans individually as I find that I don't really use the really small sizes so they are a waste. I only have stainless steel ones with a really thick base and usually get them from TK Maxx.

I know that you're looking for a set but individual pans to suit might be better for you and something that you haven't considered.

liz545

For saucepans, I'd go for stainless steel rather than non-stick, because the non-stick coating can sometimes flake off into your soup! I've got these ones which I inherited from my grandad, and they're still going strong, they've got graduation marks on the inside, good heavy bases (reduces uneven heating/burning "hot spots"), and metal rather than plastic handles means you can stick them under the grill.

Frying pans - I'd suggest two hard anodised ones as they're reliably non stick, a small one for omlettes and small portions, and a larger (28cm or so) one for meat and meals. I got the Marco Pierre White one in the Amazon sale and it's probably the pan I use most often, but I also got a little one in by Sabichi that's really good and not very expensive at all. Also with these, metal handles make them safe for going under the grill - a lesson I learned the hard way when one of my uni housemates melted my frying pan!

HTH!