Cooking Resources

Dina · 10-08-2007, 01:45 PM

Does anyone own one or any of their other cookware? I was at a birthday party last night and as bizarre as it was, got a cooking lesson with this cookware. I'm wondering if they're worth the $3,000 for each set.

Andy M. · 10-08-2007, 01:50 PM

I can't imagine cookware worth $3000! Was there some other machine included in the mix? Even All-Clad doesn't cost that much. What's the selling point that makes it so desireable?

Dina · 10-08-2007, 01:52 PM

I was shocked too Andy. I was hoping somewhere around $200-300 as I did really like the salad machine and it's gadgets. I could whip up some awsome and quick salads with it. Their dishes were also really nice and cook with absolutely no oil or water. I am not totally convinced about paying that much money even though they do offer installment plans.

Andy M. · 10-08-2007, 02:20 PM

With installment plans or not, it's still $3000 out of your bank account.

If you need or want new cookware, check out some of the discussions here before making any decisions. You could also buy a new set of good knives and whip up a salad in no time and still save a lot of money.

jennyema · 10-08-2007, 02:25 PM

IMO it's totally absurd to charge that much.

Actually, most of the stuff I read on their website seemed pretty weird.

Who would want to cook with no water or oil all the time???

keltin · 10-08-2007, 03:35 PM

They’re still doing those cooking party demonstrations? I went to one of those once years ago back in 1992. My buddy ended up buying the whole set, and it is insanely expensive as you have seen. About a year later, he got divorced and moved to another city. Before leaving, he gave me the Saladmaster Electric Skillet. It’s a heavy, oil filled monster, but I’m not that impressed with it. In fact, I hardly ever use it. Don’t get me wrong, it does the same job as any other electric skillet I’ve used, but I see no reason to pay the outrageous price for it.

Plus, the SS on the inside discolors easily! And even though they say you can rub that off with SS cleaner, you can’t. I tried everything I could think of to get the discoloration out, and nothing worked. They claim you can cook with no oil, and at the cooking party I went to, the guy did make chicken breasts without using oil in the electric skillet, but when I tried to do the same thing he did with some boneless pork chops, they stuck to the surface like made, and discolored the surface of the skillet

All in all, it’s a neat electric skillet, but not worth the price they charge IMO.

Besides that, with that cookware, the magic of cooking with no added oil is because of the vapor lock seal that is supposed to develop. That’s a pain to get to work, and you can often burn cuts of lean meat because there isn’t enough moisture to form the seal. My Buddy ended up not using that “feature” and ended up just cooking with them as if they were regular pans. The electric skillet I have has the same vapor lock design, but even when I’ve cooked chili mac or just plain chili that has loads of liquid, I could never get that seal to form properly, so I just use the thing like a regular electric skillet.

Do they still say you can stack the pots on each other thereby using the bottom of the top pot as the lid of the bottom pot? I always thought that was a neat idea, but my buddy never tried it. I can’t imagine using that configuration for cooking, but for holding things warm, it’s pretty neat.

Other than the stacking feature, I’m not impressed with the Saladmaster line. They are really well made (heavy duty construction, 5 ply SS, etc), but they just aren’t worth the money IMO they are asking for them.

jpmcgrew · 10-08-2007, 03:42 PM

Thats a ridiculous amount of money.Why you could buy really high quality cookware and a fridge and a oven and maybe some other cool appliances and a bag of chips

Dina · 10-08-2007, 03:42 PM

Thanks for the info Keltin.

jabbur · 10-08-2007, 03:52 PM

I have a similar gadget as the saladmaster machine. It's called Kwik Kuts. My MIL gave it to me since she had one already and got this one from her MIL's estate. I like it and use it often but don't know anything about the cookware. My machine goes into the dishwasher fine and does a good job slicing and shredding. My only complaint is that sometimes I would like a thicker slice than the machine gives but then I will just use a knife. It does make quick work of shredding cheese, making french fries, slicing potatoes for scalloped potatoes. I agree though that $3000 seems like a lot of money. Usually the party circuit products are way more expensive than in the stores and the sales person wants you to think this is so great and you can't get it in the store so you have to buy from them. I try to stay away from buying stuff at parties and if I feel obligated to buy, I'll pick one thing in the lower end of the prices that I think I may want. Hope this helps.

**Katie H** · 10-08-2007, 06:56 PM

Hmmmmm...snake oil salesmen are still alive and well!

Caine · 10-09-2007, 01:28 PM

I bought a ceramic knife from Target On-Line for around $45.00 that does pretty much the same thing as that Salad Master machine, and the ceramic knife won't make your veggies turn brown!

BTW, I just visited their web site. I could not find a price list anywhere on it. Never trust any company that refuses to tell you, right up front, how much a product is going to cost. I do NOT want to be contacted by one of their salemen, or go to one of their dinner parties!

Dina · 10-09-2007, 01:35 PM

I simply used my manual grater to shred the cabbage, carrots and apples for my cole slaw. I am not getting this cookware. I couldn't afford it in the first place.

Barbara L · 10-09-2007, 02:19 PM

My aunt and uncle had a home party for something very similar sounding back in the '70s. It cost an arm and a leg back then too. The thing that gets me about companies like that is that they prey on regular middle-class people, and the salespeople are almost hypnotic in their approach. They convince a lot of people that they absolutely have to have their product, no matter the cost. I sold Tupperware for a while (mostly to get my own Tupperware at a good price, and to make a little extra money) but was not pushy with it. I believed in the product and I showed its good points, but I did not go over the top like some of the others did. I want people to deal honestly with me, and that is how I deal with them.

Barbara

Caine · 10-09-2007, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara L

I want people to deal honestly with me, and that is how I deal with them.

Barbara

Get real! If everyone dealt honestly with you, you'd never buy ANYTHING!!!

Andy M. · 10-09-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caine

Get real! If everyone dealt honestly with you, you'd never buy ANYTHING!!!

So, you'd rather be lied to and buy stuff blissfully ignorant of its value??

Caine · 10-09-2007, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy M.

So, you'd rather be lied to and buy stuff blissfully ignorant of its value??

I can always tell when those salesmen are lying. *

* Their lips are moving!

Barbara L · 10-09-2007, 03:28 PM

I'm not naive enough to believe everyone always tells me the truth, but yes I do want to be dealt with honestly. I am also not cynical enough to believe that everyone is lying to me. There are honest people in the world, believe it or not. I am one of them, and I try to give my business to other honest people.

Barbara

P.S. When purchasing something of value, I always have James with me. He can talk them into bringing the price down and throwing in lots of freebies pretty much every time. We don't like to get cheated any more than anyone else.

Nurse Erin · 10-29-2007, 06:29 PM

I have never used it and don't see myself ever, in all honesty using it. I see they sell on eBay. Maybe I'll list it there. We had a guy come out and demo it and couldn't believe how much it cost. I got it at a garage sale from a lady who also never used it.

wysiwyg · 10-30-2007, 08:21 PM

If someone needs a $3,000 cooking slicer maching, I recommend her/him spending half of that on therapy sessions and with the other half getting a round trip to France or Belgium and buying a very nice mandoline for about 100 bucks.