PSA: Stainless Steel Cookware Recommendation, Possible RYF

[SteveO]

I've been trying to replace our Bialetta teflon pot/pan set for the past few years. Now at about 10 years old, they had a beautiful red finish on the outside but my wife is Calamity Jane so they're pretty beat up now. Teflon is also compromised as you might have guessed.

Didn't want to mess with ceramic or the hazards of teflon again, so have been on the hunt for affordable, attractive, high-quality stainless steel pan/s. Ran across a 3-qt saucepan by Lagostina (Italian company started 1901) at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago. Amazing price of 20 bucks!

I've only found the 3-qt there, they seemed to be out of the others, but you can buy an entire set on Amazon or eBay for $329 or so; copper-clad exterior is about $10-20 more.

This Lagostino Martellata model is hammered so it has a distinctive look, and it has stay-cool handles. It's a tri-ply and hefty, and 18/10. Interestingly, the outside lip is flared, not flat, so it's easier to pour from without spills. Heats fast and even on my gas stove. A few small cons: lids aren't clear. Not a dealbreaker for me, but maybe for others. Made in China which I don't love, but the quality is intact.

Some may find it interesting that this company created the first stainless cookware line (among other innovations in daily use today such as the pastaoila - the 2-in-1 pot to cook and drain pasta), and their cookware has been exhibited at MoMA. I think that's pretty cool. As of 2005 or so, they're owned by the same company that owns All Clad and some other big names.

I've been looking for a 1 or 2-qt version of this to use as a small saucepan (we don't really need the entire set), but thus far no luck at TJX. There's one on Amazon for $81, I did find one on eBay for >$100, as was the 3-qt size.

So the $20 TJX price for this 3-qt is apparently a friggin' steal.

TJX is a great place to score deals like this. I bought a 10" ss skillet there for about the same price a few years ago, also high quality 18/10 steel with stay-cool handle. The challenge is finding other sizes. They must just get odd lots or something. Hope this helps anyone who's in the market for a nice pan/s.

Bon Apetît!

[NewtonMP2100]

....Valerian Steel.....???

[Filliam H. Muffman]

SteveO, how does the pan work for cooking things that scorch easily, or clean up after something like frying eggs? The reviews says the copper looks bad if you don't keep it polished. Does it get the patina of say some vintage Revere Ware copper bottom pans?

[Bixby]

Tramontina from Walmart is also pretty well regarded and reviewed. I have these, and along with my cast iron, need nothing else. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-8-Piece-18-10-Stainless-Steel-Tri-Ply-Clad-Cookware-Set/19581112

[SteveO]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
SteveO, how does the pan work for cooking things that scorch easily, or clean up after something like frying eggs? The reviews says the copper looks bad if you don't keep it polished. Does it get the patina of say some vintage Revere Ware copper bottom pans?

Wife made roasted red pepper soup the other night, clean up was easy even though she had scorched a bit of it. And last night was pasta with eggplant -- the wife went nutty with the cheese so it was kind of a mess when I got to clean up. But it cleaned up quickly with hot soapy water and a little elbow grease.

Keep in mind my wife does not use the method outlined below -- she just turns on the fire and dumps in the food. This can lead to problems. I've read (and found) that it's always best to let your stainless cookware warm a bit (and oil it if necessary, see below) before cooking for best non-stick results.

I often cook eggs in the ss skillet -- for things like this, I warm up the pan for exactly one minute at the cooking temp of the eggs, which is about medium-low on my jet burner; then I add just enough olive oil to coat the cooking surfaces (not too much -- if you dump in too much then dump out the excess before cooking) and let that warm for one minute at same temp, then I cook. Don't let your oil smoke, your food will stick/burn.

You need to be vigilant so you don't scorch during any of this...my wife is not the best at this and we've wound up with burnt oil, food, etc (she is good at baking, though!)....but if you stick to the plan and keep an eye on your heat, I have found this to be a flawless method for cooking on stainless steel. I can just wipe the pan out if I want, there is no [cemented] food residue when I use this method.

Stick to the plan so your meal isn't stuck to the pan! Sorry, couldn't resist, channeling Newt there!

I don't have the copper-coated pan, I have the silver one so I can't answer that part of your question.

[SteveO]

Bixby wrote:
Tramontina from Walmart is also pretty well regarded and reviewed. I have these, and along with my cast iron, need nothing else. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-8-Piece-18-10-Stainless-Steel-Tri-Ply-Clad-Cookware-Set/19581112

That is a nice deal! If I can't find this smaller sauce pan at a good price, I think I'll buy the Tramontina, thanks!

[Racer X]

Best thing about stainless steel cookware, is that if you burn something in it, you can use spray oven cleaner!

[bobinmurphy]

Stainless will end up tarnished if over heated and in time it will show scratches. Both are next to impossible to get out. I have set I bought about 20 years ago, they're still in fairly good condition but probably time to start looking for replacements.

[Racer X]

Um, you just re-polish the steel.

[OWC Jamie]

I've gotten olive oil a degree or two too hot and left a stain in a SS pan. Oops. Not a big stain but one that wouldn't come out. Just continued cooking with it and it has cleaned itself.
Not quite as bad as davemachine's stained ss pan though.