CharlieD
Chef Extraordinaire
6", wow, where did you find pan that small, I don't know if I ever seen one that small.
Also - does anyone have reservations about aluminum in light of recent research suggesting a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's?
Thanks very much.
Hi,
This is my first post, and I have two questions pertaining to this thread -
1. It's been said that anodizing makes the aluminum more scratch-resistant than stainless steel; however, whenever I've looked at anodized pots in a discount store, where they've been banged around a bit, as they would be in a kitchen, they're always scratched - and it seems to be more noticeable than it would be on stainless.
2. It was also mentioned that the anodizing takes place only on the outside, to protect the finish - but my understanding is that it takes place on the inside as well, and that this results in a relatively non-stick surface (apart from pans lined with a true non-stick coating, of course). If the insides aren't anodized as well, why are they as dark as the outsides?
I need to buy cookware, and I'm trying to decide which kind I want. I've picked up a few consistent opinions from this and other websites - don't buy a set, and don't bother with non-stick except for frying pans. I know that everyone loves cast iron, but it's just too heavy, and All Clad, but it's outside of my budget, even at discount prices. I was going to buy the Cuisinart Chef's Classic stainless, but I noticed that IKEA has a clad line called Favorit, at very reasonable prices. Has anyone had any experience with their cookware?
Between anodized and clad - which would you recommend?
Also - does anyone have reservations about aluminum in light of recent research suggesting a link between aluminum and Alzheimer's?
Thanks very much.
I prefer clad SS to any Alum. for its durability and performance.
I do have some mid-grade quisinart SS and don't care for it at all (bottom has a copper sandwich but sides are not clad).
As I mentioned, I don't have any high end clad stuff to compare but I do have some mid-grade quisinart SS and don't care for it at all (bottom has a copper sandwich but sides are not clad). I'm a huge fan of the Calphalon one line - very durable and outstanding performance, way better than the SS stuff I own. Outstanding for searing and deglazing.
We've had our calphalon stuff for several years now and it still looks fine.
As to anodizing, there's several ways to anodize and they have differing properties (hard, soft, thin thick etc..). The outsides of the pans are also anodized but not with the same treatment I would think.
Why don't you like the Cuisniart? Uneven heating?
Two things,
First like you mentioned the uneven heating since the sides aren't clad like all-clad etc. What happens is the sides get much hotter than the sandwiched part and stuff burns there (I have gas burners which exacerbates this too).
Second, I just don't like SS to cook on. If I'm browning something the Al stuff tends to release when It's supposed to where the SS seems to keep sticking until it's burnt. It also seems harder to deglaze than the Al stuff.
When cooking with stainless, I have found that you need to pre-heat the pan when the cooking survace is dry, and add the oil when the pan is hot.
Regardless of what you see on TV (they sometimes take shortcuts to save TV time), you will have better results if you put the food into a hot pan with hot oil.