Comments on: Marketman’s Pots & Pans, Revisited

By: ces

ces — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:09:50 +0000

Hi MM! I don’t cook but for some strange reason I have been fascinated with old issues of Cook’s illustrated that I buy at Booksale. The stuff they write about reminds me about things / experiments posted on this fabulous blog of yours. I’m going through your archives to check if you did post on pots and pans… and I found it! People mentioned All-Clad, Caphalon etc. I think only Caphalon is available locally. My family and I recently moved into a new place and I want some new cookware too! But the thing is all the brands mentioned here are not available at my nearest Rustan’s or SM. hehehe.

By: quiapo

quiapo — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:39:17 +0000

My father favours “Le Creuset” for his pots and pans. However he has worn out the enamel botom of one of his “Le Cruset” and he is careful never to scour or use harsh ingredients. Perhaps the fact that he is now 91 years old and has had the pan for a long time may have something to do with the wear and tear.
When I was very young, tagalog “woks” = “karahai” were made of cast iron, which shattered if you dropped them. I enjoy using the sturdy Le Creuset cast iron wok, though it is a bit heavy to handle.
My favourite pot is a “du feau” which is an enamelled round casserole, which has a receptacle for ice or water on the top surface of the lid, and inside projections for the liquid to drip back on the food. This is the pot that has worn away at my Dad’s kitchen, and efforts to replace it have been unsuccesful as it is no longer made. Le Creuset also make a cast iron Paella pan, which is deeper than Spanish pans, and though it is an inspired idea, does not make as good a paella. It is handy as a general pan, and is my favourite for frying. The finest Paella pan I have is made of copper with a tin lining. It is important never to use too high a heat with copper pans, as they tend to become permanently discoloured with the high heat.
Another inspired pan from Le Creuset is a heavy enamelled cast iron braising dish, shaped somewht like a flying saucer. With the heavy lid, no steam escapes, and is wonderful for concentrating flavours. Its compact size makes it into a mini oven, resulting in a unique taste. I paricularly like using it for a Lebanese rice dish with pine nuts, cinammon, chicken stock and minced lamb; the flavour, and aroma, is unbelievable.
The type of pan you use definitely contributes to the final flavour.

By: Marketman

Marketman — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:45:04 +0000

Stagiaire,thanks for those tips…

By: Stagiaire

Stagiaire — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:39:38 +0000

Just a few quick comments on some of the brands mentioned:

Sitram:
Sitram is great for stock pots and stew pans and for most anything that will be cover the entire bottom of the pan. They’re awesome in terms of price/performance. Their fry pans and sautee pans don’t work as well though. The aluminum clad copper disk doesn’t quite go up the sides so if your flame is bigger than the disk, the portion of the pan where the disk meets the pan ends up a lot hotter and burns the food at the perimeter of the pan. I know it’s just a matter of being careful and temp control, but it would be nice if you didn’t have to worry about it. Their sauce pans suffer from the same problem. If you’re the type who’d offset a pan from the flame (in order to control the amount of heat the pan receives when reducing a delicate sauce for example), you’re better off with something without a bottom disk….

Copper Pans:
Copper work best for pans that require fast heat response…fry/saute pans anf pans you use for making emulsified sauces like hollandaise, bearnaise, etc. If you time you purchase right (during the one or two big sales they have annually) you may be able to get Mauviel pans at a more reasonable price. Try this website: http://www.creativecookware.com

Enamel coated pans
If you’re considering Le Creuset for braising, you might want to check out Staub as well. The lid has spikes to let the moisture drip back down to the food. Only dowside is its black, so you can’t use it for reducing you braising liquid cause it’s hard to judge color.

By: Pangalatok

Pangalatok — Fri, 11 May 2007 17:40:30 +0000

Thanks for the great information. LOVE the Le Creuset line. They have a discount outlet store here in Northern California that I always tryo to visit. I’m still deciding whether or not to purchase the Le Creuset tagine. All Clad’s is better, I think.

One question though–what recommendation, if any, do you have for non-stick hard anodized cookware? Calphalon?