which saucepans to buy?

magnolia65

Thistle down...I was looking at the stellar too at the time but they were a bit more so I opted for the Judge. If I was to change now I would like the stellar...I always wanted the gravy jug/pan but never got round to buying it

GoldenEye

For someone that loves cooking I highly recommend Anolon and Circulon pans. They may be expensive but they cook food very well. They are also easy to clean and are very durable. I bought my pans from this company:

http://www.hartsofstur.com/acatalog/Anolon.html

The prices are an absolute bargain and they offer free delivery! I ordered the 4 piece set complete with free sauteuse.

dorsetmiss_2

Another vote for Stellar pans here....I got mine from TKMaxx...cost about £100 for 4 pans + milk pan + non-stick frypan and I find them really great. Only slight drawback - the s/s handles get very hot....:rolleyes:

(Anyone have a pattern for an old-fashioned pan holder )

Thistle-down

magnolia65 wrote:

Thistle down...I was looking at the stellar too at the time but they were a bit more so I opted for the Judge. If I was to change now I would like the stellar...I always wanted the gravy jug/pan but never got round to buying it

I don't have that but it's on my Christmas list!:D

I don't think there is much difference in the quality of the Stellar and Judge, both are very well made! I guess I do like the style of the Stellar slightly better. I am so happy with it!!

livinginhope

Hiya Lynz,all my pans are other people's cast offs I use my gran's old stainless steel pans,a tefal fying pan and soooo many baking tins.
The best has to be my mum's Le creuset stew pot,it's huge,I can't lift it easily when it's full,but it holds so much and always looks new after cleaning.I saved it from the skip when mum got fed up with it and chucked everything in her kitchen out,only a bit upset that someone beat me to the rest of the set,she had every piece available :mad:
I would recommend Le Creuset if you are strong,if not,just any stainless pans:D
When are you moving? will it be before Christmas? good luck
LIH

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, Lynz. Vote here for Le Creuset. Having said that, now that my children are cooking, they're too heavy for them to lift, so I'm going to get a couple of lighter ones. I have a cast iron Rayburn range, so the Le Creuset are perfect. They heat up really well on the hotplate, and can go into the oven for long-cook casseroles and pasta sauce.

My MIL has stainless steel copper-bottom pans. She swears by them - good conductivity on their bottoms so good even cooking.

HTH, Penny. x

lynzpower

ooooh so many choices

and some great bargains around too

Can I be honest, one of the best things about crueset ( my parents have them) is that you can get them in a rack with the corresponding pan lid in the bottom. Its a daily frustration that we have a stackable plastic mijni crate in our cupbard with the pan lids and the right one for the pan we are using is always the last one out of the crate!

They are heavy though it is true. And at 200 for a set a bit :eek:

I wanted to spend about 100 ( with a bit of cash back chucked in ) so the Anolon, or the prestige or judge or the stellar would do, aside from the fact they have annoying glass lids which will become "last out of the crate!"

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm decisions eh!

wendym

Hi lynz.

My vote is for Le Creuset with double handles, so you're not trying to lift all the weight with one wrist.

And is there any way you could take a car to France for the day?

In Fresnoy-le-grand there is the Le Creuset factory shop, where they sell ends of lines etc. I treated myself for our 25th wedding anniversary...until then my pots could have been used by the BBC props dept for programmes about the way poor people used to live!

The shop is open Tues to Sat, 9 to 12 and then 2 to 6 (from memory) and you could come home via a supermarket for edible goodies.

There are also Le Creuset shops in various McArthur Glen outlets, which is less fun but more practical.

Hope the packing up is going OK.

Wx

victory

vote for Le creuset, yes very heavy and a bit difficult to lift sometimes if arthritic etc but I have had mine for 10 years and they look like I bought them last week, what other saucepan set could say the same!! xx
Worth every penny.

Alfietinker

Le Crueset also have factory outlets that sell 'seconds'. There's one in Braintree if you fancied a day out? Just pop on the train from Liverpool Street. I'm not sure of the prices though.

Another alternative if you are not in a hurry is to look in secondhand/antique stores. The best pans I have cost me £20 for 3 saucepans, a skillet and a huge casserole dish, about 4 years ago. They're all cast iron and needed to be rubbed down with wire wool and seasoned before I used them but they are fab. In my opinion even better than my 1 Crueset saucepan (I don't like the enamelling much, I can't seem to get it clean).

I've seen quite a few pans like this in shops. Maybe worth a look if you see one?