Buying for Wife - All Clad - Q. on Frying Pan

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

f_aaberg

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
2
Getting the 9 piece set. It comes with frying pan either non-stick or plain (SS). Which frying pan do I get? From what I've been reading, seems like the only thing I will need non-stick for is eggs. If this is correct, we already have a small (cheap) non-stick pan and I'm thinking of going with a full SS set. Thoughts? THANKS in advance.
 
She's a lucky lady. That's a great gift! I agree with you to go with the all SS. You do have a non-stick, and she will find that when she uses the AC correctly (i.e., medium heat, as opposed to high) if she warms the pan first then films it with oil, it will behave very much like a non-stick pan. :chef:
 
Absolutely do the stainless steel. I got new pans years ago and went all stainless. Never going back to non-stick. Makes you cook food wrong by being tolerant of using the wrong temperatures.
 
Last edited:
I say stainless steel, they don't make them like that anymore. You can get a good non-stick any old day.

Lucky lady!
 
OK I am going to go a bit against the grain here possibly.
If I were shopping for myself then I would agree with everyone above. SS is the way to go.

I think we need more info first though. Does your wife like to cook? Does she know what she is doing in the kitchen? If the answer to either of those questions is yes then I agree that SS is the right choice.

If you answered no then non stick might be better. Someone who does not want to worry about technique or the 'right" way to cook would be better off with something as easy as non stick.
 
If you have only one cheap non-stick pan in the kitchen, that suggests you don't use it much. Go with the SS.
 
Getting a nice n' thick pan made of aluminum with a non-stick surface coating is cheap. You can get some of the higher-end T-Fal frypans for about $10-$15. The thing that makes All-Clad pans expensive is the way they bond a stainless cooking surface to the aluminum body. I'd go with the SS pan and then pick up a 10" T-Fal pan at Walmart for $10-$15 (along with some cheap cast iron from Lodge).

Also, take a look at the pans you most commonly use in your kitchen. Make sure that the set you're buying includes those items. If it doesn't, you may be better off slowly piecing together a set consisting of pots/pans you use a lot (what I did). For instance, the most commonly used pans in my kitchen are 8qt pots, 3qt sauciers, and 10" skillets. I then have a couple 1qt sauciers and 8" skillets for the odd small-job.

I've yet to find a great roasting pan though. When I purchased my big All-Clad roaster I thought it was aluminum bodied with stainless surfaces, but it's just a stainless pan that is terrible on the stovetop when finishing sauces.
 
Thanks To All That Responded

Thank you all for helping me out here. I did a littler more research and found that Cuisinart sells the MultiClad Pro set that others seem to like. There is nowhere within 100 miles that has a display of the stuff to show her. I guess it is basically is an internet item for the company. I'm not sure if I like the brushed SS on the outside anyways.

So I showed my wife yesterday what I was up to - no surprises here - I want her to get something she wants. In the end, she saw the AllClad and liked it. I asked her what sizes she would like of each pot/pan and it appears the 14 piece set is the one that will do the job better (most items larger in the set). Looks like I'll go that route. The 14 piece set over the 9 piece will be a surprise! Much, much more money then I wanted to spend - but she's worth it. Besides, we have five kids and they will have something to fight over when we're gone.

Thanks again to all for your input and have a great Christmas! :)
 
Hello and welcome to DC. Definitely go with the Stainless Steel and have non stick bottoms. That is a great gift for your wife.
 
I have the Le Gourmet Chef equivalent of all-clad, and the set came with an 8-inch stainless fry pan. One of the additions i made was the teflon coated version of the same fry pan, for times when I need non-stick. Of course, I also have a complete set of stainless untesils AND a complete set of nylon utensils.
 
You will love the All Clad set, I bought the 10 pieces LTD set from Macy when they have the friend and family discount and very happy with it.
 
I prefer the Le Gourmet Chef tri-ply. Same as All-Clad, but at 1/3 the price because, every time I buy another piece, I am not paying for the free one they give to Emeril LaGasse or Martha Stewart.
 
Last edited:
The LTD series is probably my first choice. I went with the un-anodized aluminum exterior of the MC2 series because they were on sale. Had they not been, I would have grabbed the LTD series.
 
get the stainless. you can get much less expensive non stick pans that work fine and can be tossed when no longer non stick due to scratches or repeated heating. Don't set yourself up to toss a $150 pan!
 
There is no need to toss a quality non stick pan. They do not scratch the way they used to and there is a word of difference between a cheapo non stick pan that is light as a feather vs. a quality non stick pan that has weight and mass to it.
 
Check out an ealier post on SS pans and you will find a number of great comments made on a variety of brands of pans. I would also suggest putting together your own set instead of buying a prepackaged one. There always seems to be a usless pan or two in all the sets I've seen. I did this with the Calphlon One collection of pans I have and it worked out much better. I also saved about $250 doing buy shopping at stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls buying seconds with very little scratches on the outsides of the pan. I also bought a few off EBAY.
 
f_aaberg said:
Thank you all for helping me out here. I did a littler more research and found that Cuisinart sells the MultiClad Pro set that others seem to like. There is nowhere within 100 miles that has a display of the stuff to show her. I guess it is basically is an internet item for the company. I'm not sure if I like the brushed SS on the outside anyways.

So I showed my wife yesterday what I was up to - no surprises here - I want her to get something she wants. In the end, she saw the AllClad and liked it. I asked her what sizes she would like of each pot/pan and it appears the 14 piece set is the one that will do the job better (most items larger in the set). Looks like I'll go that route. The 14 piece set over the 9 piece will be a surprise! Much, much more money then I wanted to spend - but she's worth it. Besides, we have five kids and they will have something to fight over when we're gone.

Thanks again to all for your input and have a great Christmas! :)


Excellent choice...You're a saint! Can my husband take lessons?
 
Back
Top Bottom