WFMW: The Perfect Pans
February 10, 2010
We have been married for eleven years. In that time, I’ve gone through three — count ‘em: one, two, THREE — sets of pots and pans.
The reason? Well, first of all, I love to cook. I work my pans hard. However, since I always follow the care instructions, “frustrated” doesn’t begin to describe how I felt when starting yet another search for new pans last month.
Reason #2: Teflon. It simply doesn’t last. I don’t care how gentle you are with it; you will likely need to replace it within five years, if it lasts that long. The surface is fine … as long as you don’t heat it. When it gets hot, the composition of oils, plastics and whatever else they put in there causes the surface to bubble. Once it bubbles, it inevitably scratches and begins to flake off in your food. Not exactly the added “nutrients” I desire.
This time, I did a lot of research. I’d done Calphalon, T-Fal and a no-name brand. (I have to say I liked the Calphalon the best, but still ran into the issue of bubble-and-flake within three years.) I read reviews, talked to friends, learned about leaching and health benefits of all different kinds of cookware. Once I had narrowed down my choices, I bought two fry pans of different construction to test.
And the winner is … Cuisinart GreenGourmet Hard Anodized!
Don’t confuse these with Cuisinart’s Greenware pots and pans. They’re not the same. You want Green Gourmet.
Here are the basic features:
- Ceramic-based nonstick interior: This is completely PTFE/PFOA and petroleum-free, which was very important to me because of the health benefits. These components found in Teflon and other nonstick surfaces have been known to aggravate allergies, which we need to watch in our family. Also, ceramic does not leech into food. I realize the amount of leeching from other cookware is nominal, but I still don’t like it. I am actually allergic to flouride, so any leeching — even the smallest amount — from PTFE and PFOA are not good for me, and I’m sure not good for those with histories of food or chemical intolerance.
- Stay-cool eco-friendly handle: Made from 70% recycled stainless steel, the riveted handle really does stay cool. I was a bit concerned at first, but after cooking with it, I love it. Much improved over my last pans.
- Superior conductivity and energy efficiency: The four layers of hard anodized construction include an aluminum alloy core that offers superior heat conductivity and requires less energy. For real! A lot of pots and pans advertise this, but I’ve not noticed an obvious difference in conductivity and energy efficiency until cooking with these pans. I get the same cooking results with a lower burner setting than necessary with my previous sets.
- Oven-safe: These pans can go from stovetop to oven to broiler. The max temperature is 500′F.
- Affordable and Available: These are not the least expensive pans, but they’re also not as outrageous as All-Clad or LeCrueset. Also, you don’t need to go to some specialty store to find them. I purchased an 8″ skillet for $24.99 (plus tax) at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I also saw them at Chef Central and on Amazon.com.
- Convenient Quality: They cook like LeCrueset, but without the weight of an iron base.
- Lifetime Warranty: Need I say more?
For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, visit We Are THAT Family.
Entry Filed under: WFMW,cooking,going green. Tags: cooking, eco-friendly, Works for Me Wednesday.
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1.
Jen K. | February 10, 2010 at 8:22 AM
Tanya- Daniel is intrigued! I shared your post with him because he has been searching for a good set of pots and pans (since he is the main chef in our family). We’ve done T-Fal and now have a set of Cephelon, but still are not happy. Daniel wants to know if you can bring over one of your new pans so he can take a look! Thanks for doing your research
2.
tanyasue | February 10, 2010 at 9:13 AM
I’d be happy to! I’m putting a note on the fridge so I won’t forget.
3.
nathan miller | February 10, 2010 at 9:46 AM
Interesting! We use caste iron because of my (possibly unfounded) fear of teflon. It’s great for some things but horrible for others.
I find the ceramic coating interesting but I have some questions.
1.) If the ceramic does flake off (or get scratched off) is it at all toxic, even just a little?
2.) Do you have to use special stuff with it? For example, you read any user manual for teflon and they so “only plastic or silicone” – absolutely no metal.
3.) how non-stick is it really? I’ve seen companies claim that their stuff if non-stick and I think of them every time I scrape eggs off the bottom of the pan.
4.) are there any special care instructions? A pan that you have to store on a bed of feathers isn’t worth having.
Thanks for the write up! I will definitely learn more about this cookware. I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets.
Oh, and some day I’m going to get you hooked on Sous Vide cooking ( http://nathanmiller.squarespace.com/journal/2009/12/18/sous-vide-cooking-the-perfect-steak.html )
4.
tanyasue | February 10, 2010 at 11:34 AM
1) I don’t know about the toxicity of ceramic, however, I do know that it takes a lot to chip it. Le Creuset makes ceramic-coated cast-iron pots and pans. They’re amazing (but heavy) and they last years. People include them in their wills, they’re that durable! These pans are very similar, but without the weight of iron.
Also, if you’re concerned about toxic levels of metal, you should worry about your iron pans. They transfer close to 3000 mg/L of iron into your food! You can read more about leaching and the corresponding levels of different metals at http://cookware.mercola.com/cookware/ There’s even a video.
2) They recommend using silicone, plastic or rubber utensils, but they do not explicitly say you can’t use metal. However, the nonstick works so well, I’ve not had any cause to reach for my metal utensils. The plastic ones work just fine.
3) Yes, it’s REALLY nonstick! I’ve been very, very surprised with this. Eggs glide around the pan without any oil, butter or non-spray. Oils (not needed, but added for flavor) float across the pan’s surface. It’s kinda wild.
Some consumer reviews claim that after a period of time, this changes and the pans become less non-stick. I’ve had mine for about a month. I use them every day and haven’t noticed any change. Also, the customers who did notice change contacted the manufacturer and received free replacements without question.
4) I agree! These are not recommended for the dishwasher, but they’re so easy to clean. Simple hot water and soap. That’s it. No acrobatics or feather beds required.
I’m a sucker for kitchen stuff too. It drives my husband a little crazy. Whenever people ask him what I would like for a gift, he tells them “A kitchen tool that will take up a ton of space, but that she’ll only use once a year.” He’s got my number.
5.
Melissa @ Breath of Life | February 10, 2010 at 10:42 AM
Oh, I need to check these out!
6.
O Mom | February 10, 2010 at 12:39 PM
Ohhhh New pans. Makes my heart melt!
7.
Junglewife | February 10, 2010 at 3:40 PM
Oh, I will keep these in mind when I need a new set of pans! however, I have a set of Calphalon we got for our wedding (10 years ago!) and they are still going strong! Even living in a 3-rd world country where I cook EVERYTHING from scratch! They are the hard-anodized version, not sure exactly what that means…
8.
SkylarKD | February 10, 2010 at 7:43 PM
I love my Paderno stainless steel pots and pans. They’re not non-stick, but they’re sooo easy to clean (and I”ve accidentally burned some horrible messes in them – the kind where you think you’ll have to throw out the pot)!
http://paderno.com/
9.
Jenny | February 13, 2010 at 10:55 PM
I have something like that and I love it. Nonstick pans ftw!!
10.
whimzie | February 15, 2010 at 5:34 PM
I need a good nonstick pan! I have nothing that’s nonstick and didn’t want to do Teflon. I’m going to look into these!!
11.
Kelly | February 15, 2010 at 5:40 PM
You know, we have one of these, and it worked great for a while, but my hubby (he does most of the pancakes around here) complained that it started sticking after a few months… he won’t use it anymore. So I guess we’re one of those people… we haven’t tried replacing it yet, though, we just stopped using it.