# What cookware do you like to use?



## Azure Ihrat (Mar 23, 2018)

If you cook a lot, or have worked in the restaurant/catering industry, what sort of cookware do you prefer to use? Anything that you think is overrated? What's your favourite cooking vessel at home?

Maybe you look down on expensive cookware because it's not about the vessel, it's about the technique? Or because you think the pursuit of such obsessions is yet another expression of the consumptive luxuries of theh bourgeoisie?

A while ago I heard some very positive feedback about cast iron on Reddit. So I bought a 26cm Le Creuset enameled cast iron a couple of years ago and it gets the most play out of any other pot in my kitchen:



I like that it holds heat well, and can emit heat while food is doing its thing in the oven, but at this point I'm not sure if it's something I'd keep using for life.


I have some copper pots and they're heat evenly and responsively, so I use them for caramel and ice cream, but they're even more heavy than my cast iron and I have trouble pouring with them.



Fun fact about bimetal stainless-steel and copper pots: it's actually very difficult to manufacture pots with a pouring lip, which is why makes like Mauviel predominantly makes straight lips. Falk has pouring lips and I really prefer them, but I don't think I could handle copper that much due to its weight.

I also have some All-Clad, notably the 12-inch skillet recommended by The Wirecutter.



Surprisingly, it gets the least play in my kitchen. I do like cooking for many people, but I actually just hate the All-Clad handle because it hurts my hand. Otherwise it's a fine pan, but my off-brand $60 tri-ply pan gets much more use.

I've heard some good things about Farberware, and I've recently gotten a Demeyere saucier that is super fun to cook with. What's your favourite thing to cook in and what do you cook in it?

Reactions: Like 1


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## ~M~ (Mar 23, 2018)

I work in fine dining. There's little need to overspend on cookware, because its lifespan is more so how you treat it and use it than how its made. 

My most expensive knife is a $200 Global Santoku, it's a very good blade and my favorite but I have a $35 Santoku that's 99% the same efficacy. The main difference between the two is their hardness and grind bevel, meaning sharpening the two is very different to achieve the same cut. I own a wide variety of knives. A chef/santoku/gyuto + bread kife + pairing knife/utility + Chinese cleaver is a good all around set. 

Lodge cast iron is the most widely available cast iron I can think of and its plenty good enough, again, its just about not overspending for a .5% difference in material. A dutch oven like the one you have pictured is awesome, I use them for roasting meats that I include in many of my specials. 

Faberware is fine, and my kitchen uses a lot of Cusineart products. 

Important little utensils: spatulas, spoons, and tongs 
Dream things I would love to own in my own kitchen but are too expensive: 
Robot Coup food processor 
Vitamix blender 
Vacuum sealer 
Sous Vide Immersion 
Kitchenaid Standmixer 


The best tools are the ones we have


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## Aphrodite (Mar 23, 2018)

I pretty much just like anything nonstick.


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## Smoke (Mar 23, 2018)

Whatever I find at my mom's house that I don't think she'll notice is missing.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## John Wick (Mar 24, 2018)

Having owned Le creuset pots and pans and they would still stick when I cooked I tried these new ones called eaziglide



Exclusive to John Lewis in the uk but these are so far the best pots and pans i've owned you can use metal utensils and they don't scratch and they're completely non stick you can cook without oil if you so wish.


I also use zwilling knives by far the best investment in knifeware I've made since they use damascus steel.


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## Dark Wanderer (Mar 24, 2018)

Stainless steel pots and pans. Nothing nonstick (my family has parrots and anything with teflon can kill them when heated to a certain temperature.) Also have a couple ceramic frying pans, I like using them for smaller things.  Oh and a Ninja express chopper, it really comes in handy for chopping up herbs.


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## Kitsune (Mar 24, 2018)

Cast iron and enamel cookware is awesome. A little bit of maintenance goes a long way and they control temperatures well.

I like having a nice rice cooker. Couldn’t live without it. My panini press also rocks.

I want a Vitamix blender. They’re expensive so it would be a splurge.


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## John Wick (Mar 24, 2018)

Kitsune said:


> Cast iron and enamel cookware is awesome. A little bit of maintenance goes a long way and they control temperatures well.
> 
> I like having a nice rice cooker. Couldn’t live without it. My panini press also rocks.
> 
> I want a Vitamix blender. They’re expensive so it would be a splurge.


you'd think so but like the newer stuff on the market is actually better and easier to maintain like I've converted my grandmother who's old into using eaziglide


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## ~M~ (Mar 24, 2018)

Do the eaziglide have good thermal mass and retention? That's why I usually use cast iron as opposed to its non-stick ability, for example, if I want a hard sear on the outside of a roast or steak. 

A lot about cast iron makes it a pain in one way or another but no other pans get quite as hot.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Nataly (Mar 25, 2018)

I remember I used to have an electric skillet Bella, loved that little thing. It was so useful and didn't take much storage room. 
I enjoy baking, so you can find lots of various forms for cupcakes and I have a good baking dish set.
I love using Tefal frying pans, and I will always recommend them. They are great and nonstick. 
I don't have an expensive blender for morning smoothies, it's pretty standard but it works good for me and does its job.


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## Aphrodite (Mar 25, 2018)

I wanna get a blender for smoothies. I love making fresh smoothies mixed with strawberries, pineapple, banana and kale. That mixture is super yummy.


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## Azure Ihrat (Mar 26, 2018)

Smoke said:


> Whatever I find at my mom's house that I don't think she'll notice is missing.



I took stuff from my parents' house too and they all sucked, I just ended up buying my own.



John Wick said:


> Having owned Le creuset pots and pans and they would still stick when I cooked I tried these new ones called eaziglide
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Le Creuset pots don't have any reason to be nonstick. I don't think anything can really get close to nonstick short of Teflon.

I'm pretty skeptical because John Lewis is for dads, but what's the material in Eaziglide? Looks like some pretty good reviews.

I honestly don't need a heavy skillet if I just want to cook some eggs.



Kitsune said:


> Cast iron and enamel cookware is awesome. A little bit of maintenance goes a long way and they control temperatures well.
> 
> I like having a nice rice cooker. Couldn’t live without it. My panini press also rocks.
> 
> I want a Vitamix blender. They’re expensive so it would be a splurge.



Vitamixes look so awesome, I want one too. I'd make the meanest nut butters :9


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## Kitsune (Mar 26, 2018)

Ernel32.dll said:


> Le Creuset pots don't have any reason to be nonstick.



Yep, enamel is naturally nonstick.


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## Azure Ihrat (Mar 26, 2018)

Kitsune said:


> Yep, enamel is naturally nonstick.



Huh, could have fooled me on that one! I do notice cleanup is a bit easier on my enameled LC than on stainless steel, but nothing close to my seasoned cast-iron skillet or good ol' parrot-killing Teflon.


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## Kitsune (Mar 26, 2018)

Ernel32.dll said:


> Huh, could have fooled me on that one! I do notice cleanup is a bit easier on my enameled LC than on stainless steel, but nothing close to my seasoned cast-iron skillet or good ol' parrot-killing Teflon.



 It might just be what I use it for. I take that back.

Edit: I looked it up. Enamel has a somewhat nonstick quality by virtue of having such a smooth surface.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Mider T (Mar 26, 2018)

The Big Green Egg is my baby on a nice sunny day.



My face is exactly like that guy's when I finish cooking, minus the receding hairline.



It cost me a pretty penny but damnit if everyone on the block doesn't come to my grill-outs!


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## Aphrodite (Mar 27, 2018)

Mider T said:


> The Big Green Egg is my baby on a nice sunny day.
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I was about to say that damn thing is expensive and heavy as fuck. How did you manage to get it from the store?


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## Mider T (Mar 27, 2018)

Stephanie said:


> I was about to say that damn thing is expensive and heavy as fuck. How did you manage to get it from the store?


It was delivered to me, I haven't actually seen these available for purchase in the store.  However this made me consider, perhaps I should lift this and get all sweaty before drinking lemonade and letting it drip all over it me the next time I have company over for food?


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## Aphrodite (Mar 27, 2018)

Mider T said:


> It was delivered to me, I haven't actually seen these available for purchase in the store.  However this made me consider, perhaps I should lift this and get all sweaty before drinking lemonade and letting it drip all over it me the next time I have company over for food?



I saw one in a store dunno which one cause i thought it was a pineapple grill.


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## Azure Ihrat (Mar 30, 2018)

Mider T said:


> The Big Green Egg is my baby on a nice sunny day.
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> ...



gai sensei


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## ~M~ (Mar 31, 2018)

Mider T said:


> The Big Green Egg is my baby on a nice sunny day.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Could have been yellow banana shaped, lost opportunity


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## ~M~ (Apr 22, 2018)

Next items I need to buy are a y peeler of my own and I would like a new global somewhere down the line, a nakiri  or slicer


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## Monna (Apr 23, 2018)

I need a new pan lol.  

I think I will go for cast iron.


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## ~M~ (Apr 23, 2018)

If you have the money, splurging for carbon steel is good. It has similar properties to cast iron but is more rust resistant and lighter.


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## ~M~ (Apr 23, 2018)

Seiko said:


> i haven't cooked in many years


What do you eat?


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