Best pots

[phinix]

I'm after a really good quality pots and pans set.
Don't want teflon etc, so started reading about materials and so far found that best and affordable would be ceramic coated, is that correct?

What kind of pot and pans do you guys use and what would you recommend, materials and brand wise.

[tp4tissue]

Ceramic is ok when new, overtime it loses most of its non-stick ability,

Nothing comes close to the non-stick-ness of teflon.

The other option is steel wok,  the way that works is, you let the carbon burn on, develop with the oil, and it creates a <non stick> blackened layer, you're not supposed to ever wash it with soap, only a wipe with some water.  Not really sure how healthy this actually is.

[fohat.digs]

Most of my favorites are high-end stainless steel (aka inox) but they really need something like a thick copper layer in the bottom to really spread and hold heat properly.

I also have quite a bit of vintage PYREX and CorningWare that is great to use.

[Findecanor]

I'm a fan of cast-iron pans for frying and deep pots for stews. There are varieties that have cast iron only on the inside so they don't weigh a ton.
I prefer stainless pots for boiling and steaming.

In either case, scratches are not much of an issue. The surface of cast iron can be restored.
If you scratch teflon, someone probably got to ingest it, and the pan is ruined.

[phinix]

Ceramic is ok when new, overtime it loses most of its non-stick ability,

Nothing comes close to the non-stick-ness of teflon.

The other option is steel wok,  the way that works is, you let the carbon burn on, develop with the oil, and it creates a <non stick> blackened layer, you're not supposed to ever wash it with soap, only a wipe with some water.  Not really sure how healthy this actually is.

I was looking into it and was also wondering how hygienic it is...

[phinix]

I'm a fan of cast-iron pans for frying and deep pots for stews. There are varieties that have cast iron only on the inside so they don't weigh a ton.
I prefer stainless pots for boiling and steaming.

In either case, scratches are not much of an issue. The surface of cast iron can be restored.
If you scratch teflon, someone probably got to ingest it, and the pan is ruined.

Yeah, I noticed all my teflon pans are scratched and we must have eaten those microscopic bits...

[noisyturtle]

Stainless steel copper bottoms

[phinix]

Stainless steel copper bottoms

Is it non-sticky?

[yui]

Stainless steel copper bottoms

Is it non-sticky?

with enough heat, yeah, everything is the main draw to stainless is that it is pretty much indestructible

[fohat.digs]

Stainless steel copper bottoms

Is it non-sticky?

I would recommend one good non-stick skillet for particularly delicate foodstuffs and conventional cookware for the rest. I have never had a non-stick utensil keep its mojo for more than a year or 2, while conventional gear lasts pretty much indefinitely, with failures being almost always related to handles.

Good quality stainless (inox) is easy to clean, and I make an effort to soak pots and pans with water for a while which makes cleaning dramatically easier. And an overnight soak will soften almost anything.

[iri]

I'm after a really good quality pots and pans set.
Don't want teflon etc, so started reading about materials and so far found that best and affordable would be ceramic coated, is that correct?

What kind of pot and pans do you guys use and what would you recommend, materials and brand wise.

Le Creuset of course.