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New First - I don't believe in coatings.
All coatings are strictly temporary and restrict how you can use your pans. There is one exception - even chefs who hate non-stick will keep one non-stick pan around for scrambled eggs.

In particular a wok should never be non-stick. Temperatures rise to the level where the coating starts to break down into toxic substances (actual tests by a magazine I get). I've never had trouble keeping my non-nonstick pans clean, and I'm a real stickler for very very clean.

For vegetarian cooking the first thing you should get is the Calphalon 13" wok. This is stainless - aluminum - stainless sandwich construction, practically indestructible and spreads heat extremely well. The bottom center is flat, but not too wide and the great heat conduction eliminates any problems. Fully round bottomed woks don't work well on American stoves.

Woks are great for cooking choy, spinach and other vegetables that start voluminous and wilt very much smaller. Rustle up a cover for it (I got a perfect fit cover from a local Asian market), and a grate for steaming (got it at same market).

After that a 2 quart and a 3-1/2 quart covered sauté pan. A shallow slope sided iron pan is better for actual sauté, but these are better for most uses. I also have a 5 quart which I use rather seldom but it's really handy when I do need it.

Sauté pans should be stainless - aluminum - stainless sandwich, though stainless inside and aluminum outside would work. The kind with a full wrap core is best for most uses, but you can get along with the lower cost slab bottom pan if of good quality and you are careful. With the slab bottom you'll get hot spots along the edges where the slab stops so you need to be more careful frying your onions. My 5 quart is a slab bottom but at that size it's not a problem - the edges are so far from the flame they're a bit cooler.

Slab bottom is best for long slow simmering, so my 5 and 8 quart soup pots are slab bottom.

For smaller saucepans (1-1/2, 2 quart) a full wrap core is essential - you just can't stand the hot spots at the edges, particularly when making sauces. Beware of cheap saucepans not heavy enough for their handles, they are dangerous.

A 3-1/2 quart saucepan with a steamer pan to sit on top of it is a really useful setup. Use it as a saucepan, use it as a steamer. In this size slab bottom will work plenty well enough.

For vegetarian you don't need them but for meat and fish you'd want a couple cast iron skillets (10 and 12 inch). Your sauté pans are just fine for vegetarian if of good quality.

Aluminum, anodized or not, has no place whatever in vegetarian cooking - too much acid involved and acid eats aluminum. For a while aluminum was considered a high risk factor for alzheimers, then it wasn't - but some researchers are still a bit suspicious of it. Of course aluminum is eaten even faster by alkali, but few foods are alkaline.

Personally, I don't consider aluminum cookware suitable for any purpose as I like to minimize extraneous metals in my diet.

I reject without consideration any pan with a glass lid. When I'm finishing up and ready to serve I'm moving fast and don't have time to tend to such things. Glass lids are heavy, prone to damage and to damaging other things by their weight. They're prone to slide off counters and whatever have you. A stainless lid is lightweight, easy to handle, easy to clean, tends to stay put even on uneven surfaces and is easy to clean.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New Apart from the wok...
... do you have any specific suggestions with respect to brand?

And what's the best way to clean stainless?

Thanks.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New Well, if cost is no object . . .
. . All-Clad, the outfit that pioneered explosive welding of stainless to aluminum for cookware is excellent. I have only one by them, a 2 quart sauté pan - Amazon wasn't carrying the full wrap core line of Cuisinart when I decided to upgrade that size from the slab bottom pan.

All else I have is Cuisinart, both the slab bottom and full wrap. Their quality is excellent and it has been available at very good pricing on Amazon.

I have never had trouble cleaning these devices, except once when I practically melted one. Kitchen cleanser does an excellent job (I use Pro-Pride from Smart & Final which I prefer to Comet). I use Super Scour sponge pads which are terry cloth on one side and plastic mesh on the other.

After a while you may notice a slight dull film on the cooking surface of your wok and/or sauté pans. This should be removed with warm vinegar. I do this about once a month on the most heavily used pans. Any mineral deposits in pans used for steaming can be similarly removed by heating some water with vinegar mixed in, then washing with cleanser.

Pots used for boiling water will develop a few tiny white spots in the bottom. Some will be minerals removable with vinegar, some will be cavitation spots that don't come off, but they cause no trouble.

One thing I like about the stainless surface is that it is easily cleaned without worrying about damage, and when it's really clean you can see that it's really clean.

Previous to moving to this kind of cookware I was using enameled iron.


[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New Cost is no object if it's going to last.
I'll look into them; thanks.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New Oh, they'll last all right.
Even the one I accidentally subjected to extreme overheat was basically undamaged and did not come unlaminated - that explosive welding is good stuff. The only actual damage was minor pitting caused by ginger of which there was quite a bit in the pan - sulphur compounds eat metal, and at extremely high temperatures they'll even pit stainless steel.

Incidentally, if you accidentally leave a cast iron pan with water in it overnight, and there are bits of ginger in it, you will have some very significant pits in the metal by morning.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New This stuff?
[link|http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link_1342232_26/002-4858354-5232803?ie=UTF8&node=556948&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_r=0K9KCTFTT8BQ9SGP2G95&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=237091001&pf_rd_i=555018|http://www.amazon.co...01&pf_rd_i=555018]

It doesn't seem any more expensive than the Calphalon we've purchased in the past...
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New pay that much for cookware? Dont they have yard sales there?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep

reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
New If someone else didn't want the pan...
... why the hell would I want it?
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New Divorced gourmet chefs are your friend... ;-)
New gramp bought gran a $350 cook set 20 years ago
they eat the early bird special at the diner every night now because its a bitch cooking for 2. Same way for cast Iron pots. Well maintained pots and pans at a fraction of the cost of new. Estate sales are good. We are talking about a holder of cooking food that heats evenly, not a fucking picasso :-)
thanx,
bill
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep

reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
New Well, here's the thing:
Time to find it online and click the button: an hour.

Time to comb dozens of garage sales to find something that might be suitable, but with unknown construction, utility, and provenance: ...

Free time I or my wife have to do either of these: not much at all.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New :-( scragging thru other peoples junk is a sport (to me)
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep

reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
New I'd rather play soccer with the 3yo
Which is exactly what we did tonight.
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New Yes, that's the stuff.
All-Clad has several lines including higher priced ones with copper layers and slightly lower priced ones with aluminum exteriors, but the three ply aluminum core line is what I've used in both All-Clad and Cuisinart and have no performance complaints with either brand.

Again, full wrap core is best for sauté pans and essential for smaller saucepans, but for 5 quart and larger stock pots the slab bottom is fine, actually better for some uses because the aluminum layer is much thicker preventing hot spots if you're using only the center flame for simmering.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New No, this.
[link|http://www.chefsresource.com/all-clad-copper-core-14-piece-cookware-set.html|$1900, 14 piece set].

Yikes!

Cheers,
Scott.
New Strangely . . .
Copper made into a pipe costs a few bucks for a 10 foot length.

About the same amount of copper stamped into the shape of a sauce pan costs hundreds of dollars.
[link|http://www.aaxnet.com|AAx]
New Yow!
Regards,

-scott anderson

"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
New But, but, you're ignoring gift Panini Set and free shiping!
:)
Alex

When fascism comes to America, it'll be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. -- Sinclair Lewis
New agree with andrew on the non stick stuff, as for cleaning
put water and soap in the pan, bring it boiling, let sit for a few minutes and a soft brush and cloth will clean it up quite nicely. Who has professionally washed pots in the past.
thanx,
bill
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep

reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
     Pan recommendations... - (admin) - (40)
         My $0.02. - (Another Scott) - (5)
             Re: My $0.02. - (admin) - (4)
                 Get softer stirring utensils; wooden or plastic spoons etc. -NT - (CRConrad)
                 One more thing - Dishwashers are a no-no. - (Another Scott) - (2)
                     If you don't have a subscription... - (Yendor)
                     Our pans have never seen the inside of one :-) -NT - (admin)
         We have been replacing our Calphalon with... - (folkert) - (2)
             Thanks - (admin) - (1)
                 Oh... I see. - (folkert)
         I have the same stuff - (tuberculosis)
         First - I don't believe in coatings. - (Andrew Grygus) - (18)
             Apart from the wok... - (admin) - (17)
                 Well, if cost is no object . . . - (Andrew Grygus) - (15)
                     Cost is no object if it's going to last. - (admin) - (1)
                         Oh, they'll last all right. - (Andrew Grygus)
                     This stuff? - (admin) - (12)
                         pay that much for cookware? Dont they have yard sales there? -NT - (boxley) - (6)
                             If someone else didn't want the pan... - (admin) - (5)
                                 Divorced gourmet chefs are your friend... ;-) -NT - (Another Scott)
                                 gramp bought gran a $350 cook set 20 years ago - (boxley) - (3)
                                     Well, here's the thing: - (admin) - (2)
                                         :-( scragging thru other peoples junk is a sport (to me) -NT - (boxley) - (1)
                                             I'd rather play soccer with the 3yo - (admin)
                         Yes, that's the stuff. - (Andrew Grygus)
                         No, this. - (Another Scott) - (3)
                             Strangely . . . - (Andrew Grygus)
                             Yow! -NT - (admin)
                             But, but, you're ignoring gift Panini Set and free shiping! - (a6l6e6x)
                 agree with andrew on the non stick stuff, as for cleaning - (boxley)
         Just a couple of months ago... - (Yendor) - (7)
             Re: Just a couple of months ago... - (admin) - (6)
                 Re: Just a couple of months ago... - (Yendor) - (5)
                     We have a giant corner cupboard. - (admin) - (4)
                         Got a picture? - (Another Scott) - (3)
                             Re: Got a picture? - (admin) - (2)
                                 Ah. I can picture it; no need to dig one up. -NT - (Another Scott) - (1)
                                     I can't; dig away, First One! -NT - (CRConrad)
         We went for these: - (admin) - (2)
             Those are good ones. - (Andrew Grygus) - (1)
                 That's good to know. - (admin)

Ah-ha! And "so's your old man!"
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