Cookware - To buy Expensive or not....

The topic I want to talk about is cookware. Whether you are working in a professional kitchen or your kitchen at home, the utensils you use or rather the pots and pans you use are important. There are hundreds of companies that state they make good quality pots and pans. But I will try to focus on the pans and pots that I use and what I find great or not so great about them.

The first brand I want to talk about is All - Clad. This is a huge company that has been around for a while and was created in the United states. A lot of the Food Network chefs use All - Clad.

All-Clad cookware

     When you are watching a food network show or cooking show, you can tell a pot or pan is All-Clad by its iconic handle as well as the rim on some of the pots. I know that the Bocuse D'or which is a huge chef competition with the best of the best chefs competing sponsors this competition.

All-Clad cookware is quite expensive ranging between $80-400. Personally at home I do have a couple of pots and pans that are all clad. I find that they do provide great quality results and they are very well made. The only problem is the price tag as well as with the pans that are stainless steel it is sometimes hard to scrape off some of the bottom parts of the pan. There is a solution to this which is adding this powder sold at kitchen supply stores like William-Sonoma. However All-Clad pots and pans are great quality and provide great results and are worth the investment. There are a lot of chefs out there with their own brand of pots and pans like Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Emeril, Giada De Laurentiis, Wolf-Gang Puck. I don't own any of their pans because I have enough currently and my mom wouldn't like it if I bought another pan because we don't have enough space for another one. I would just say to google them and read some reviews that customers have written that way you have some perspective on it.

     If you can't afford All-Clad full price, William-Sonoma has great sales on some selected All-Clad items. You just need to sign up for the promotional emails and just check your email regularly. They also occasionally have some great chef knives on sale and send out emails. If you do see a sale on a chef knife or a pan that you like you should probably call the store closest to you to double check to see if they have it. I've had great customer service from the William-Sonomas that I have shopped at.

New DeBuyer Pan not Seasoned

Seasoned DeBuyer Pan

The second brand I want to talk about is DeBuyer. This is a brand that originates from France and dates back to 1830. One of the products that they have that I own is the DeBuyer mineral "b" 10 inch country fry pan. I was debating between this pan and the regular fry pan because I really liked the other fry pan but I realized that I don't have a pan that has really high curved sides as this one does which would be great for making risotto. Truthfully I wanted to get this pan because I have seen Gordon Ramsay cook with a pan that looked similar to this. After a week using this pan I realized it was a different brand he uses. Nevertheless it is a great pan. It came out to be around $120 I believe.

        The pan is great because its made out of 99% iron which retains heat really well. The thing that I don't like about this pan is that it is quite heavy which means when you add more food into the pan that you want to cook it will get even  MORE heavy. One time when I was trying to wash the pan I felt that it twisted my wrist a bit because its so heavy and sometimes awkward to hold. There are instructions online to show you how to start cooking with the pan which is known as "seasoning". With the All-Clad all you need to do is just wash it with warm water and soap. With the Debuyer pans there is a process. When they create the pans in France they add a layer of bees wax to protect it. Part of the seasoning process is removing the wax and letting some potato skins in some water season it then letting some oil get hot in it. Also with washing the DeBuyer cookware there is a certain way to clean the pot and store it which to some may be an inconvenience.

Le Creuset Pot

The last thing I want to talk about is Le Creuset.

Le Creuset Pot

Le Creuset has been around for a while even Julia Child liked to use Le Creuset. These I have to say are a great investment. They are cast-iron and enameled. With Cast-Iron Cookware it allows a equal heat distribution compared to some pans where there are some "hot spots" without the entire pan getting hot. These pots are perfect for searing and slow braising. They are expensive being around the $200-700. All you really need is a size appropriate to your needs and you are set.

These pots are so good that sometimes families pass them down from generation to generation. They range in a variety of colours from a beautiful key lime green to the notable bright orange.



I know I have talked about a couple of expensive brand cookware that I use at home but you do not always need to use the most expensive. Start with something relatively small and inexpensive. Do some research. Go to a store write down some of the brands you see and you can either talk to a store associate or do your own research. One of the things that really sold me on the De Buyer and Le Creuset is seeing it made on youtube.

Le Creuset: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDOljJrHsg0

De Buyer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQwCiYPW1Fg&feature=related

There is just something magical about seeing how something is made. One of my favourite pans I love to use for either searing scallops or pan frying fish or eggs is my Paderno Non-stick Pan. I can proudly say that this pan is around $20 from Winners!

 One of the things I love about this pan besides the amazing price but is that it is non-stick which means it is super easy to clean! Also because it is relatively inexpensive I'm not scared to try out different things with this pan without worrying whether or not it will ruin it. However having said that does not mean that I am out to ruin the pan. NOOO! The pan is great for cooking many different things and I highly recommend everyone get a reasonable inexpensive pan AKA the one to your left.

All in all, the most important thing if you want to learn more about a pan is go to a store like William-Sonoma and talk to a store associate and get their opinion on it and decide. Stick to things you can afford. If you want that All-Clad just save up or even wait until William-Sonoma sends out a promotional email they do it quite often! Things to remember: Everyone should own a dutch oven like a Le Creuset and a non-stick frying pan!

Until Next Time!

KMW