which saucepans to buy?

Spendless

Also think about handles. We have a metal milkpan with a metal handle and you can't pick it up off hob without an oven glove on

libra10

I've just bought a new set of Meyer non-stick from Amazon. Using my free £15 voucher three pans cost just over £40.
Whichever you decide on, look at Amazon, they have pages of pans.

Humbug_2

Some thoughts on Pans:

Cheap ones are fine for students, but quickly fall apart with any amount of real use.
Aluminium ones cook well, but can soon look dull and tired. Aluminium is soft, so dents quite easily.
Le Creusets cook well but you need Popeye forearms as they are VERY heavy. Test this in a shop and remember that they will be even heavier when full of food. Their casserole pans are brill though.
Stainless Steel is the best. Not too heavy, fairly easy to clean, tough and durable. Don't buy cheap though. Get the right ones and they will last a lifetime. Buy it once is a real Moneysaving mantra for me.
We were lucky to come across the french brand Bourgeat. These are used in 80% of French commercial kitchens and are of awesome build quality. They aren't cheap, but they aren't expensive either (seem cheaper than John Lewis own label). Ours are 10 years old now and have barely any signs of wear. Gary Rhodes uses them on his telly program if you want another recommendation. They aren't commonly available in the UK but you can buy them here http://www.nisbets.co.uk/. Hope this helps and good luck.

Js_Other_Half

I had the stainless steel set from QVC by cooks essentials - but the frying pans died a death very quickly. I also managed to destroy one of the saucepans by boiling it dry with something in it... :-[

I now use the circulon 2 pans, but have only been using them for a few weeks. I also have a stainless steel saucepan that I bought from Woolworths 13 years ago, on sale for about a tenner, that I can scrub with a metal scourer to my hearts content - and it still looks fine and cooks beautifully.

Galtizz

Don't but the anolon professional!!

I've got Meyer ones which are very similar (mine are pure stainless) Not sure if the lid is the same but the handle looks the same. - got them from Co-op which was closing down £24.99 for a set of 5!

Although the pan is great, easy to clean, stuff rarely sticks - even when I'm cooking!

The handle and the lid seems to be designed to burn your hands and arms. The lid is glass with a stainless steel handle which gets really hot. The handle is also stainless but it is not fully round and has a big gap near the pan, what happens is the hob it directly above the gap so hot air goes up, into the handle out of the gap at the end and out of the long thin gap at the bottom of the handle and out of the hole at the top, leaving a long thin burn on your fingers and a small round burn on your arm.

I think they are awful for that but, unfortunatly I've had them for 2 years and they look like new so it looks like they'll last a while longer yet

Nurse_Bambi

I've got a couple of the elysee cuisinox range. They are stainless steel with an aluminium core. they have a 25yr guarantee and are suitable for all surfaces and the oven. They look good too.

They are expensive, I think the casserole i bought was £90ish from selfridges. The range is cheaper in my local dept store. Will be getting the paella pan and roasting dish next! The Bourgeat mentioned in a previous post looks a good range too.

Try https://www.ictc.co.uk

Angela

These look a good bargain.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20632&item=4326886395&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

basill

Viners long guarantees have been mentioned in this thread, we bought a set from a newspaper offer, non stick SS with copper bottoms. Unfortunately after a few months the base started to peel away from the one or two of the pans.
I emailed Viners (ONeida now) and after returning one of the faulty pans in a pre paid box very swiftly received an apology and the choice from several sets of alternative pans as a replacement. We chose solid Stainless without non stick and have been very happy since. I was surprised how easy SS pans are to clean ( or dishwash) only scambled eggs are ever hard to remove.
We got to keep the rest of the old pans too.

Basill

student100

My mum and dad have some Prestige Stainless steel pans with a copper base that they started collecting as a wedding present 21 years ago, they're still going strong. The handles are wooden which means you don't burn your hands - although one of the pan handles got a bit burned on the gas hob once but Dad made a new handle for it out of an oak fencepost...

indigogirl_3

Debenhams have got a set of pans in their sale £75 reduced from £200. Stainless steel. Seemed like a good buy to me.

They are available online as well as in-store.

Now if I was cleverer i would post the link too but I'm not