Premium Home Cookware (1 Viewer)

[Tango]

I assume we have some professional chefs and/or serious home cooks in this community and I could use your opinion on where to spend serious cash on cookware for home chefs that like to cook.

And "like to cook" means cooking almost every weekend out of books like The French Laundry cookbook or the Culinaria series that have above average degrees of difficulty.A great resource is this post by an apparently random guy who likes cookware:

http://www.centurylife.org/how-to-choose-cookware/#s4. Obviously, there are many considerations...the first being what your power source is: induction vs gas vs other.

As a person with a moderately strong gas cooktop (18,000 btu x 6), I have started to invest in a mix of Demeyre Atlantis-Pawson line (for the performance and ease of clean-up) and Mauviel 250c copper cookware in pieces where it seems to be worth going through the polishing.

Some questions:

• Do you have a preferred copper line and why? Mauviel vs Falk vs Bourget vs the Italian lines
• Do you have a preferred stainless line and why? I love the Demeyere Atlantis cookware so far
• What specialty pieces makes sense for the expensive stuff? Im not in this to waste money, so things like a copper fish pan seem excessive, but Im not sure.
• One question I've been wrangling with-- what's the best 10+ quart stockpot? I'd like some quality in the disk/bottom to give me more margin of error, but I dont want to spend $$$ on that much 2mm copper. Thoughts appreciated there...

Of course I'd be happy to comment on any Demeyere or Mauviel question too as I have +/-6 total pieces plus lids so far.

 

[McGarnicle]

My wife got me this for Christmas.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Those pots/pans are insanely high. I can't imagine you can cook better than a good calphalon, etc. for way less.

 

[Tango]

Those pots/pans are insanely high. I can't imagine you can cook better than a good calphalon, etc. for way less.

Well I'd agree that the benefit for each additional dollar diminishes as the bling factor takes hold, but the absolute benefit is indeed higher in my experience with good, thick copper or Demeyere stainless. Plus overall quality. And it's not just the litmus test that some Caphalon is made in China and some not. It goes beyond that to the fact that if they're still in business (of course) there's a 30 year warranty on the Demeyere Atlantis. You buy this stuff and you're using the best stainless out there and you never need worry about it again. Pretty much a lifetime purchase- guaranteed.

 

[Stoneys]

what about All Clad

i just know about them as they are manufactured in just south of Pittsburgh, PA (about 15miles away from me)

 

[Mister CIA]

My wife got me this for Christmas.

Take this to the healthy eating thread.

 

[Hawks64]

Paging K4's Husband...Oliver something orother.

 

[fasteddie_21]

I've been using a full set of All-Clad MC2 and have been VERY happy with them. Couple them with a quality CIS and my Le Creuset Dutch oven and I couldn't be happier with my cookware.

Fwiw, I've read that the Demeyere is VERY heavy.

 

[Tango]

I've been using a full set of All-Clad MC2 and have been VERY happy with them. Couple them with a quality CIS and my Le Creuset Dutch oven and I couldn't be happier with my cookware.

Fwiw, I've read that the Demeyere is VERY heavy.

Oh yeah, it's heavy stuff. Copper is even heavier as its surface invariably rolls up the sides, while the Demeyere is only the disks for most pieces. Though it's not heavier than other things you've handled-- I'd say it roughly as heavy as your enameled cast iron inch for inch.

 

[Tango]

what about All Clad

i just know about them as they are manufactured in just south of Pittsburgh, PA (about 15miles away from me)

An in-depth review of the All-Clad lines and how they measure up vs some Demeyere lines, Calphalon and others is here.