A question for culinary experts!!!

[texaspimp]

What is/are the best non-reactive (stainless steel???) cookware and cutlery.

I need something really good, but not thousands of dollars.

Any help would be appreciated!!

[PoBoy321]

Well, Calphalon is probably the best. I work at a Williams-Sonoma store, which is basically high end cooks tools. It's a little bit more expensive there, I think that a complete set goes for about a grand although you can get the individual pieces, but there's good staff who'll really help you with what you need. If you do a little more research, you can probably get the same stuff at walmart or something for less. But yeah, calphalon is the way to go.

[texaspimp]

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming that's cookware. What about cutlery?

[the42]

I have calphon knives and they're pretty good. I don't know where you live but in MA we have marshalls and they sell about 1/2 the price. don't have any pans by them

[jakethebake]

I saw a nice set of Henkel knives at Sam's Club recently.

[turnipmonster]

find a restaurant supply store near you, and go there. I got my pots and saute pan for a very reasonable price from a place that supplied a restaurant I worked at, and I love them. I have tried out a number of pans in various stores and never found anything I liked half as much. allclad pans are pretty good though.

--turnipmonster

[PoBoy321]

Wusthof and Henckels are probably the best cutlery around. A friend of mine got a job selling knives door to door for some company named cutco and they put out a pretty good product, so you might want to look into them too.

[turnipmonster]

I am no culinary expert, but I cook quite a bit and worked as a line cook all through high school. the only knife you really need is a good chef's knife, 8". you need a good saute pan, a good saucepan, and a soup pot and that's pretty much it. most everything else is window dressing, and you probably don't really need it.

--turnipmonster

[elwoodblues]

Cutco knives are fantastic (though pricey.) I have a full-set of their knives, but in the alternative you would be very well served if you don't want to pay for a full set to just buy a few of them and work your way up over the years to a full set (cutco.com). I was actually just looking this morning on ebay and you can find some of their knives there as well. One thing that is great about cutco is they are lifetime guaranteed. If they break FOR ANY REASON they will replace the knife at no cost. Also, they sharpen the knives for a very reasonable price --- some of their knives look like serrated knives (though they aren't) that need to be factory sharpened every few years. My mother has a set of the same knives and broke the tip of one of the knives cutting through some frozen chicken. After 20 years, no questions asked they replaced it. I can't recommend them highly enough.

If you are going to buy just a few, the trimmer and chef's knife are essentials.

For cookware I have the Revere PRO line. They're pretty nice, though I wouldn't say I can fully recommend them (like I do with the Cutco knives.)

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Wusthof and Henckels are probably the best cutlery around.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with this, and so does everyone I know at knife forums. Stainless steel is good for cookwear but if you are going to get a Chef's knife, you might want to look into high carbon steel. Nothing holds an edge like high carbon steel. My high carbon steel knife at home will remove a nice big ball of hair off my forearm in one swipe!!! The downside is high carbon rusts so you have to wash it by hand and make sure it's dry before you put it away, but it's worth the extra work. (Which isn't much) Make sure you get a good steel. (The rod to realign the blade)

If your lazy they do have high carbon stainless blends. They are not as good as high carbon, but better than stainless and you don't have to pay as much attention to it.

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
the only knife you really need is a good chef's knife, 8".

[/ QUOTE ]

That will certainly get you started in the right direction, but you can't cut delicate items with a chef's knife very well. For example, cutting bread with a chef's knife doesn't work. Also, for some things a small knife (paring knife or slightly larger) just works better.

[Leo99]

Sounds like good advice.

I have the Chicago Cutlery knife set. I've had it about 15 years and it's still real nice. I picked up the Belquige (spelling is off) set from Macy's two years ago. It's an Allclad knock off. They're real nice pans. Caphalon is annodized aluminum and nice stuff but Allclad is the "bomb"

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
My high carbon steel knife at home will remove a nice big ball of hair off my forearm in one swipe

[/ QUOTE ]

Remind me never to eat at your house /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[cnfuzzd]

plus, you can use the cutting shears to make a corkscrew out of a penny!!! (I worked as a cutco saleperson for exactly one day. Then i found out not only would i be going into peoples houses, but with lots of knives. Im a big, scary guy, and my humor is often misunderstood, so i didnt think this was the best idea.)

peace

john nickle

[Blarg]

Anybody ever use any of those ceramic knives or find themselves liking them?

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Anybody ever use any of those ceramic knives or find themselves liking them?

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard they hold a great edge, and they hold it for a long time. The downside is that they are very difficult to sharpen. High carbon, San Mai, and high carbon blends are generally accepted as the best.

[wacki]

In a post about Kyocera Ceramic

[ QUOTE ]
If you're really careful with it, it shouldn't do too poorly. I like using mine for slicing tomatoes and other acidic foods because with the ceramic blade, you don't have to worry about the acid from those foods dulling the blades.

However, if I had the day I bought the knife back again, I wouldn't have bought it. The knife is too dull for all-purpose chopping, especially when compared to a good, properly sharpened steel blade. You also have to be very careful not to put any lateral stress on the knife or drop it, because it is very susceptible to breakage.

[/ QUOTE ]


I forgot to mention damascus... knives made from that steel are very good, and very pretty. You can see the grain of the steel in those.

http://www.lfchosting.com/digitalcanoe/knife/pictures/kershaw/images/shun700.jpg

[benfranklin]

Wustof knives are excellent, if pricey. I have quite a few Calphalon pots and pans, nonstick and anodized aluminum, and they are great. You can usually get some good deals on Calphalon, especially discontinued models, at Amazon: Pots and Pans (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/537573/ref=amb_right-2_116077_3/102-7294857-2535358)

There is disagreement about which is better, stainless or anodized, particularly for skillets. Calphalon makes both, and their literature says that anodized is better for browning and for creation of fond, the little black specks in the skillet essential for great sauces.

[vulturesrow]

I prefer cutlery by Ka-bar

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/prowlerslim/usmc-fighting-knife-1217.jpg

[eric5148]

[ QUOTE ]
I forgot to mention damascus... knives made from that steel are very good, and very pretty. You can see the grain of the steel in those.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damascus is expensive, though.

[eric5148]

Hehe, yeah I've got one of those, but it's not exactly good for peeling apples.

[GrunchCan]

I don't like Calphalon anymore, becasue of the anodization. Calphalon is anodized aluminum, and the anodization is only on the surface. Its not like a non-stick coating, it is actually part of the metal. But it's only a few molecules deep.

As a result, after many years of hard use (I was a professional chef for 11 years in a previous life), my Calphalon cookware all began to lose its anodization. I used to like Calpholon the best, but now, I won't touch it. It just doesn't stand up to the heat.

Now my favorite is straight stainless steel, the heavier, the better. My recommendation is AllClad, any of the pure stainless varieties. AllClad makes several flavors of cookware, and many are very similar to each other in all respects aside from finish. My personal choice is MasterChef 2 (or MC2), which has a brushed metal exterior that can never end up looking scratched and beat up becasue, well I guess it starts out that way.

Now here's a surprise. The very first pan I recommend anyone getting is a 12" cast iron skillet. If it is well cared for, I promise it will be the most often used pan in your kitchen. It literally does it all, and it's cheaper than dirt. Get one, season it well, and take care of it. It will treat you well for a lifetime.

As far as knives go, henkles "Professional S" is my choice for home use. Its a good balance between high quality and affordibility. But really, when talking about knives, the most important consideration in a kitchen knive is how sharp it is. When I was a chef, we never used fancy knives like Henkles or Wusthoff or anything like that. We always used cheapo knives similar to chicago cutlery with simple wooden or molded plastic handles and full-tang blades. We sharpened those knives ourselves, and they were super sharp. They worked out just fine, and if we broke or dinged one, it was no big deal. If I broke or dinged my fancy $150 12" henkles chef blade now, I'd be flipping out for sure.

While your'e thinking about new cutlery, here's something else to think about: cutting boards. If you are going to get a fancy blade, you really should get a good cutting board with it in order to protect the blade. My choice is wood, but I'm a traditionalist. Wood is high-maintennance, and you have to be especially careful with meats and foods that might stain. For most people, I'd recommend a good polycarbonate board. Its easer to sanitize and doesn't absorb stains and odors very well. If you choose to go with wood, Boos Blocks is the best.

[Allan]

Check out Global knives as well. I, too, worked as a line cook for some time and it was always much easier for me to keep a good edge on a Global than it ever was for me on a Wustof or Forschner. Also I never liked the "butt" of the blade on the Wustof, I just like the edge to start and not have that little mound of steel in the way. Plus the globals look cool.

I have both Anodized Calphalon and All Clad. (It's definatlly overkill, but the All-Clad was a gift). I find it easier to cook with the All Clad simply cause you can see the color of the food or sauce against the steal. It's harder to see the color of fluids in the Claphalon.


Allan

[vulturesrow]

Grunch,

Awesome post. I like your suggestion about the cast iron skillet. The main reason to have one is to make cornbread properly /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Someone made a good suggestion earlier about must have knives. If you want to get serious about cooking, a good chef's knife, a paring knife, and a serrated knife should be more than sufficient. I agree with this. What other sorts of kitchen items are "must haves" for the serious amateur cook?

[Allan]

I've had stuff from restaurant supply places as well. It's affordable and cooks just as well as calphalon or all-clad IMO. The only problems I've had with it is that it hasn't held up as well as the brand name stuff. The sautee pans have tacoed. All of my stock pots are from supply houses. I wouldn't pay brand name prices for stock pots.

Allan

[Allan]

They're extremely fragil. I've seen them chip cutting carrots before. Ceramic peelers are great. I always use it then wash and dry it directly after using and place it back in the plastic sleeve it came in to store it. Really don't want the edge knocking around with whatever else is in the drawer .

Allan

[dogsballs]

I have a set of Whusthof Grand Prix knives and love em. Similar to teh Wusthof Classic; different handle. They're great; weight/balance/ergo handle. Also have a heavy thick bamboo chopping board...get a good solid board. I have 3 boards - the big one for 'clean' veggies etc, smaller one for stinky onions/garlic etc and a polycarbonate one for meat products.

Le creuset pots and pans are great - plus you get a good workout hefting them around. Cast iron

There's lots of choices for good pots/knives.

If you look at Henckels knives, be aware that two kinds of Henckels knoives are sold. The good quality ones and also cheaper versions made in china or someplace like that.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]


Now here's a surprise. The very first pan I recommend anyone getting is a 12" cast iron skillet. ...... Get one, season it well, and take care of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lodge is one of the big names in cast iron skillets. They now have a line called Lodge Logic, which is preseasoned. I have a couple, and really like them. They save a lot of hassle involved with the original seasoning. The correct pronunctiation, by the way, is "cast arn".

Cast Arn (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006JSUB/qid=1101778776/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7294857-2535358?v=glance&s=sporting-goods&n=507846)

[GrunchCan]

Hm, the serious amatuer cook? I suppose we're talking beyond the measuring spoons and spatulas we get for a kid's first apartment.

This list could become unending. A quick scan of my kitchen reveals a massive pile of kitchen toys. And I'm still getting.

Here's a start tho:

- oven safe ramekins, very useful for mise en place
- honing steel to care for your fancy knives
- if your really serious, get a set of waterstones (http://www.futurechef.com/subcategory.asp?cat_no=34&subcat_no=238) and sharpen your own knives.
- 12" cast iron skillet
- 3 qt. saucepan with lid
- 12 qt. stock pot/sop pot with lid
- lots of mixing bowls; no matter how many you have, you need more
- a serious KitchenAid stand mixer.
- good selection of casseroles, bakers, etc
- kitchen scale. in baking, it is better to measure by weight than by volume.

Probably more than anything else, you need excellent cookbooks. There's 2 kinds of cookbooks; home and professional. Some home cookbooks you just have to have, like the Joy or the New Basics. But you really need to invest in the big professional cookbooks if you want to learn culinary arts.

Most professional cookbooks are topical, but here is a good general techniques book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471382574/qid=1101799489/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-2567603-6402535?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)

This is the bible of pastries and deserts (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471359254/qid=1101799735/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-2567603-6402535)
An excellent book about sauces (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471292753/qid=1101799786/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/102-2567603-6402535)

[MortalNuts]

Hi vulturesrow --

GrunchCan's post is a good one. I also agree with what people have told you, generally, about knives and pans: fwiw, I use Wusthof classic knives, and a mix of allclad (great, but good god the cost) and Calphalon pans. I strongly prefer the 10-inch chef's knife to the 8-inch, but some people don't; in any case, that plus a paring knife plus a serrated knife will do you just fine for a long time.

A few of my own personal favorites for the serious amateur kitchen, in addition:

A good blender. You want one that has like two settings: low and hi. Waring, etc.

For desserts: get an ice cream maker. Seriously, I use this all the time, you can get an okay one (i.e. not self-refrigerating) for like $50, and making your own ice cream for some reason impresses the hell out of people. Which is weird, because it's really really easy.

If you like Italian food, it's worth getting a "food mill," basically a handheld thingy with serrated disks you can pass stuff through. It's like a low-tech food processor, very handy for making fresh tomato-based sauces and lots of other stuff.

Again if you like Italian stuff, get a pasta maker. With practice, you can make handmade pasta (for you and a guest) in no longer than it takes a decent-sized pot of water to boil. And it really is totally different from factory-made stuff -- more absorbent, different texture, etc.

You didn't ask, but while I'm at it: if you have any kind of serious bar and throw even mildly serious parties, you will thank yourself if you get a) pourers (go to a restaurant supply store and buy the metal ones in a 20-pack), b) "Pourmaster"-style jugs+pourer, for when you have like 100 people over drinking margaritas and want to pre-mix them, and c) a bar spoon with a twisty handle and a flat top (for layering drinks and muddling). Trust me.

Other misc. kitchen stuff I use semi-frequently: mortar & pestle. tortilla press. crepe pan. couple types of instant-read thermometer.

And re: cookbooks, I like the Sauces book GC mentioned. Amateur-level stuff I like: "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking," by Marcella Hazan. The Chez Panisse dessert book. If you're not a terribly experienced chef, you might like "How to Cook Without a Book," by someone I don't remember. Also, every cook who's scientifically literate should read "The Curious Cook," by harold mcgee (?), at some point.

have fun. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

later,

mn

[busguy]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, Calphalon is probably the best. I work at a Williams-Sonoma store . . .

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you serious ?? I didn't know they made any stainless, but their anodized aluminium stuff is garbage.

Some one else mentioned All Clad. This is the ticket and it ISN"T EVEN CLOSE.

Spend a few extra bucks (don't need to be in the 1000's) to get the All Clad and you won't be disapointed. I've had 12-14 pieces of the stuff for 12 + years and it still looks and cooks fantastic.

Lot's of places on the internet with deals on individual pieces and sets . . . oh and check e-bay as well.


my 2 cents

/images/graemlins/cool.gif busguy

[wacki]

Ya All Clad is good stuff.

[vegasone]

i have 4 Revere copper bottom stainless steel saucepans, and i love them. bought them all open stock.(a 2-quart, 2 3-quart, and an 8 quart.) i beat the sh*t out of them, don't shine the bottoms, go from fridge to stovetop, and they keep going. they heat well, fast, don't scorch, and are easy to clean. they are inexpensive (i bought mine at target.) try one before you buy a bunch of calphalon or all clad.

as for knives, go with what feels good in your hand. i like henckel 4 stars.

[young nut]

[ QUOTE ]
Cutco knives are fantastic (though pricey.) I have a full-set of their knives, but in the alternative you would be very well served if you don't want to pay for a full set to just buy a few of them and work your way up over the years to a full set (cutco.com). I was actually just looking this morning on ebay and you can find some of their knives there as well. One thing that is great about cutco is they are lifetime guaranteed. If they break FOR ANY REASON they will replace the knife at no cost. Also, they sharpen the knives for a very reasonable price --- some of their knives look like serrated knives (though they aren't) that need to be factory sharpened every few years. My mother has a set of the same knives and broke the tip of one of the knives cutting through some frozen chicken. After 20 years, no questions asked they replaced it. I can't recommend them highly enough.

If you are going to buy just a few, the trimmer and chef's knife are essentials.

For cookware I have the Revere PRO line. They're pretty nice, though I wouldn't say I can fully recommend them (like I do with the Cutco knives.)

[/ QUOTE ]

I would also stand behind cutco as the best cutlery on the market. I have the 18 piece full set, and I couldn't possibly need any other knives. The great thing is that I am 21 years old, but I will never have to buy another cooking knife for the rest of my life (unless I lose these somehow.) Best customer service of any company. Best materials possible, great handle design. They are pretty pricey, but if you are going to be using them quite a bit and for a while, the price is worth it. Just my $0.02.

[wacki]

You can't complain about having Cutco, but there are better knives out there.

Last I heard Cutco doesn't have damascus, high carbon, or San Mai. Still, you can't complain about Cutco.

[slavic]

I'm sure someone has said it already, but I use cutco. I've had them for ten years and my parents have had a set for the last 20 years. The darn things are amazing.