*****Products Featured in This Video***** Disclaimer: We may earn a fee if you buy via the affiliate links below (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. All-Clad D5 12-Inch Fry Pan: amzn.to/4dgdLUG (Amazon) All-Clad D5 Collection: amzn.to/3SPiSD3 (Amazon) All-Clad D3 12-Inch Fry Pan: amzn.to/3X281Iw (Amazon) All-Clad D3 Cookware (all pots and pans): amzn.to/3X346eD (Amazon) Made In Stainless Steel Cookware: madeincookware.pxf.io/WDx4RJ (MadeInCookware.com) Made In Stainless Steel Cookware: amzn.to/3X4SNl1 (Amazon) Made In (All Collections): madeincookware.pxf.io/n19NoV (MadeInCookware.com) Demeyere Cookware: amzn.to/3Amn337 (Amazon) Read the full guide for more details: prudentreviews.com/stainless-steel-cookware-what-to-look-for/ Want to know when brands like All-Clad, Demeyere, and Made In go on sale? Join our free newsletter to get deal alerts: prudentreviews.com/newsletter/
The best of the 25-or-so cookware videos I have seen. I learned A LOT. Like rivet vs welded handles. The problem with comfortable, round handles. The problems with disk-based pans vs. clad. 5-ply vs 3-ply. Other videos just talk about "comfort" and aluminum vs. stainless.
I simply love my All-Clad D3. I also have one Le Creuset stainless skillet which is great. I have a bunch of Le Creuset enamel pots and a set of Lodge Cast iron. These have lasted me many many years. Some were passed down by my grandmother. The only nonstick pan I own is a small nonstick All-Clad. I use it exclusively for eggs. It needs to be replaced now and then which is fine..you can usually find them for about $30 at Home Goods.
You can make eggs in a stainess steel with no stick to the pan, just preheat well,.make the Mercury test with a few droplets of water first, add enough oil and fry the egg. This Will dance in like dirty dancing, you don't need teflon in your kitchen, you can try carbón steel too it's More like a cast iron but better.
In my opinion, an All-Clad pan isnt always necessary. The rim of the pan usally only comes into contact with food when you are preparing liquids such as sauces, but the liquid itself ensures that the heat is well distributed on its own anyways. I have never been cooking and thought to myself "man, i wish my steak was also cooked from the side". So in my opinion, if you are thinking about buying a stainlless steal pan, all clad might now be nececarry for you. They are usually way more expensive than a disc bottomm, and to anyone who is a bit more limeted in the money aspect, i would always reccomend that you choose a "expensive" high quality Disk bottom Pan, than a lower quality "cheap" All-clad Pan for the same price. Just my perspective on it, cheers. Edit: By buying a high quality disk bottom you also have the security that the disk wont come off.
Right, I cook my food (meat, eggs) on the bottom of the pan, not on the sides. Actually I prefer that the heat stays where I want it and doesn't get lost to the sides. For everything else I have pots.
Don't be afraid to hit the thrift store once in a while to upgrade your pans. I have bought several all clads for under 10 bucks. I own 1 disk pan and in my opinion there trash compared to the try ply pans, I just a 12" tatramontina for 30 bucks at gtm discount if you shop a little you can find some great pans that you will never have to replace. Tatramontina pans are guaranteed for life, happy cooking My friend.
Yes, if you only cook one piece of food. But if you slide many loose items around, you have more surface to work with. On a gas burner the sides get very hot if they don't touch anything, and burn oil that is on them and become hard to clean.
Yea I think all brands should switch to it. Too many karens are buying polished stainless and then complaining about discoloration or scratches. Brushed stainless hides a lot of the flaws. If they really want to flex on people and waste their time cleaning the outside of their pans they should probably be buying a pan with a copper outside anyway.
@@WARnTEAstop calling people “Karen” for no reason. In your case, people are ill informed, but not malicious nor “entitled” in approach. What makes a “Karen” is the ill intent.
One other comment on the down side to disc-bottom pans involves damage from thermal stresses. Stainless may conduct heat poorly, but it has a very high coefficient of thermal expansion. If you pour cold water into a hot pan, it makes the inside of the pan shrink much faster than the outside. This is the same effect that makes mechanical thermostats operate. The difference is that the pan cannot bend like the bi-metal strip in the thermostat, so it has to fight itself and the net effect is that the interior bottom of the pan shears away from the outer disc. Since this bond is broken, the pan will no longer heat evenly. You can tell for sure when water gets in this crack when washed and later spits out corrosion products when heated.
This video came just right in time as I've been trying to use an old stainless steel pan and make it non-stick by using the principles from your video on the 4 common mistakes of cooking with a stainless steel pan but wasn't having much success because my pan has a disc bottom and it seems to be concentrating so much heat that high smoke point oil like avocado oil quickly burned and smoked the moment it touched the pan even when I prepared the pan by preheating it and aiming for the Leidenfrost Effect with a water test.
I recently bought some inexpensive stainless pots and a skillet from ikea, they look and feel good to me, the stock pot is for our home, and the skillet is for our Boy Scout troop, an upgrade from old scratched non stick pans. That I’ve discarded. Thanks for your in depth videos.
Absolutely agree everything you say. I have three stainless steel frying pans. 1x All-Clad (which is superb) + 2 other cheaper, but highly recommended, in the very large and smaller sizes. Definitely, the All-Clad is the best, although the others (Brazilian) are adequate for occasional use. You taught me how to get the best out of all 3 pans - non-stick egg frying - thank you. Keep giving us your expert advice 👍
I have heard you and others say that a stock pot can be lower quality bc the liquid distributes the heat well without need for a pot with clad sides. Would love a video on which stock pots you recommend, and when to invest in a clad stock pot (if ever). Thank you for your excellent videos!
I really like that you pointed out the problem with buying sets of pans. It really annoys me that companies are selling sets with every pan using the same material and coming with way too many sizes and way too many lids, for me 1 lid is 1 too many. If we are talking about home cooking lets be real, other than using a lid to bring water to a boil faster, the utility of a lid is basically useless. Most homechefs are not going to spend the time or effort learning how and when to use a lid. No pan material is optimal for every size or pan shape. It makes more sense to mix and match materials in a pan set for performance, usability or cost reasons. I desperately wish companies sold sets with more variety in their pans shapes and materials, because sets are a very good way to save money. Most pans cost companies $5 or less to produce wholesale with copper pans going up to just $15 or $20 depending on how much copper is used. 3lbs of copper is like $15 and fans of expensive pan brands will act like copper is this uber expensive material when in reality its just not. Its like 10x more expensive than steel or aluminum, but for the most part 90% of a pans cost comes from shipping, handling and marketing costs. Its because of this fact that it is cheaper for companies to throw more pans into a set for only $20 more because a single pan packed in its own box takes up more space on a shipping container per pan than a set of pans nested into a slightly big box. Its why my big plastic 20lb rice container costs $40 even though its just $3 worth of plastic. What is exciting about mixing metals in a pan set is that a lot of the objectively best pans for certain tasks are cheap. Any type of searing or stir frying could easily be serviced by a Cast Iron Griddle and a Carbon Steel Frypan/Wok. If you don’t want seasoned pans in the set, then a small nonstick aluminum frypan or Tamagoyaki pan is the best tool for the job, and if its small enough users won’t be tempted with using the nonstick pan for everything, plus it is cheap to replace. Then if you absolutely have to have a standard frypan, a Stainless Steel with aluminum core makes the most sense because stainless frypans typically need to be preheated to prevent sticking so the difference between an aluminum and copper core is mostly just in how fast it preheats, so realistically for price reasons and for weight reasons the aluminum core is better than copper in a frypan. However for the stainless steel saucepans, copper cores are very important. Saucepans are some of the most used pans in a kitchen and they are very frequently used for heating up liquids so the speed to heat up is genuinely useful, and saucepans are often used to cook delicate things like milks or cheeses which benefit from increase heat control and responsiveness. So with all of the money saved on the cheaper items in the set, you can afford to put extra care into the saucepans making them fully clad stainless and a thick copper core. Then to complete the set it would come with a universal lid that fit all of the pans in the set. I legitimately think that for the vast majority of home cooks you only need 4 pans to start off, and if you aren’t using a lot of nonstick pans you can easily store them inside of eachother. Reducing the number of pans is increasingly more important when you consider the fact that most home cooks are going to have a Instant Pot or and Air fryer. I feel like these huge pan sets with a million lids gives new users decision paralysis. They have so many option and not enough cooking experience to know which pans are best for which dishes so they end up just using one or two pans for every task. If every pan of the set is noticeably different in their performance, then it becomes incredibly obvious for the home cook to figure out what type of pan they need for the job. I feel like most home cooks learn this the hard way, and after many purchases of sets and different materials they eventually cobble together a lineup of different pans that excel at their own unique task. Life would be so much better if you could spend like $100 and get the best pan for 90% of things you would ever cook in a home kitchen. In a post covid world it is so important for pan sets to be cheap and to be filled with products that will be useful daily and last a lifetime. In particular the simplicity of a pan set is very important for novice cooks to not get overwhelmed by the options.
I agree with every single thing said here. I used to cook a lot and having a trusty piece of kitchen ware that delivers excellent results is worth gold. Otherwise I'd just be wasting time and money on wasted ingredients.
Thank you for these ideas. I have a situation that appears to endorse disc-bottom SS pans, but I wanted your advice. I will only be cooking meat (usually steak) flat on the bottom (no vegies, stir fry, or liquids). Pan weight is not an issue for me. This is in an RV situation and I only have a 7.5” portable electric burner and a 6” induction coil portable burner. I need at least a 12” fry pan. My thinking is: 1. A thick bottom disc would help these pitifully small burners provide even heat. 2. Prevent pan warping which small burners can contribute to.
The big problem I had with disc-bottom pans was food scorching on the sides with a gas cooktop. I bought two relatively inexpensive fully clad pans with too-heavy handles, but they're ok otherwise.
Thank you. You taught me a lot of simple & easy things to look for to feel confident in the quality before purchasing. Great video. Thank you. I’ll check out your link for sure on pans.
I've cooked in Hilton Hotels, other Hotels and soup kitchens. I prefer the heavy disc bottoms. The sides of bottom clad should be thick as well. Once the pan is warmed up it will do well. Never heard of the bottom separating. I usually buy cookware at restaurant supply stores. They can take a real beating.
@@stacistaci6657 mine aren't lighter but I love how they perform. When I bought mine 30 years ago, it totally changed the cooking experience for me and what I cooked turned out as it should. When I started working in hotel and institutional kitchens, the bottom clad was the preferred ones to use.
Thank you for sharing your ideas. I just bought cookware Saladmaster Executive set and I have no idea how to identify the good quality I just go with the brand and the advertising of the company which is usually blinded the consumers. Now I know after watching your video.❤👍🔔👌
Great review Andrew. I rather use Demeyer Atlantis than the Atlantis Proline on an induction range. I want to get Made In as my throw around cookware but I don't think I will like the handle. I wish there was a store I could visit to do a hands on trial.
They recently opened a couple stores in Austin Texas. Assuming you don’t live near there, you could buy online and test out the handle. They have a 45 day return policy although you have to pay a handling/restocking fee if you return.
There is no Atlantis Proline among Demeyere product lines. It’s either Proline for their top line of frying pans, or Atlantis for the top line of other cookware (like pots, sauce pans, etc). ;)
Thanks, I didn’t know that’s how Made In claimed the 5-ply until now. I finally took the plunge with a Japanese stainless steel pan and they claim 7 layers but there are two sandwiches of aluminum alloy separated by layers aluminum so I guess that’s 4-ply? Only straight up sides as an option though. Looking forward to seeing how well I can cook with it compared to my carbon steel and cast iron pans.
My mom has a set of Fissler disc bottom pots from the 80s that are still going strong. Granted Fissler is a high end brand but I still think the risk of the bottoms detaching is fairly low. Unless you seriously abuse your cookware
I'm a little confused. I thought aluminum has negative health effects so that's why it's encased in steel for cookware. So why then are the layers (including the aluminum) exposed on the rims? (Is this also the same with disc-type bottoms?) While it's not touching the food while cooking, if run through the dishwasher, wouldn't other dishes, utensils, etc. be exposed to some type of aluminum residue since it's not fully enclosed? Any clarification is much appreciated!
The issue with aluminum is that it reacts with acidic foods. When that happens tiny particles can leach into your food and give it a metallic taste. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, “Exposure to the levels of aluminum that are naturally present in food and water and the forms of aluminum that are present in dirt and aluminum pots and pans are not considered to be harmful.” www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp22-c1-b.pdf. So I wouldn’t be concerned with aluminum exposure from the rim of fully clad pans.
Yea I thought the same but when looking into it seems that aluminum consumption is only bad when you have specific health conditions where your kidneys have basically stopped working and aren’t able to get rid of the aluminum. For the most part all aluminum intake gets filtered out and excreted in less than 24 hours. The main reason why aluminum cans/pans get coated with some type of nonstick or protective barrier is less about poisoning the person and more about preventing the acids in the soda from eating a hole through the can, since acids can easily corrode aluminum.
Great video with great information. I own high quality cast iron frying pans well as a high quality carbon steel skillets. I've loved cast iron for its performance but I know it's limitations and I know I'm lacking good pans for more acidic and sauce based meals. So my question is... because I already own good searing and frying pans/skillets, should I go with a French skillet instead of another frying pan to make up for that gap or will normal stainless steel frying pans a better option? For the record Im looking at All Clad D5 product line,
I think disc bottom pans from a reputable company are great, and the multi-clad pans are a bit of a gimmick, adding functionality that is of negligible importance, and some risks. The discs are thicker overall for great heat distribution, and nice and flat which really matters on a glass-top stove, for example. Clad pans would have faster responsiveness to heat changes due to their thinness which some may like, especially those using gas stoves, but I prefer the thicker mass of the 6 or 7 mm disc. Clad pans also have a higher risk of warping. It seems like clad pans are better suited for gas cooktops and they would outperform cheap, non-clad thin pans but otherwise it seems more of a sales pitch (assuming quality brands on both sides).
My biggest issue and really my only issue so far with disc bottom is they get really hot around the edge of the disc and I get stuff burning onto the skillet or in the case of My Soup pot it got hot spots around the outside edge and I had some stuff burned to the bottom and I never experienced this in my parents tri ply "waterless" cookware. I can't remember the name brand but that's what my dad always called it
I have both and I can tell a difference, of course it won’t make you a better cook but the way the heat distribution on the all clad is flawless vs the disc bottoms. I can cook with both but prefer all clad.
I just bought a SS set from Calphalon, Signature SS. 3 inner layers of aluminum and surrounded by 2 layers of SS. I haven't opened the box yet. Is this a good brand? Thx.
@@PrudentReviews Thank you!! This means so much to me you responded so quickly. My bad as it is made in China. I assumed it was an American company. 🤦🏽♀️
Wow this is a great video - so informative. Also, another thing to mention is that cooking acidic food (tomato sauce, lemon sauce, etc.) can leach nickel (a known metal that causes allergic reactions) in stainless steel that uses nickel to keep it from rusting and long lasting like All Clad.
I still cannot believe I got a stainless steel fully clad pan and pot set from Walmart for only $30 in 2010. The pot came with a glass lid but the pan didn’t. I wish that brand didn’t discontinue it. Everything I cook in that quality set comes out perfect and I barely have any skills. I want to try made in ones but I’ve never seen them sold in person and I only need one pan not a full set 😔
Hi I just find your channels Just subscribed I just bought Cuisinart 12 inch pan You think Cuisinart is good? I just do water test today and mark on my pan. I'm just confused what happened to used And find how to remove your video. Thanks
I've heard some people say that nickle and chromium can get into the food with the use of metal utensils. Also what about the risk of scratching the surface and getting the aluminum in the food? Thoughts?
The Saladmaster T304 stainless steel cookware set we bought in the 1980’s has been a workhorse, and still going strong. However, we recently bought an induction stove, and to my shock, the 11” skillet doesn’t work on it! Why would this happen if it’s stainless steel? (All the other pieces of the set are induction compatible.)
Not everyone can afford to spend $100 on a single 10" fry pan. Disc bottom pans are perfectly fine. It's what I use on a daily basis. I've never had a disc bottom separate from the pot.
You can find these pans for great prices, I have disc bottoms and all clad and you can tell the difference, of course it won’t make you a better cook but if you can slowly upgrade them with time you won’t regret it. These will last a lifetime. That being said use what you have and can afford, it’s not like the pans will cook for you anyways 😂
His reasoning was that the sides will be the same as the bottom for fully clad but you primarily cook on the base. Then the disc separation...seems like gatekeeping for no reason
While I agree that the admittedly tiny risk of bottom plate separation is not reason enough to buy fully clad cookware but the latter DOES perform better in general.
Noob question: are scratches on stainless steel inevitable? Is there a way to make it scratch free? I found by cleaning the stainless steel it's easily scratched
You can minimize them by using a soft sponge but eventually you’ll need to scrub hard and use the more abrasive green side of the sponge, which can cause those tiny scratches. So yes, in most cases it’s inevitable. But it won’t impact performance at all.
I will stick with Tramontina or Kitchen Aid. Viking, Madein, Allclad are way out of my price range, especially when I can get 2 ss sauce pans for 80 compared to 1 for $115.
I haven't tested Lodge carbon steel but I've heard good things. Here's my stainless steel vs. carbon steel comparison if you want to know how these materials compare in general th-cam.com/video/NGPaJ_ZH_KE/w-d-xo.html
Just how large is your family? Or are you meal prepping for a week in advance? I do not even own two pans (one is enough). I have never used two pans for one meal. And two pans plus a pot! Wow. That sounds like an extremely huge quantity of food for many families.
Thank you for this Very informative video, I learned alot about a subject that I Thought I knew alot about, But was incorrect! I was about to buy a pan that would have been a disappointment! What do you think about the 'rock' pans/cookware?
Some chefs recommend pans that have the triply only on the bottom. The flat cooking surface is where most contact comes from in a skillet, not the outer walls of the pan. This reviewer/critic seems to use his own somewhat skeptical knowledge to decide what is best. His bits of wisdom often fall flat. Amazing how gullible people are, he apparently has thousands of thumbs up, incredible.
Unfortunately he's not as informed as you all seem to believe. His lack of cooking skills leads to a poor review. Lifting a pan should allow you to remove the heat not retain it longer, demonstrates the poor cooking equipment being used. The review is average at best.
*****Products Featured in This Video*****
Disclaimer: We may earn a fee if you buy via the affiliate links below (at no extra cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
All-Clad D5 12-Inch Fry Pan: amzn.to/4dgdLUG (Amazon)
All-Clad D5 Collection: amzn.to/3SPiSD3 (Amazon)
All-Clad D3 12-Inch Fry Pan: amzn.to/3X281Iw (Amazon)
All-Clad D3 Cookware (all pots and pans): amzn.to/3X346eD (Amazon)
Made In Stainless Steel Cookware: madeincookware.pxf.io/WDx4RJ (MadeInCookware.com)
Made In Stainless Steel Cookware: amzn.to/3X4SNl1 (Amazon)
Made In (All Collections): madeincookware.pxf.io/n19NoV (MadeInCookware.com)
Demeyere Cookware: amzn.to/3Amn337 (Amazon)
Read the full guide for more details: prudentreviews.com/stainless-steel-cookware-what-to-look-for/
Want to know when brands like All-Clad, Demeyere, and Made In go on sale? Join our free newsletter to get deal alerts: prudentreviews.com/newsletter/
Damn, that was a prudent review. You actually know what you're talking about. Thank you!
Can't believe I am now watching videos like this and is fully invested
Welcome 😀
You're adulting.
The best of the 25-or-so cookware videos I have seen. I learned A LOT. Like rivet vs welded handles. The problem with comfortable, round handles. The problems with disk-based pans vs. clad. 5-ply vs 3-ply. Other videos just talk about "comfort" and aluminum vs. stainless.
Thank you! So glad you found it helpful
This is brilliantly done, I wish you reviewed every item on the planet, would give my mind so much peace when buying!
Direct, on the point and useful. Thanks for the video
Glad it was helpful!
I simply love my All-Clad D3. I also have one Le Creuset stainless skillet which is great. I have a bunch of Le Creuset enamel pots and a set of Lodge Cast iron. These have lasted me many many years. Some were passed down by my grandmother. The only nonstick pan I own is a small nonstick All-Clad. I use it exclusively for eggs. It needs to be replaced now and then which is fine..you can usually find them for about $30 at Home Goods.
You can make eggs in a stainess steel with no stick to the pan, just preheat well,.make the Mercury test with a few droplets of water first, add enough oil and fry the egg. This Will dance in like dirty dancing, you don't need teflon in your kitchen, you can try carbón steel too it's More like a cast iron but better.
This was one of the most informative videos I've watched. Bravo! 🎉
Yes, I'm now looking for brushed finish pots
In my opinion, an All-Clad pan isnt always necessary. The rim of the pan usally only comes into contact with food when you are preparing liquids such as sauces, but the liquid itself ensures that the heat is well distributed on its own anyways. I have never been cooking and thought to myself "man, i wish my steak was also cooked from the side". So in my opinion, if you are thinking about buying a stainlless steal pan, all clad might now be nececarry for you. They are usually way more expensive than a disc bottomm, and to anyone who is a bit more limeted in the money aspect, i would always reccomend that you choose a "expensive" high quality Disk bottom Pan, than a lower quality "cheap" All-clad Pan for the same price. Just my perspective on it, cheers.
Edit: By buying a high quality disk bottom you also have the security that the disk wont come off.
Good advice
And funny. Steak cooked from the sides 😄
Right, I cook my food (meat, eggs) on the bottom of the pan, not on the sides. Actually I prefer that the heat stays where I want it and doesn't get lost to the sides. For everything else I have pots.
Don't be afraid to hit the thrift store once in a while to upgrade your pans. I have bought several all clads for under 10 bucks. I own 1 disk pan and in my opinion there trash compared to the try ply pans, I just a 12" tatramontina for 30 bucks at gtm discount if you shop a little you can find some great pans that you will never have to replace. Tatramontina pans are guaranteed for life, happy cooking My friend.
Yes, if you only cook one piece of food. But if you slide many loose items around, you have more surface to work with. On a gas burner the sides get very hot if they don't touch anything, and burn oil that is on them and become hard to clean.
Excellent TH-cam review I have watched. Honestly.
I like the brush finish
I agree - looks really nice
Yea I think all brands should switch to it. Too many karens are buying polished stainless and then complaining about discoloration or scratches. Brushed stainless hides a lot of the flaws. If they really want to flex on people and waste their time cleaning the outside of their pans they should probably be buying a pan with a copper outside anyway.
@@WARnTEAstop calling people “Karen” for no reason. In your case, people are ill informed, but not malicious nor “entitled” in approach. What makes a “Karen” is the ill intent.
@@Visitkarte you are a karen
@@WARnTEA 🤣🤦🏻♀️
Fantastic video!!! Extremely helpful, thank you.
One other comment on the down side to disc-bottom pans involves damage from thermal stresses. Stainless may conduct heat poorly, but it has a very high coefficient of thermal expansion. If you pour cold water into a hot pan, it makes the inside of the pan shrink much faster than the outside. This is the same effect that makes mechanical thermostats operate. The difference is that the pan cannot bend like the bi-metal strip in the thermostat, so it has to fight itself and the net effect is that the interior bottom of the pan shears away from the outer disc. Since this bond is broken, the pan will no longer heat evenly. You can tell for sure when water gets in this crack when washed and later spits out corrosion products when heated.
EXCELLENT, CLEAR, THOROUGH PRESENTATION just as i am about to buy my FIRST Stainless! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
This video came just right in time as I've been trying to use an old stainless steel pan and make it non-stick by using the principles from your video on the 4 common mistakes of cooking with a stainless steel pan but wasn't having much success because my pan has a disc bottom and it seems to be concentrating so much heat that high smoke point oil like avocado oil quickly burned and smoked the moment it touched the pan even when I prepared the pan by preheating it and aiming for the Leidenfrost Effect with a water test.
I recently bought some inexpensive stainless pots and a skillet from ikea, they look and feel good to me, the stock pot is for our home, and the skillet is for our Boy Scout troop, an upgrade from old scratched non stick pans. That I’ve discarded. Thanks for your in depth videos.
Absolutely agree everything you say. I have three stainless steel frying pans. 1x All-Clad (which is superb) + 2 other cheaper, but highly recommended, in the very large and smaller sizes. Definitely, the All-Clad is the best, although the others (Brazilian) are adequate for occasional use. You taught me how to get the best out of all 3 pans - non-stick egg frying - thank you. Keep giving us your expert advice 👍
Thanks Rick!
I have heard you and others say that a stock pot can be lower quality bc the liquid distributes the heat well without need for a pot with clad sides. Would love a video on which stock pots you recommend, and when to invest in a clad stock pot (if ever). Thank you for your excellent videos!
I mainly cook on my induction stove top with cast iron & a ceramic cast iron Dutch oven. I do have several size stainless steel pots & pans.
I really like that you pointed out the problem with buying sets of pans. It really annoys me that companies are selling sets with every pan using the same material and coming with way too many sizes and way too many lids, for me 1 lid is 1 too many. If we are talking about home cooking lets be real, other than using a lid to bring water to a boil faster, the utility of a lid is basically useless. Most homechefs are not going to spend the time or effort learning how and when to use a lid.
No pan material is optimal for every size or pan shape. It makes more sense to mix and match materials in a pan set for performance, usability or cost reasons. I desperately wish companies sold sets with more variety in their pans shapes and materials, because sets are a very good way to save money. Most pans cost companies $5 or less to produce wholesale with copper pans going up to just $15 or $20 depending on how much copper is used. 3lbs of copper is like $15 and fans of expensive pan brands will act like copper is this uber expensive material when in reality its just not. Its like 10x more expensive than steel or aluminum, but for the most part 90% of a pans cost comes from shipping, handling and marketing costs. Its because of this fact that it is cheaper for companies to throw more pans into a set for only $20 more because a single pan packed in its own box takes up more space on a shipping container per pan than a set of pans nested into a slightly big box. Its why my big plastic 20lb rice container costs $40 even though its just $3 worth of plastic.
What is exciting about mixing metals in a pan set is that a lot of the objectively best pans for certain tasks are cheap. Any type of searing or stir frying could easily be serviced by a Cast Iron Griddle and a Carbon Steel Frypan/Wok. If you don’t want seasoned pans in the set, then a small nonstick aluminum frypan or Tamagoyaki pan is the best tool for the job, and if its small enough users won’t be tempted with using the nonstick pan for everything, plus it is cheap to replace. Then if you absolutely have to have a standard frypan, a Stainless Steel with aluminum core makes the most sense because stainless frypans typically need to be preheated to prevent sticking so the difference between an aluminum and copper core is mostly just in how fast it preheats, so realistically for price reasons and for weight reasons the aluminum core is better than copper in a frypan. However for the stainless steel saucepans, copper cores are very important. Saucepans are some of the most used pans in a kitchen and they are very frequently used for heating up liquids so the speed to heat up is genuinely useful, and saucepans are often used to cook delicate things like milks or cheeses which benefit from increase heat control and responsiveness. So with all of the money saved on the cheaper items in the set, you can afford to put extra care into the saucepans making them fully clad stainless and a thick copper core. Then to complete the set it would come with a universal lid that fit all of the pans in the set.
I legitimately think that for the vast majority of home cooks you only need 4 pans to start off, and if you aren’t using a lot of nonstick pans you can easily store them inside of eachother.
Reducing the number of pans is increasingly more important when you consider the fact that most home cooks are going to have a Instant Pot or and Air fryer. I feel like these huge pan sets with a million lids gives new users decision paralysis. They have so many option and not enough cooking experience to know which pans are best for which dishes so they end up just using one or two pans for every task. If every pan of the set is noticeably different in their performance, then it becomes incredibly obvious for the home cook to figure out what type of pan they need for the job.
I feel like most home cooks learn this the hard way, and after many purchases of sets and different materials they eventually cobble together a lineup of different pans that excel at their own unique task. Life would be so much better if you could spend like $100 and get the best pan for 90% of things you would ever cook in a home kitchen.
In a post covid world it is so important for pan sets to be cheap and to be filled with products that will be useful daily and last a lifetime. In particular the simplicity of a pan set is very important for novice cooks to not get overwhelmed by the options.
lots of good points, thx
I agree with every single thing said here. I used to cook a lot and having a trusty piece of kitchen ware that delivers excellent results is worth gold. Otherwise I'd just be wasting time and money on wasted ingredients.
Thank you for these ideas. I have a situation that appears to endorse disc-bottom SS pans, but I wanted your advice. I will only be cooking meat (usually steak) flat on the bottom (no vegies, stir fry, or liquids). Pan weight is not an issue for me. This is in an RV situation and I only have a 7.5” portable electric burner and a 6” induction coil portable burner. I need at least a 12” fry pan. My thinking is: 1. A thick bottom disc would help these pitifully small burners provide even heat. 2. Prevent pan warping which small burners can contribute to.
If you’re primarily using the flat part, disc bottom should be fine
The one thing I prefer a good disc bottom pan. As in full diameter thick bottom saucepan. I think it’s best for making rice on stovetop.
The big problem I had with disc-bottom pans was food scorching on the sides with a gas cooktop. I bought two relatively inexpensive fully clad pans with too-heavy handles, but they're ok otherwise.
Excelllent video!! I´ve learned so much I can´t even thank you enough!!
You’re welcome!
Thank you. You taught me a lot of simple & easy things to look for to feel confident in the quality before purchasing. Great video. Thank you. I’ll check out your link for sure on pans.
Happy to help 😃
Another awesome and fun video. Thank you! We will probably stay with All-Clad, but will watch your other video on top brands.
Very informative. Thanks a ton.
Thanks for the lowdown on stainless steel pans. Very timely video for me as I'm in the market for a good pan.
I also subscribed!
I've cooked in Hilton Hotels, other Hotels and soup kitchens. I prefer the heavy disc bottoms. The sides of bottom clad should be thick as well. Once the pan is warmed up it will do well. Never heard of the bottom separating.
I usually buy cookware at restaurant supply stores. They can take a real beating.
I prefer my disc bottom over my cladded also. They're lighter and the disc bottoms heat up faster and hold onto heat longer than the cladded. .
@@stacistaci6657 mine aren't lighter but I love how they perform. When I bought mine 30 years ago, it totally changed the cooking experience for me and what I cooked turned out as it should. When I started working in hotel and institutional kitchens, the bottom clad was the preferred ones to use.
I've learned so much from your videos! Thank you
Excellent presentation
Glad you liked it
Thank you for sharing your ideas. I just bought cookware Saladmaster Executive set and I have no idea how to identify the good quality I just go with the brand and the advertising of the company which is usually blinded the consumers. Now I know after watching your video.❤👍🔔👌
Thank you! This is really interesting!!
Great review Andrew. I rather use Demeyer Atlantis than the Atlantis Proline on an induction range. I want to get Made In as my throw around cookware but I don't think I will like the handle. I wish there was a store I could visit to do a hands on trial.
They recently opened a couple stores in Austin Texas. Assuming you don’t live near there, you could buy online and test out the handle. They have a 45 day return policy although you have to pay a handling/restocking fee if you return.
There is no Atlantis Proline among Demeyere product lines. It’s either Proline for their top line of frying pans, or Atlantis for the top line of other cookware (like pots, sauce pans, etc). ;)
ProLine and Atlantis are the same. They use different names in different regions, that’s all.
Thanks, I didn’t know that’s how Made In claimed the 5-ply until now. I finally took the plunge with a Japanese stainless steel pan and they claim 7 layers but there are two sandwiches of aluminum alloy separated by layers aluminum so I guess that’s 4-ply? Only straight up sides as an option though. Looking forward to seeing how well I can cook with it compared to my carbon steel and cast iron pans.
I learned alot from this video Thank you
Amazing info thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Great video, I'm moving out soon and don't want to waste money on buying poorly designed necessities
Would you happen to know for sure what the rivet materials are for the various brands? Some appear to be aluminum.
Most are steel because it’s stronger than aluminum
lots of good tips thanks
Glad it was helpful
Love your videos! I always learn something from you!
excelllent video. thanks
5:20 thanks for letting us know not to buy De Meyer
I change my cookware from cast iron to 3ply because of the weight. That was my best decision in my kitchen.
Indeed. I love my cast iron griddle, but for daily use, I reach for something less heavy.
Carbon steel pans cook just like cast iron but are much lighter
Are Stainless Steel S/S201 good for cooking?
My mom has a set of Fissler disc bottom pots from the 80s that are still going strong. Granted Fissler is a high end brand but I still think the risk of the bottoms detaching is fairly low. Unless you seriously abuse your cookware
I'm a little confused. I thought aluminum has negative health effects so that's why it's encased in steel for cookware. So why then are the layers (including the aluminum) exposed on the rims? (Is this also the same with disc-type bottoms?) While it's not touching the food while cooking, if run through the dishwasher, wouldn't other dishes, utensils, etc. be exposed to some type of aluminum residue since it's not fully enclosed? Any clarification is much appreciated!
The issue with aluminum is that it reacts with acidic foods. When that happens tiny particles can leach into your food and give it a metallic taste. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, “Exposure to the levels of aluminum that are naturally present in food and water and the forms of aluminum that are present in dirt and aluminum pots and pans are not considered to be harmful.” www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp22-c1-b.pdf. So I wouldn’t be concerned with aluminum exposure from the rim of fully clad pans.
Yea I thought the same but when looking into it seems that aluminum consumption is only bad when you have specific health conditions where your kidneys have basically stopped working and aren’t able to get rid of the aluminum. For the most part all aluminum intake gets filtered out and excreted in less than 24 hours. The main reason why aluminum cans/pans get coated with some type of nonstick or protective barrier is less about poisoning the person and more about preventing the acids in the soda from eating a hole through the can, since acids can easily corrode aluminum.
My 20 year old set of Cuisinart SS disc-bottom performs as good today as it did when I bought it. Your mileage may vary...
Hello, is all-clad D3 thick enough for the electric stove?
Great video with great information. I own high quality cast iron frying pans well as a high quality carbon steel skillets. I've loved cast iron for its performance but I know it's limitations and I know I'm lacking good pans for more acidic and sauce based meals. So my question is... because I already own good searing and frying pans/skillets, should I go with a French skillet instead of another frying pan to make up for that gap or will normal stainless steel frying pans a better option? For the record Im looking at All Clad D5 product line,
like your videos. thanks for sharing.
Very informative, thankyou
Well said!
I think disc bottom pans from a reputable company are great, and the multi-clad pans are a bit of a gimmick, adding functionality that is of negligible importance, and some risks. The discs are thicker overall for great heat distribution, and nice and flat which really matters on a glass-top stove, for example. Clad pans would have faster responsiveness to heat changes due to their thinness which some may like, especially those using gas stoves, but I prefer the thicker mass of the 6 or 7 mm disc. Clad pans also have a higher risk of warping. It seems like clad pans are better suited for gas cooktops and they would outperform cheap, non-clad thin pans but otherwise it seems more of a sales pitch (assuming quality brands on both sides).
My biggest issue and really my only issue so far with disc bottom is they get really hot around the edge of the disc and I get stuff burning onto the skillet or in the case of My Soup pot it got hot spots around the outside edge and I had some stuff burned to the bottom and I never experienced this in my parents tri ply "waterless" cookware. I can't remember the name brand but that's what my dad always called it
I have both and I can tell a difference, of course it won’t make you a better cook but the way the heat distribution on the all clad is flawless vs the disc bottoms. I can cook with both but prefer all clad.
Excellent advice haines96
All Clad has a 5 ply pan with alternating cores. This helps distributing the heat more evenly, so this one truly is a 5 ply core.
Is a $3 grade 304 stainless steel pan good or will it not be real stainless steel?
What a review gentleman
Thank you 😀
Thx!
I just bought a SS set from Calphalon, Signature SS. 3 inner layers of aluminum and surrounded by 2 layers of SS. I haven't opened the box yet. Is this a good brand? Thx.
You’ll like it. Signature is one of Calphalon’s better collections.
@@PrudentReviews Thank you!! This means so much to me you responded so quickly.
My bad as it is made in China. I assumed it was an American company. 🤦🏽♀️
Wow this is a great video - so informative. Also, another thing to mention is that cooking acidic food (tomato sauce, lemon sauce, etc.) can leach nickel (a known metal that causes allergic reactions) in stainless steel that uses nickel to keep it from rusting and long lasting like All Clad.
those reviews are incredible, thank you for your work! ❤
I still cannot believe I got a stainless steel fully clad pan and pot set from Walmart for only $30 in 2010. The pot came with a glass lid but the pan didn’t. I wish that brand didn’t discontinue it. Everything I cook in that quality set comes out perfect and I barely have any skills.
I want to try made in ones but I’ve never seen them sold in person and I only need one pan not a full set 😔
Hi
I just find your channels
Just subscribed
I just bought Cuisinart 12 inch pan
You think Cuisinart is good?
I just do water test today and mark on my pan. I'm just confused what happened to used
And find how to remove your video. Thanks
I've heard some people say that nickle and chromium can get into the food with the use of metal utensils. Also what about the risk of scratching the surface and getting the aluminum in the food? Thoughts?
The Saladmaster T304 stainless steel cookware set we bought in the 1980’s has been a workhorse, and still going strong. However, we recently bought an induction stove, and to my shock, the 11” skillet doesn’t work on it! Why would this happen if it’s stainless steel? (All the other pieces of the set are induction compatible.)
Not everyone can afford to spend $100 on a single 10" fry pan. Disc bottom pans are perfectly fine. It's what I use on a daily basis. I've never had a disc bottom separate from the pot.
You can find these pans for great prices, I have disc bottoms and all clad and you can tell the difference, of course it won’t make you a better cook but if you can slowly upgrade them with time you won’t regret it. These will last a lifetime. That being said use what you have and can afford, it’s not like the pans will cook for you anyways 😂
His reasoning was that the sides will be the same as the bottom for fully clad but you primarily cook on the base. Then the disc separation...seems like gatekeeping for no reason
While I agree that the admittedly tiny risk of bottom plate separation is not reason enough to buy fully clad cookware but the latter DOES perform better in general.
You lack experience in both. They are not the same.
@@3062-l7g You do not know what my experience level is. Nor did I ever say they are the same.
So which pan were you showing online that didn’t have the major markup? The one that said it was $119?
Why spend the money for AllClad when Cuisinart French Classic Tri-ply is pretty much just as good for a LOT LESS.
The handle. The All-Clad handle is patented.
@@AllDogsAreGoodDogs- Tell me you are joking. Who cares if the handle is patented ? If both cook food equally well, why pay more for the All-Clad ?
Noob question: are scratches on stainless steel inevitable? Is there a way to make it scratch free? I found by cleaning the stainless steel it's easily scratched
You can minimize them by using a soft sponge but eventually you’ll need to scrub hard and use the more abrasive green side of the sponge, which can cause those tiny scratches. So yes, in most cases it’s inevitable. But it won’t impact performance at all.
Is there any advantage of cooking in 6 MM kadhais over the 3 MM kadhais ?
I will stick with Tramontina or Kitchen Aid.
Viking, Madein, Allclad are way out of my price range, especially when I can get 2 ss sauce pans for 80 compared to 1 for $115.
Very Helpful.. Thanks
I will love to see cuisinart vs renaware please. Or more like review just with two available brands.
Just buy a cast iron pan unless cooking with fond is a big deal for you.
Just bought select made in stainless items and am very happy. Bought only 4 core pieces that I will use over and over.
At 5:30, no wonder that handle came off with those dainty little tack welds!
Dayum time to get a new pan but didn't expect 300$+ for a single pan o.o
Since aluminum n cooper is toxic does encapsulating it in stainless steel make it non toxic
The food won’t contact the aluminum or copper
@PrudentReviews I see alot of nickel free cookware but how can I find chromium free cookware? Does chromium free cookware exist?
In the long run buying quality is best just buy one quality pan once a year and go from there
the pan should last more than a year
Can we also chat about 304 18 8 or 18 10 vs 316 etc.
Is BergHoff a good brand?
How do the carbon steel pans from lodge stack up ???
I haven't tested Lodge carbon steel but I've heard good things. Here's my stainless steel vs. carbon steel comparison if you want to know how these materials compare in general th-cam.com/video/NGPaJ_ZH_KE/w-d-xo.html
3:35 The rim might be finished thicker than the actual cooking surfaces so it's not a good idea to take the measurements there.
Fully-clad pans are the same thickness throughout in most cases
Thick carbon steel wok for frying.
Having a small savings is such a good investment in the long run.
Who cares about what is outside the pan.. Overall i would say your video is a good advice.
My meals involve at least 2 pans and 1 pot, so buying one pan for $120 won't cut it. I'd buy a set for $200.
Agree. 👍🏻
Just how large is your family? Or are you meal prepping for a week in advance? I do not even own two pans (one is enough). I have never used two pans for one meal. And two pans plus a pot! Wow. That sounds like an extremely huge quantity of food for many families.
I will click and buy when I can afford them. Very nice cookware.
Thank you
LOT OF GOOD INFO HERE 👍👍
Thank you for this Very informative video, I learned alot about a subject that I Thought I knew alot about, But was incorrect!
I was about to buy a pan that would have been a disappointment!
What do you think about the 'rock' pans/cookware?
You’re welcome! I haven’t tested The Rock yet so no opinion.
Some chefs recommend pans that have the triply only on the bottom. The flat cooking surface is where most contact comes from in a skillet, not the outer walls of the pan. This reviewer/critic seems to use his own somewhat skeptical knowledge to decide what is best. His bits of wisdom often fall flat. Amazing how gullible people are, he apparently has thousands of thumbs up, incredible.
@ozzymandius666 No they don't.
@ozzymandius666 No they don't
Ahem...I have yet to find a 20cm stainless steel frying pan with a lid...this would really be a boon.😅
I just want a pan with no brain damaging shi- in it. I'll learn how to cook on it.
Yah, well I don't have $800 for an All-Clad set, so...
Unfortunately he's not as informed as you all seem to believe. His lack of cooking skills leads to a poor review. Lifting a pan should allow you to remove the heat not retain it longer, demonstrates the poor cooking equipment being used. The review is average at best.
Rivets break often and are gross.
Stsinless dterl mqke you use a lot of people lgeeese
Greedy billionaires playing monopoly. There's not that many of them maybe a few hundred. But they control everything.
Discussting ad