Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Girhinomofe t1_ix8y97z wrote

Don’t bother with a bunched set, as there will undeniably be pieces you’ll seldom use (this applies for kitchen knives as well).

All of our daily-use essentials are from either All-Clad or Made In, and are stainless steel made in the USA. None of it is flashy copper and we don’t own any nonstick surfaced cookware; you want something that will take abuse and be exceptionally functional for the rest of your life, not some glam showpiece whose value is in its aesthetic.

I would put together a piece-by-piece set of:
Large pot, medium pot, 2 small saucepans (Made In)
Two 12” skillets (All Clad)
4qt Saucepan (All Clad)
Half and quarter sheet-pans (Made In, get a few of each!)
An 8” and 12” cast iron skillet (either look for a vintage Wagner, Griswold, or buy new from a company like Stargazer, Smithey, Field Company)
Cast iron griddle (smooth one side, ribbed on the other; Lodge makes a great one)
Enameled Dutch Oven (Le Creuset— make sure to get one made in France, as some are made in China these days I believe)

All of this stuff is made with care from ethical companies and will outlast you— and, most importantly, will kick ass in the kitchen and not need to be babied.

45

TimLikesPi t1_ix9dtxt wrote

Second the All-Clad. I started with a set, a few pans of which I do not use. Then I added as I needed. I could leave it to my kids if I had any. Stuff will last forever.

12

amnotanyonecool OP t1_ix8zbmg wrote

Thank you so much for the recommendations! I’ll definitely look in to those! I disagree with the not wanting a bunched set, we have pans/pot similar to all of these (just crappy versions) that we use every week, but if we didn’t cook so much I’d agree. We may need duplicates of a few anyways. My biggest thing with the copper is how conductive it is for evenly cooking, but it’s definitely not a necessity.

7

kkjeb t1_ix9yx8w wrote

Second All-Clad. It’s my favorite pan

3

dodongo t1_ixamwgi wrote

Jumping in to fanboy All-Clad. Even conduction is not a problem. These things are a damn delight. I got a 2-Qt and and a 4-Qt. Use em almost every day. Great use of a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

2

cherlin t1_ixbq00i wrote

Copper is great for conductivity and even heating, but tin is not great for anything outside of sauce pans imo. Tin melts at 500f, so it's out the window for searing anything, and you kinda have to baby it (forgot a pot on the burner and it's ruined). I absolutely love my copper and tin sauce pot, but I only use it for liquids/sauces so it doesn't go above 212ish f.

If you want BIFL copper pans that can cook anything, you want silver lined copper pans, but those get very very pricey fast.

Honestly stainless steel is where it's at though, there is a reason most restaurants use stainless steel for most their cooking. They are just solid/durable and work well

2

Gavroche15 t1_ixfjcmq wrote

Agreeing on the all clad here. Started with a few pieces of D3. Recently upgraded to D5 which are markedly better in some aspects, like heat retention. We got the pleasure of passing on our d3 pieces to a very greatful daughter.

Also the lodge griddle works well. And my wife loves her Le creuset

1

daoliveman t1_ixkfehk wrote

Everything here is perfect. The only thing I would add is get the largest cast iron pan you can. Don’t get a smaller one. I have a wife and three kids and if they sold a 2 ft one I would get it. Lol. Never enough space.

1