Cookware Question

Q: What is the best cookware for the home chef? Should one consider non-stick or is the regular surface better? Thanks,

A: .........whatever you choose, try to avoid the non-stick, in favor of stainless steel, preferably with either copper (Cuisinart) or aluminum (AllCladd) sandwiched in between the two layers of stainless. Depends upon your peresonal preferences. The majority of posters in this NG prefer stainless steel clad aluminum cookware. I prefer hard anodized aluminum. Many people like the convenience of non-stick. So do I, but I prefer the taste of food cooked in other cookware. As far as stainless steel clad aluminum, the All-Clad line is the prohibitive favorite. If CostCo still carries it, their Kirkland line, when equipped with the stay cool handles with the forked construction where the handle joins the body, is a real bargain. My preference in cookware (I can't afford copper; I also might not notice enough benefit to eschew the ease of care of hard anodized by comparison) is Calphalon Hard Anodized, preferably the Calphalon Commerical Hard Anodized line. I think that the Cuisinart line is overpriced. The interior (cooking surface) is too highly polished for good stick resistance and the walls of the cookware is far to thin for even heat distribution. Still, it is in between run of the mill cookware and high-end, IMHO.

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