Cooking Utensils

Curious_Moose

I needed to buy a large casserole dish recently so I could make loads of stew in one batch and freeze portions. I bought a 4.5 litre glass pyrex one for about £12 which suits me fine, but when I was looking, you could have paid anything from £40 to £100. Sure they looked nice and had a fancy name, but would they have been worth it?

Anyone like to splash out on expensive cookware or do you just go for the cheapo option? Does it make any difference to the way it's cooked?

Bargain_Rzl

I go for mid range on most things as it's what I can afford.

However it really is worth avoiding the cheapest things in a lot of cases. Saucepans, for example. I've got a Judge set, bought on a deal at Robert Dyas for about £40. The cheapest ones you can buy at Argos are flimsy rubbish and will warp and fall apart - it's false economy. To anybody who can't afford half-decent pans I'd suggest trying to get some decent stainless steel ones second-hand or something, rather than spending anything on cheap and nasty goods which will soon have to be replaced at further expense.

Kitchen knives is the other thing I believe it's worth spending proper money on - again, mine are mid-range, another Robert Dyas deal (a 5-piece Sabatier set). They are OK but I find they don't hold their sharpness all that well (despite regular sharpening with a steel). I've never come anywhere close to mastering that technique you see TV chefs so, where they chop stuff really fast! My knives never quite seem to be sharp enough for that. One day I'd like to invest in a really top of the range set (well, when I say set, I'd actually probably buy them individually so I get the best of each).

I use Pyrex oven dishes, though - never tried anything else so I don't know the difference.

angchris

i agree totally with bargain rzl, a decent set of pans and knives is worth spending money on as these should last you years and you should definately get your moneys worth out of them. as for everything else i just buy cheap and cheerful and replace when needed although most of my cheap n cheerfuls have lasted me since i left home 20 odd years ago with the exception of maybe a couple of roasting trays and replacement frying pan etc.

mute_posting

Just moved into my own place and have got loads of cheap cookware goodies from TK Maxx and IKEA.

Penelope_Penguin

I love cooking, so buy the best items I can afford.

I'd agree with Rzl that cheap knives and pans are false economy. I've also bought top end bakeware and a Kenwood food mixer.

I bought a cheapie stick blender (£5 from Tesco). It lasted a week before I had to take it back. I've replaced it with one for about £30 which was worth every penny.

Just remembered, I have a Rayburn cooker, so need pans that make good contact with the cast iron hob and don't warp. I've bought Le Creuset pans for that.

Penny. x