I fairly recently picked up aCarbon steel pan. it was a pain to clean the shipping wax off, but it has rapidly become one of the favorite pans I’ve ever had. Nicely non-stick for meats and eggs, and it’s getting better as I use it.
I solved this problem, for me, by putting by second biggest pot inside my biggest pot and filling the space between them with water. Obviously that outer pot can be the cheapest pot that you can find that fits well (sadly, my inner pot is way to short for my outer pot but, it takes a really long time for four inches of water to simmer to a dry pot!). I’ll only stir when I feel like it and my chili and spaghetti sauce never scorches.
CMC fnord!
In the old days, Calphalon was just one type of pan, and a very good one for many things. Nowadays, Calphalon puts out so many variations it’s really hard to keep track of them all; drives me insane.
I’ve got old Farberware pots and pans that I use for everyday stuff; they seem to do just fine. But I have old Calphalon pots and frypans for finicky stuff. I only cook for myself, so I don’t have some things that others have mentioned here.
I use cheapish T-fal non-stick frying pans and woks. I like Le Creuset Dutch ovens. Cooks Illustrated routinely ranks various types of pans and other implements — they seem to like some All Clad stuff. In Canada, expensive cookware sets often go on sale for 70% off list, making me think a lot of it is pretty overpriced.
We were very happy with our Calphalon set for a long time, but they eventually wore out (probably to early because the lady of the house likes to stack them for storage without anything between them). We replaced them with some Circulon pans, which are working great. But they are too new to speak to their longevity.
We bought an all-clad set just after we were married, and 25 years later the stuff still looks brand new. It will last forever. My son will inherit ours, and I’ll bet it will still look new in another 25 years.
They aren’t non-stick, but because you can use abrasive cleaners with them, they are pretty easy to clean.
We bought an expensive ceramic non-stick skillet pan a couple of years ago, but it is now harder to clean than the all-clad stuff. It looks new except for a slightly discolored bottom, but it has lost a lot of its non-stick ability. And because you can’t use abrasive cleaners with it, it’s a pain to clean.
We also have a Le Creuset pot, and it’s awesome. Those things also last forever.
Farberware stainless steel for pots, and one or two frying pans my set is almost 35 years old now, none of the handles is loose at all and no issues with the pots themselves. You can go to town with a Brillo pad when you really need to. There’s just no reason to pay more for All Clad or Calphalon for everyday cooking.
And a set of 3 T-Fal Pro non-stick fry pans.
On the subject, I need a Dutch Oven with an actually properly fitting lid. I love me some Calphalon but the first time I cooked in that Dutch oven, I lost all the liquid. Now I cover it with foil AND the lid, but it’s a pain to check in on the cooking.
The classical method was to seal the lid with a rim of dough-cement, so you’re in good company.
My dutch oven is a 7 quart enameled one by Cuisinart, that I got from woot for 20 bucks 10 years or so ago, back when their deals were sweet. It has been a champ, no chipping after a hundred or so uses. It does have a permanent beige stain on the snow white bottom, but oh well, it’s just love.