Consumer Reports On Cookware

Q: This comes up all the time. Certainly, All Clad is very good cookware. Pretty, performs well, but at a very high price. As noted by CR and many people here, other cookware can perform just as well. When it comes to boiling potatoes in a pot, cheap stuff can perform just as well also. Comes down to the looks versus money thing.

A: I have two saucepans by the same company, the rest is a mix of aluminum, cast iron, non-sticks, steel and some matching cheap-o glass and silicon bakeware. I've only had to replace the cheap-o non-stick pans a few times in about 10 years. It's hard to put a price on the collection since they weren't purchased all at once, with a large orange/blue enamel Dutch oven, inherited. Last purchase: blueish silicon popover pan (last week). I don't think it matters if your cookware has a name. In fact, I don't think your average dog or cat or bird cares what its name is as long as you feed it. Just buy something sturdy that suits your cooking needs and forget about what the brand is. Oh, and feed it well ;) I too have a lot of assorted cookware, but for some tasks I always seem to pull out the Revere. There is something "comfortable" about them in their classic simplicity. My mother owned some too. I think I bought mine as a starter set right before I married, from The Hecht Company. I seem to recall the price of $50 for two small saucepans with lids, a large and small frying pan and a Dutch oven with lid that also fit the larger frying pan. Not a bad deal considering how long I've had them, huh!?

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