Cooking: High Quality Cookware

Here another piece that one of our readers sent in. Thanks for that! If you too want to share your thoughts on cookware, please leave a comment below.

On Mother’s day several years ago my kids and husband presented me with a couple of Scanpans.  I love this cookware and use it daily.  My Scanpan pots look like new, even after several years of cooking.

I have two pieces of Scanpan cookware.  My first piece is a huge round pot with a glass lid. This pan is excellent for making chili, soup or spaghetti sauce.  The second Scanpan pot is a high-walled stir fry pan with a glass lid.   I use this pot for Asian style stir-fry cooking. Both pieces are non-stick, heavy durable pans.

I am really pleased with the performance of my Scanpan cookware.  Food cooks evenly.  The pan is solid, so dents are not an issue.   Although the pans are non-stick, I like little to add a little olive oil to help brown onions or when stir-frying.

The glass tops concerned me at first.  I thought in a house with several teenagers these lids would be short lived.  However the lids are made of heavy and apparently strong glass.  The lids have survived three moves and my teenagers.  I like the fact that the lids are clear, so you can view the food while cooking.   The one downside of the glass lids is the weight.   The lids are heavy and can be a difficult to turn over and set down when trying to attend your cooking.

These pans came with a special cleaning brush.  That tool went by the wayside early on. Now I just use a sponge or cloth for cleaning.   If there is a tough spot to remove I will use the green plastic scratch pads.   I find my Scanpans are easy to clean without a lot of dramas.

Scanpan cookware is pricey but worth it. This durable cookware is worth the investment, at least it was for me.

Scanpan pros:

• look like new, even after long usage
• non-stick
• heavy durable (no dents)
• food cooks evenly
• glass lids are made of strong glass (don’t break easy)
• lids are clear, you can watch the food cook

Scanpan contras:

• lids are very heavy, difficult to handle when cooking
• cleaning brush is useless
• expensive

I hope you found this article useful. Please also check out our article on how to buy Scanpan cookware cheaper.

Here another post that one of our readers submitted, thanks for sharing! If you have thoughts on cookware that you’d like to share, just write them in the comments section below. Thanks!

There are two areas that come to mind when I think of cookware.

The first is how easy is it to use, and how easy does it clean up. These questions are very important because of the lifestyle I lead. I have very little time to spend cooking over the hot stove, and clean up is a given.

I have found that almost any brand of non stick cookware will work for those easy clean ups. But I will add that you get what you pay for. Spending a little more money overall will get you a product that lasts longer, I have found the Rachael Ray non stick Hard Anodized cookware to be great for my needs.

It is a good quality set at an equally good price. Another thing that I can not live without is my Rival Crock Pot.

I am a single mother, with the time taken way running kids around to practices and working, I find the convenience of using the crock pot high on my list of necessities. I am able to cook wonderful tasting meals with very little prep time.

The Rival crock-pot that I purchased has two crocks. The first is your normal crock pot, but the second is divided into two separate areas. I like this when I am making nacho’s and have my meat on the one side and the melted cheese on the other. I use this all the time at parties. (Check out this article from YourHouseHoldKeeper titled “Save Money by Cooking with a Crock-pot” and Crock Pot recipes too).

Last but not least is my enamel roaster. I am talking the old blue roaster with white speckles on it, the kind your grandmother use to have. It literally makes the best roasted chicken. I have perfect roasted chicken every time I use it. When its time to make one of their favorite meals, it is almost always the roasted chicken that is requested. Having the right cookware, not only makes the job enjoyable, but it also makes it fun.

One of our readers recently sent in this reminder on the dangers of nonstick cookware:

As a pet owner, one thing that bothers me is people using nonstick pans (such as tefal pans) when they have pet birds. Without proper ventilation, these pans can actually harm or kill birds, as the fumes they let off whilst heating are very toxic. To make sure my birds will be okay, I prefer to use a heavy cast iron pan – they may be expensive to buy at first, but an investment in a Le Creuset pan will soon pay off – they do last forever.