Pots and Pans advice!

psychopathbabble

I don't know if this is in the right place so please move it if not Mods!

We need to buy new frying pans (and eventually pots) as I'm moving into my boyfriends flat and being a typical male, his kitchenware is useless.

Can you recommend any particular frying pans? It's just us two, and a lodger so it's not for heavy use but I'm not a fan of food with extra flavour added by the bits of non-stick coating I will be chucking out the metal spatula!

Thanks in advance

Yorkie1

What sort of price range do you want to pay?

becs

When we got married we treated iurselves to a set of analon pans and I love them! Nothing sticks to them, they are a doodle to clean despite not going in the dishwasher and they have a lifetime guarantee. We bought a set in the blue cross sale for £99 and I think it was a set of 6 pans inc the frying pan. We've since bought anoter set from John Lewis for the same amount so we now have 11 pans in total inc a large stock pot, a large saute pan, smaller saute pan, 2 different size frying pans and assorted size saucepans so we're well covered!

N9eav

We usually pick up pans in TK MaXX. Heavy bases and riveted handles. A lot depends on the cooker type too.

psychopathbabble

Dont mind about the price range really, provided it is a good investment and they are good quality, I'd rather pay more than get cheap nasty ones.

I did have a quick look in TK Maxx ages ago, need to go back.

Becs, you definitely have it well covered! Will look into analon pans thanks

Leif

I have a couple of Meyer Analon pans, and they are decent, but the surface does degrade, and my small wok shaped pan is rather grotty now as they do not like high temperatures. I have a small Analon frying pan for omelettes, cooked on low heat, and it is like new. I like stainless steel pans, as they clean well, and last. Yes you have to sometimes scrub a bit but unlike non stick pans, the scrubbing causes no damage.

In my view you don't need to spend a lot to get decent stainless steels pans. What I do like is a good chefs knife, and it is worth paying for decent grade stainless steel i.e. £30 plus. A bit off topic, sorry!

becs

Leif I'd contact analon. I've done stir fry in my saut! pan weekly for 5 years and it's as good as new. Also done jam in the big stock pot regularly and it too is pristine. I am fanatical about only ever using plastic utensils with them though. There's certainly no breakdown in the surface of any of my pans and they are all extremely well used. My mum also has the same pans but she's had hers about 8 years and hers are all perfect as well so I would definitely contact analon.

meer53

I'd buy good quality stainless steel pans if i were you. I bought a set of AMC Cookware pans 28 years ago, they are used every day and still look like new. I have 5 pans and thats plenty, don't know why anyone would need 11 pans ! They were over £300 but the only other pans i have ever had to buy are a wok and a small non stick omelette pan.

http://www.amc-ultimatecookware.co.uk

I'm not advertising, my brother used to sell these, i bought them from him to help with his business years ago.

becs

Every single one of my pans is used a few times a week. We do a huge amount of cooking and bulk cooking so it's not at all unusual to have 5 large pans on the hob in one go! Amongst those 11 are a small omellete pan and a large frying pan with a small milk pan and a couple of small pans. Again there are many occassions where I'll be using small and medium pans at the same time.

c_denise

we have a variety of cookware range from non stick , stainless steel to cast iron. If you think u might use metal utensils, you might want to look into hard-anodised ones.

There's plenty in the market depending on price range. We bought the a set of prestige from robert dyas 7 yrs ago and it's still going strong.

Have a look at tefal for your mid range. They have pretty decent non-stick. For s/s stock pots and such try to get at least a 3 ply sandwich base one for better heat conduction.

rygon

i got some myer pans from house of fraiser and after 6 yrs still look brand new. Also bought a couple of jamie oliver pans which are fantastic. Think all of them are cast iron.

I would say that you should get some good quality ones which will last a lifetime (and more), and make sure you dont use any metal utensils which will damage them. Also some will not be dishwasher safe (although what i have are so easy to clean)

on a side note, try and get some good quality knives. I bought 3 (chefs, one for cutting veg and a small knife). Cost me £300 but so worth it, best investment ive ever made. makes cooking a joy