How are the handles attached? Some construction methods are more durable, and add more to the price than others.

That still doesn't account for such a huge difference, tho. I'm guessing there's more to it, but it still seems rather inflated.

I'm reminded of the phrase 'what the market will bear'.

P.S. the CPI inflation calculator is a tool I use often to compare past prices with today's, and it often isn't much more, when you adjust for that.

https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

I suggest buying for the long haul. My All Clad frying pan was bought in 1996 and is going strong.

The other thing though, don't we just alter the way we cook, according to the pan, according the the oven and so forth? Especially with baking, we have had to adjust a lot of recipes now that we have a more evenly cooking, temperature maintaining oven.

Get the Tramontia from Brazil if you can. That is what I have and it is very good. I also have two cast iron Tramonitna, blue outside and white inside that I use for some things.

Sherry, yea fhese are from Brazil. No idea if it really makes a difference but ”they” said to look out for that.

Pal - Of course you’re right about adjusting. But just like a well-calibrated oven wth relatively even heat where you can just throw in your cookies and take them out eight minutes later, pans that brown without scorching, and heat fairly evenly, are easier, more predictable, and more pleasnt to use.

I wonder what would account for the uneven surface temps.

Interesting analysis. Thank you for sharing your findings.

I enjoy using the heirloom, no doubt very inexpensive, copper bottom skillets that I have from my parents. They make perfect frittatas and cornbread.

“Are you ever going to need the sides to heat evenly or are you going to cook only using the bottom of the frypan.”

Good point from Jennifer. The “disk” and ”fully clad” she mentioned can make a difference with heat conduction. The “disk“ attached to the bottom where you see a seam just above the base isn’t the best when it comes to full heat conduction. Sounds like you already know this.

FWIW, I once read a comparison in Cook’s Illustrated for All-Clad and Tramontina…both brands being tri-ply clad. I remember CI’s comments regarding the ”astonishing“ closeness in quality considering the large price difference. Aside from price, I think the only thing they mentioned was the bottom of the All-Clad pans had a little bit more surface contact with the stove burners but not a big deal according to them.

I bought an 8” to start. I liked it so much I bought a 10”. That led to a 12”. I still like all of them. The 8” i have had since 2014. The rest followed after that. They are very good pans and I like them as much as the Revere of mine since the 70’s and my parent’s Revere from the 40’s.

The tests.

Variations could be from the type of burner.

Did each pan get up to temperature?

The temperature of each pancake or egg mixture.

They will both outlast you ;)

I bet either will cook well.

You could try leaving them submerged in ocean water for six months, but that doesn’t have anything to do with how they cook.

Did you say you are buying a ”set?” Why?

I have a few All-Clad and other brands like Viking. I though that the angle of the All-Clad handles was a tad less comfortable and were probably designed for a 6 feet tall cook.

The All-Clad probably has more status and cachet, but no one* cares about that.

I should donate my Martha Stewart SS skillets circa 1995. I don’t care for the balance.

*Or ”noone” as Ed Martin types it.

@chloebud ATK / Cook’s Illustrated!

I only own a few cook books anymore, but still love my Cook's Illustrated Meat Book and Cook's Illustrated Baking Book and The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science. I love understanding why things work, not just that they work.

Jennifer, it is nice to know about the science. Just wish I were better with remembering it all!

I bought a Tramontina enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven when I first heard of the pot type. I still use it but the quality seems sub-par. I've since bought (and have used) a Le Cruset and a Staub and these latter two are of a much higher quality.

The Food Lab is Kenji's book.

My son has a Cruset he got at an off price store. I have the tramontina. Not a penneys worth if difference between them as far as cooking, dollars difference in cost. It is just the snob appeal.

ETA: 4-4-25 Yes, I have used both. I borrowed my son's fancy one and use it. I bought the Tramontina, buecause it was the blue I wanted. I could not tell any differrence at all.

If you haven't personally owned and used both over a period of years, your opinion isn't based on personal experiences.

Edit to add...

I forgot, I have a smaller Tramontina too. It's maybe 5 qt. As between the two Tramontinas and the two French products, there's really no comparison.

I have a set of Le Creuset and I use certain pieces of specialty cooking.

I have a non-Le Creuset ~ 5 Qt. with cover, light interior with cover. I use them interchangeably for a variety of cooking and cannot tell the difference.

The large pot cooking includes stews, roasts, sauces, braising.

I like the small ~ 3 Cup LC ”sauce pan” w cover for slowly sauteing wild mushrooms and sometimes sauces and melted butter. The LC set is probably 50 52 years old.

(Correct spelling is Le Creuset)

Thanks for spelling correction, I'm using a phone and it's a slog to use even with misspellings.

Oh, I get it. I pointed out spelling for anyone looking it up.

I like my little 14 cm saucepan (5.5 inches diameter. I’ve wondered if it might be good for fondue w a slow burner.

I rarely use the large skillet. I use my Viking SS and vintage smooth large cast iron a lot.

I want to try baking bread in the large pot.

“Did you say you are buying a ”set?” Why?“

Because that’s generally cheaper than buying individual pieces. Which only works in your favor if you use each of the pieces. And that’s where most sets fall short for me. Perhaps my biggest requirement is that the saute pan is bigger than the seemingly ”standard” 3 quart which I nearly always find smaller than I want when using that particular type of pan. Just about every AC set comes with 3 quart, and to upgrade that separately costs over 2/3 as much as I paid for the whole T set. Equally important to me are some sauce pans on the smaller side. The set I got included 1.5 and 2 quart, in addition to the 3. Stock pot must be at least 8 quarts, and while you don’t need heavier construction to boil pasta, having it can allow you to use it effectively as a dutch oven for slow, steady heat. Bottom line, it works for me, all the pieces, and the low price is a bonus.

Next up, fish spatulas! How does the $9.65 budget unit stack up to the highly rated melty-handled $65 piece? 😉

Oh, that’s a shame.You melted the handle a bit. Smooth it w a dremmel.

I love my fish spatula(s). The way they feel when using is important.

Also, renters might leave a wooden handed one soaking. Look for bargains. Well-made and good price.

The black one looks more flex-agile to me; better.

And, for sure, get cookware that you like the feel and performance of. All-Clad is smart looking and nice to use.

Maybe give any renters an IQ test or swap out ;)

The melty handle is just annoying. I’ve melted several knife handles and that’s on me. But a spatula can’t be rested on the edge of the pan for a moment? That’s inexcusable in my book. Not for $65.

OXO little fish turner. $15 from Amazon. Turn flipper upside down with blade on pan edge and handle on counter. No melty and no slippy slidey.

I hear you and understand why it’s annoying. I have had some junk brand for ages, but it is nice and flexible, springy.

Cook w a small plate nearby. I don’t rest any plastic or bakelite looking handles against hot pans. Smooth the melty section, it will help. If you don’t want, smooth then donate.

You’ve worked all your life. Treat yourself and wife to cookware you will feel happy about using.

I like a non-stick skillet for some applications and wanted a really large skillet to accommodate some newer recipes we like. After doing some research I purchased an Essteele (Italian made) non stick skillet, which has one of those new permanent coatings that isn't Teflon.

I love it and highly recommend it. It wasn't cheap, but the coating won't flake off into my food and it really is non-stick. Even when there are little burnt gooey bits stuck on the bottom, they easily clean off with just a sponge. I wish I'd had this years ago :-)

I'm coming into this late, but my first reaction was that so many people over many years have loved their T-howeveritsspelled-tina that I wouldn't hesitate to buy it for a RENTAL. It doesn't matter how little you rent it out, if you're letting strangers use your pans to swat flies, pots to make hot craft glue and knives to play carnival act, I wouldn't spend one more penny than minimally adequate for my own purposes. It sounds like it's better than adequate, which is fab! But also replaceable after renters ruin it. Good compromise between purposes, and you might like it best of all, which you'll only know after longer use.

I got into Le Creuset enamel CI after an impulse buy on one at the grocery store and liking it so much more than the stainless I was given in college. I've cooked with other people's All-Clad and hated it with a passion. I love my mother's Wagner and Griswold cast iron frying pans. I love my few pieces of Demeyere clad stainless, but for particular purposes where it's preferable to enamel. I LOVE my pots. I would never let anyone I don't know and trust have a chance to ruin them. I abducted the Wagner and Griswold (with Mother's permission) when I saw the cook (!) abusing them. He hadn't ruined them, but could have over time. I replaced them with similar sizes of Lodge (all together for the price that one good Wagner from days gone by would cost on EBay) and he was silly happy with heavy, thick, cheap.

For utensils, take a look at the sets of silicone ones. They often sell for $25-35, which comes out to something like a dollar each piece. Most don't have your fish spatula, but have enough basics to cover most situations, and you could hide your better pieces and let the renters do their worst with those. As I understand it, it's the feel of the fish spatula in your hand, and its flexibility that make it "good". I wouldn't be surprised if a cheap one might be better than the dear one. I love the look of Rosle, but the handles are AWFUL to hold. I can't imagine paying that much for items that are meant to be used, rather just looking great hanging from a rail making your running water area look like a kitchen. For most utensils (and you must know I have a weakness for tools), I find the moderate priced ones best. Nice handles to hold, good durability, proper function, no fancy looks. I don't itch at letting volunteers and unsupervised minions using my utensils, but I wouldn't let renters near my good (as in just right, not expensive) stuff.

Even moreso for knives. Have a hidden lock box for your good knives. Get a cheap set that's good enough not to bend when you use a steel but not one bit better, or maybe the cheap ceramic ones, or some other novelty, for the renters. Remember, they've seen cooks on TV open cans with their knives, but don't actually know how it's done....

Good luck with the furnishing. Get good insurance.

I am in the market for a couple of new piece of cookware and have been looking at (online) and considering for a good while now. I am not an impulse shopper!

I have switched from gas stove to electric recently and I had a couple of All clad skillets that I started using and now I am on a search for something like a big saute pan or maybe one of those sauciers. I have been comptemplating for months now.

I borrowed my daughters D5 Al Clad saute pan and I really like it. I want something like this, but I find that that the AllClad handle is a bit too long and big for me.

I have three All Clad D3 skillets that my daughter gave me when I had the gas stove but I preferred my trusty cast iron at that time. Now I find that I am really liking the steel.

I never thought that I would give up my assortment of cast iron .I have used it and enjoyed it for over 50 years. But, this steel cookware is lighter for me to handle and I have grown to appreciate it. I just need one piece, really...... a saute pan or something of that shape and function.

I am considering one of the lesser priced ones because my time of doing my own cooking has a limited future and neither of my kids needs me to leave them cookware.

I keep a spare, uncluttered and streamlined kitchen but I do cook everyday and I take pride in the meals that I put on the table for the two of us.

I have put most of my cast iron away and that is something that I never though that I would ever do.

I am afraid that I will drop my heavy iron on the glass top and it is getting pretty heavy for me, anyway. I stil keep a couple of pieces in the kitchen and I stil use it in the oven.

At this point I have decicded to focus on a saute pan that is maybe not the most expensive one.

Thanks for the discussion.

@plllog - Funny you should mention silicone utensils because that’s another area where I’m frustrated. I read about a brand GIR, either in CNN’s Underscored or NYT’s Wirecutter, sounded great, great reviews on Amazon. I bought one spatula to try it out and it’s the worst! It’s got internal reinforcement, fiberglass I think, but it stops too early, leaving the last inch or two so bendy that it cannot dislodge anything barely stuck and has trouble flipping anything moderately heavy. Not much pressure used in this pose:

Then I found some Greenpan utensils at Wms S, nice and firm so I bought a couple ”burger turners” and spoonulas. Loved them at first, but they TASTE just awful. Nasty bitter. So maybe I shouldn’t be taste-testing off my utensils, but when it’s just my wife and me eating it’s ok, yes? 😛 I suspect they’re clinging onto soap in the dishwasher. So now I’m hand washing and it seems to help, but seriously are these the compromises we need to make in 2025?

Maybe it’s just me; I know I’ve got issues.

But…adequate for the renters?

I was looking for the kind of set I meant, and saw this with knives. It lacks a can opener and a grater, but fair. There are some new stainless large sets for under $50 now too. For the renters.

LINK

Re silicone, I have some Sur La Table ones I got on sale. I think they're metal inside. Not the cheap carp I was suggesting for the renters. One is my new favorite soup ladle. I don't have to be careful with it on the enamel, it's the right size and hasn't picked up smells, of which my soups are full. But I do use 7thG free and clear dish liquid and Ecover free DW tabs, so it's just the food.

I just went through this, having switched from gas to induction. I was perfectly happy with the old Farberware I had for 30+ years, it served me well and I cooked thousands of meals with it. But I have to say -- the Demeyere stuff I bought blows the doors off the Farberware, it's phenomenal cookware. Pricey but worth it.

I do have one 1-qt saucepan that is a Cuisinart that is made in France (not the made in China Cuisinart that abounds). DH wanted that size, someone recommended it and I've been happy with it. All the rest is Demeyere. I started with the 10-piece set and supplemented with additional pieces to round out the cookware collection.

I have some Le Creuset dutch ovens but hardly ever use them anymore, with the exception of the 3-qt (or maybe it's 3.5-qt) and the braiser. The cast iron is just too heavy anymore.

I looked at the All-Clad but didn't buy because I hate the handles, it was uncomfortable to simply pick up a pan by the handle let alone actually cook with it.

@porkchop_z5b_MI You were part of my initial inspiration to go high end, reading how happy you are with your Demeyere! I’m sure I’d love it - and some day may follow in your footsteps - but for now I’m just happy to have a perfectly capable set.

I think what it comes down to, and kind of the underlying purpose of my original post, is that there may be a much bigger disparity between ok and very good, than there is between very good and excellent. It’s so easy, at least for me, to get hung up on “expert” reviews. If I hadn’t bought this set as a temporary solution, I’d likely be thinking they cook with a lot of hot spots as the upthread picture implies.

Heck, I'm more impressed that you can cook eggs in stainless steel. I haven't mastered that yet. I use my little cast iron skillet or my good-quality non-stick.

"...there may be a much bigger disparity between ok and very good, than there is between very good and excellent."

There very well might be. IDK. No doubt I could've gotten less expensive cookware that would have performed perfectly well, but I figured this is the last time I've ever going to buy and I can afford it, so I'm going to get what I really want.

I must say, the Demeyere is a pleasure to use. Hefty but well-balanced and comfortable in the hand, no hot spots, and excellent results overall. I thought my dishes came out pretty dang good using the cheap stuff but the Demeyere elevates it -- nuanced ways that I can't really explain but the overall cooking results are subtly better.

"I'm more impressed that you can cook eggs in stainless steel. I haven't mastered that yet."

I always cook eggs in stainless. The trick to avoid sticking is to pre-heat the pan then add the butter or oil.

@Jasdip - I also bought non-stick, but I’m largely trying to wean off of that. I was scared to try eggs in stainless, but with just a pat of butter was pleasantly surprised to find that omelets were no problem. Actually kicking myself for waiting my whole life to try it. Generally no problem. If I make one and some cheese leaks and burns, gotta clean that off or the next one won't be clean. Haven't fried eggs yet, and suspect scrambled might be problematic but haven't tried that either.

A question about cooking eggs on stainless steel, something I've never tried but would like to.

I see the technique of heating the skillet first, then putting in oil or cold butter and then eggs.

Say I'm frying eggs. I start by cracking eggs into a bowl. When I tip the bowl into the skillet, the liquid runs all over. Does there have to be oil covering the entire bottom of the pan so there is oil/butter everywhere the egg may spread to?

Thanks

Happy to help, Elmer. What did stick on the unbuttered side scraped off easily, but for cleanest release I'd recommend having the entire surface coated.

I rarely use SS for eggs, but from what I’ve read, because the SS has ”pores,” heat the pan, then coat with oil, then add your protein. I would let sit a few seconds, then scramble.

Link for OXO little fish spatula

▶️ https://www.oxo.com/little-fish-turner.html

About $14 w 15% first time discount.

like cast iron, you have to have the coating between the egg and the pan and it needs to be hot first.

I use egg forms on the griddle and for making egg sandwiches and just drop the butter in the middle of the form.

Thanks food and others - that's more oil than I'd prefer to use, I guess I'll just have to stick to using non-stick for eggs. Pun intended.

I fry my eggs, using this method: I put a half tablespoon of butter in a cold pan. I turn it on medium low. Swirl the butter as far as it will go, and then add the eggs. Put on a top on the skillet and hit the timer for 5 minutes. It's a runny yolk, solid whites, and doesn't stick to my stainless steel pan.

A freshly broken egg that is too runny could be a sign of a lack of freshness. I’ve found that really fresh eggs stay together, aren’t watery, and the yolk sits high.

I didn't say runny, you jumped to the wrong conclusion.

The eggs we buy come from a small sized boutique family operated chicken ranch not 20 miles away as the crow flies. Their eggs are organic, the chickens are not kept in cages, they couldn't be more fresh, and are delicious We buy their jumbo size, they're quite big, sometimes enormous and well beyond the minimum prescribed jumbo weight and often double-yolked. 4 or 5 eggs will cover the bottom of a pan with a 10 inch flat surface.

As before, covering such a large size in butter or oil is more than I prefer to use. .

Do as you wish of course, but it requires far less. Most of this tiny amount of butter was left on the paper towel after I wiped it around.

Elmer, you said the liquid runs all over.

I find that a little dab of butter and the freshly broken egg keeps it shape, if that’s how you like it.

I think we’re on the same page, though.

4 or 5 super sized eggs easily fill a cereal bowl almost to the top. If you poured such a volume of non-watery tomato sauce into a medium to large skillet, it would similarly cover the entire bottom. If one uses much smaller eggs, maybe it would be the equivalent of 8 or more and yes, the liquid of so many eggs would also cover the bottom of a fair sized skillet.

I think you misunderstood what I said because you assumed a meaning of the word I used that wasn't intended. Maybe flow would have been better but who cares?

"Does there have to be oil covering the entire bottom of the pan so there is oil/butter everywhere the egg may spread to?"

Yes.

Thank you. And no need to speculate about what turns out to be the special eggs we buy.

You didn't ask about shell color. The answer is "brown", easier to see fragments when opening hard boiled ones.

While the oil should cover the whole bottom of the pan, it doesn't have to be deep. So you could put in a tablespoon or so and then use a pastry brush to spread it over the whole pan surface.

I've read, but not tried enough times to be sure, that if you do a small skim of oil at heat, then let your pan cool down, before you go back and do your eggs, that it's like using a seasoned surface.