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?

[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.

[wacki]

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Wusthof and Henckels are probably the best cutlery around.

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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]

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

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

[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]

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

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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"

[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.