Pots and Pans - How do you Choose?

Choosing the right pans for you can be difficult. If you cook, you will get a lot of benefit from having the right tools, pans being a pretty important piece of the puzzle. If you have shopped for them recently, you have certainly noticed the wide range of both price and quality available to choose from. If that hasn’t confused you enough, what about the pans endorsed by chefs, they must be good right? Are the expensive pans really worth it?

My guess is any chef you ask will have his or her own opinion and I certainly have mine. How about we talk about what you should look for in a pan so you can decide what YOU need.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Weight is a critical factor. The downside to weight is that, well, it’s heavy. The upside is the density of the material allows the pan to get hot and retain its heat consistently throughout the cooking process, with little fluctuation in temperature. This makes a big difference to the finished dish. Case in point, if you took a wafer thin pan you bought for $10 at a discount giant store vs a cast iron pan and tried to cook a steak on it, the results would be markedly different. The cheap pan would not have cooked the steak evenly and likely wouldn’t have retained enough heat to caramelize the outside. The second you put the cool steak in the cheap pan it looses all of its heat. The heavy cast iron pan will have gotten hot enough, heated evenly and retained enough heat to create a nicely caramelized exterior without overcooking the interior. The weight or density of the material really does make a difference.

Next, the pan MUST be oven safe. Do not settle for anything with a rubber handle or a limit on the temperature. The more you cook and start using cooking methods like pan roasting, where you start on the stove and slide it in the oven, you will see how valuable this feature is. I also cook rice this way. I start it on the stove, put a lid on it and put it in the oven. All of my pans, from sauté to sauce to stock are oven safe, which gives me enormous flexibility in how I use them.

Quality of craftsmanship; Well, I don’t know the science behind the craft of making pans but if you look at the way the handles are fastened and they look cheaply made or if they are not securely bolted to the pan, skip them. You should be able to look at it, feel it, and know it was well made.

I have seen some sets with useless pans in them, so carefully consider what the set includes. I suggest you make sure you get a good sized stock pot, two sauce pans one medium sized one smaller, a large 14-16 inch straight high sided saute pan, sometimes called a chef's pan, a similar pan with high rounded sides (great for Risotto and stir fry), and one or two sauté pans. We all have different favorite dishes, so be sure you aren’t paying for a set that includes something you would never use….my pet peeve is those tiny stock pots…..what am I going to do with a tiny stock pot?

There are so many materials out there, cast iron, aluminum, anodized aluminum, stainless steel….etc. They each have their benefits but in the end, when people ask me, my advice is stick with hard anodized aluminum and stainless steel. In tandem, I believe you cannot go wrong with these two materials in your kitchen. They are incredibly durable and they get the job done, which is what you need. Pans that won't last are a waste of your hard earned cash and everything you cook requires more effort on your part because the pans are not doing their job.

WHAT PANS DO I USE?

Personally, I have a set of hard anodized aluminum pans I have had for nearly 9 years. This may seem like those old Toyota commercials when the cars hit 300K miles or something, but I took a picture of them so you could see that the little wear and tear they have endured isn’t such that it impedes the function of the pans.

They are still in good shape, heat evenly and are durable. Most are not Teflon coated, so no worry about nicks and scratches. The downside to the anodized aluminum is they cannot go in the dishwasher. For some people, it is a deal breaker. Just don’t buy them and try the dishwasher anyway. You can see my stockpot lid has some oxidation from an accidental adventure through the dishwasher, which won't come off. You don’t want your whole set to look like that. So, along with my good knives, I faithfully hand wash them and I still have them 8.5+ years later and I have no plans on replacing them anytime soon! I also have several 10 inch professional aluminum sauté pans. When I don’t want a non-stick surface, like when I want to caramelize meat and make a pan sauce, stainless steel or aluminum surfaces are ideal. I buy these moderately priced aluminum sauté pans at a commercial restaurant supply store for about $20 each. They are still durable, useful and heavy enough to do the job well. They don’t last as long as a high end All Clad pan but at a mere $20, when they warp I toss them out and still feel like I got my monies worth. Plus, they really do last a good long time making the minimal investment worth it. Nearly all restaurants you go to will be using these on their line, charred and warped, but still in use. There are some beautiful and heavy stainless steel pans available, and yes, I look at them longingly every time I go, but at $80-$100+ each, I only have one All Clad stainless saute pan. Goodness knows, as much as I would love to have them, I cannot afford a $1,300+ set of All Clad pans. Mine was a great investment from Santa and I bring it out for important jobs….pan roasting stuffed pork chops, filet mignon etc.

I also have a couple non-stick sauté pans, both heavy and both have lasted a long time. High end non stick pans are made to resist scratches, unlike the cheap models. Mine have worn very well. The two you see pictured are the dark hard anodized aluminum that came with the set and both are nearly 9 years old. I mention this because I truly believe in this realm; you get what you pay for. These are for eggs, French toast and any sauté where I don’t want to use much if any oil. The majority of the time, my son uses them to make scrambled eggs.

HOW MUCH WILL THIS COST?

So were they expensive? Over eight years ago, I waited and watched for a super good sale at an outlet store. I paid about $350 for a $600 set of 7 pans with lids. So far, this equates to roughly a $30 per year investment in something that I use every day. That set is Calphalon brand. To be honest, some of the newer Calphalon pans are a bit disappointing as they are not as heavy as mine. If I had to buy another set, I would likely buy Calphalon's again, but would hunt to see if I could find a heavier set, even if it cost more money.

I would avoid anything with glass lids and or rubberized handles, even if they say they are oven safe. I just don’t believe they are going to hold up to 8+ years of use. Frankly, even though I like some of the celebrity chefs, I have yet to find any of their endorsed products I would buy. Look for quality, not their endorsement.

Pans are an investment and I know in these hard times, people don’t have a lot of extra money to spend. If you can find the money, over time, like all investments they will pay for themselves. You will also find that when you have the right tools and equipment, cooking is much easier and the end result is better. If you have a good shoppers instinct, you can always hunt for open stock and buy them one piece at a time. Open stock is typically more expensive but if the sale is good enough, you may be able to customize your own set for a great price.

Many or maybe even most chefs will say the most important key to success in the kitchen is the right tools for the job. The right pans will help you achieve the results you need and end the frustrations associated with low quality cookware. So make your Christmas lists folks. Happy shopping!

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Pots and Pans - How do you Choose?
Friday, 16 October 2009