The Great Debate
I’ve been dared to join the battle — over cookware.
I’ll say it right out front: I’m a Calphalon guy.
Is All-Clad better than Calphalon? It certainly is. Is it worth the 25%-40% premium they usually get over Calphalon? Not a chance.
I took the (expensive) dive into Calphalon ten years ago, buying a complete set of their commercial-grade anodized aluminum cookware. The advantages of anodized aluminum are that it heats quickly and evenly (assuming an uniform thickness throughout, which the commercial stuff has), and with the triple-riveted handles, it will last a lifetime. Or two. With proper care, my grandkids will be using my stuff. Another advantage is that the anodization process creates an amazingly hard surface. It’s not non-stick — not by a longshot — but with a good Scotch Bright pad, there’s nothing you can’t clean off the stuff.
The disadvantage is, everything sticks to it. Don’t try frying bacon in one, unless you want to add extra oil or are planning on reducing them to bacon bits.
So I bought a couple of Calphalon’s commercial non-stick frying pans. They’re only double-riveted, and a non-stick surface isn’t permanent. I doubt they’ll last my lifetime, but they’re also cheap compared to the aluminum pieces. I’m happy with them for what they are — inexpensive, good-quality non-stick pans.
Then I realzed I needed some copper stuff.
Look, nothing cooks like copper. Nothing. So, semi-serious cook that I am, I started pricing All-Clad’s copper stuff last year. And I damn near had a heart attack. A copper exterior, wrapped around an aluminum core, with a semi-non-stick, non-reactive, stainless steel interior. But I’d already written a check for our honeymoon, and another check for her wedding gift — and so new copper cookware was out of the question.
Then Calphalon came out with a near-identical copper line, called Tri-Ply Copper — at about 2/3rds the price. And that was before they started offering discounts.
So far, we have a six-quart stock pot, a three-quart chef’s pan, a 2.5-quart sauce pan, and a five-quart saute pan. The only thing I’m sorry about is, I’m going to have to play favorites in my will — leave the aluminum to the naughty child and the copper to the nice one.
And All-Clad? It’s great stuff, but I just can’t see spending the money on it.
Hmm… I have a set of the commercial-grade Calphalon cookware that we recieved as a wedding gift about 10 years ago, and I do not have any of the ‘sticking problems.’ And, I can fry bacon with no problems….
Don’t want to question the chef, but do you cook at too high of temp? Just asking, because when my wife uses them seems like everything sticks for her and she doesn’t know how to use the knobs on the stove top.
I also season them, like you would do with cast iron (but only on the inside) occasionaly.
I have the Calphalon One anodized set, and they’re more or less all I cook with. Just can’t kill them. Never had a problem with things sticking, but I do bacon in the several generation old cast iron pan my mom gave me. It just tastes better.
I had toyed around with the idea of getting some of the tri-ply copper pans, as they do look pretty, but I never could justify blowing the coin on something likely to sit on my wall looking pretty while I cooked everything in the never-say-die aluminum stuff.
I’m 100% anodized-aluminum Calphalon myself. Sticking is an issue (use oil), but the combination of conductivity, cleanup, ridiculous sturdiness, and thermal mass make them hard to beat. They are also well-nigh continually available at a discount, if you know where to shop.
If you are looking for something to spend some folding money on in the kitchen, skip the copper pans and go for a Kyocera ceramic knife. Sharper than a razor, light as a feather, and impossible to get dirty, let alone stain. Got one for Christmas and fell in love immediately. You’ll go from “They want how much for that!?” to “What took me so long?” in about three uses.
And to think I just use cast-iron for everything (short of stock-pot and water-heating, for which I use stainless)…
(Sticking? Bacon grease will keep anything from sticking!)
My personal preference is cast iron. A bit Neaderthal perhaps. Ever so slow to heat up due to rather large thermal mass. Nothing sticks to it. Never a hot spot.
It does suck to use on electric stoves, and does not take to dropping into the sudsy sink.
So, in our house we use Calaphon. And I take my cast iron camping. And none of my camp pals seem to mind at all.
Ed
I’m Glenn’s All-Clad correspondent, so I’ll make the pitch against anodized. (Note: There are plenty of other decent cladded sets out there at a better price than All-Clad. Cuisinart MultiClad is much cheaper, Kitchenaid Five-Ply lists for as much as All-Clad, but is discounted much more often. All-Clad [with the exception of their loss-leader useless pans like 7 inch saute pans and butter warmers] simply never gets discounted – I think it’s contractual.)
I had a set of Calphalon Commercial pans and originally loved the set. Lighter than the All-Clad, but heat well and are modestly stick-proof (buy a cheap nonstick pan to cook eggs). But no matter how hard that anodized surface is, it can still be scratched, especially by other pieces of Calphalon. A few years of my lovely bride shoving the pans too close together in the dishwasher or stacking them in the cabinet (she has no appreciation for cookware – sigh) and the scratches appear. And as soon as you have some interior scratches, say goodbye to cooking anything that contains an acid (tomatoes, wine, etc.). The raw aluminum from the center will turn your food grey and make it taste like iron fillings.
The stainless steel interiors of All-Clad and the like are well-nigh indestructable (the steel layer is much thicker than the thin layer of anodized aluminum can ever be) and polish out real nicely with a little Bar Keeper’s Friend. And you can pop them into a blazing hot oven with no worries except scortching your hand when you forget to use the heavy-duty welding gloves to take the thing out of the oven…
My contribution to the Friday Recipe:
Strip Steak au Poivre
Ingredients
1-2 2″ thick strip steaks (if you don’t have a good local butcher, Costco has surprisingly fine meat)
Your favorite brown liquor (Cognac and Jack Daniels around these parts, but any good whisky or bourbon will do)
Chicken stock
Cream
Shallots
Garlic
Dijon Mustard
Green Peppercorns
Smoked salt (hard to find – try the Spice House in Evanston – otherwise just use kosher or sea salt)
Black pepper
Preparation
Bring steaks to room temperature. Mince a few cloves of garlic and a shallot or two.
Preheat oven to 500F.
Season steaks with smoked salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper.
Heat pan over high heat until it fairly glows. Add peanut or canola oil. Sear steaks on both sides (1-2 minutes per side) for a nice crust. Pop one of those probe thermometers into one of the steaks and pop the whole pan into the oven until the temperature reaches 135-140F (the “rare” setting on some thermometers), usually around 8-10 minutes.
Pull the pan out of the oven (carefully!), remove the steaks to a warm platter (the holdover heat will end up bringing them to medium-rare) and place the pan on low heat. Deglaze pan with 1/4-1/2cup of your favorite brown liquor, scraping up all the crackly goodness. Reduce to syrup consistency (1-2 minutes) Toss shallots and garlic in pan along with about 1/2cup of chicken stock. Reduce by half (1-2 minutes). Turn off heat, add 1T of Dijon, 1T of green peppercorns and 1-2T of cream. Swirl until mixed thoroughly, lightly crush peppercorns with fork, pour over steaks, and enjoy.
Add a nice Caesar salad, skip the spuds, and it’s Atkins diet friendly to boot!
Ack! Forgot one part of the Strip Steak recipe – add two good pinches of fine-quality dried thyme to the above at the same time as the shallots, garlic and stock.
Bon Appetit!
I just upgraded to Chantal, enamel over iron, which does need some tender care to avoid chipping it, but oh, the omlets that come out of the non-stick skillet, and the sauces from out of the saucier! Worth every penny, and I don’t need to worry about odd flavors leaching out of the aluminium or iron.
Steven, if you allow the pan to heat up first before placing the bacon in it, you shouldn’t have a problem with sticking. At least that works for me.
Kitchen Blogging Mayhem
Glenn started it, asking about All-Clad vs. Emirl (by All-Clad) at half the price. Now Stephen Green has chimed in, and Glenn responded and opened comments for the first time in forever. Melissa and I registered for All-Clad for our…
Anodized aluminum is good, to be sure. Mine is from a company called Cooks’ Essentials and is nonstick. It’s a huge upgrade over anything else I’ve tried, which doesn’t include All-Clad. I’ve used commercial-grade Calphalon at a girlfriend’s place but, probably because I had the burner as high as I would for regular cookware, had some sticking issues with a simple omelet.
First, buy the cheapest, heaviest aluminum pans you can find. I have a huge frying pan by ToroWare that cost $15.
Annodize it yourself. It’s not hard, a tub, some sulphuric acid, and a battery charger.
http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize99.html
next week: making ice cream with liquid nitrogen…
Consumer Reports agrees with you. They rate the Calphalon the “Best Buy”.
Brian Enst comments: “All-Clad…simply never gets discounted – I think it’s contractual.”
If true that would violate Federal Fair Trade laws. The Supreme Court ruled on this issue in the 1970′s. A manufacturer can’t dictate the retail price of it’s product. That’s why you always see MSRP which means “manufacturers suggested retail price”. The keyword being “suggested”.
There may however be an unwritten understanding that any retailer who discounts finds his supply line gets sluggish.
I swear by my Scanpan cookwear. They are a non-stick cookwear made from titanium and are guaranteed for life. They are totally dishwasher-safe and you can use metal utensils in them with nary a scratch. The only drawback is that they are a bit pricey, but I love ‘em!
Manufacturers, though, are allowed to set a minimum advertised price, which is exactly what it sounds like. The next time you’re at a bookstore, flip to the big ad section at the back of any photography magazine. Notice how most of the camera bodies have “call” listed where the price would be – MAP policies at work
I’m afraid I’m with Sigivald and Ed. I am a cast iron Luddite of the old school. Learned how to cook with ‘em when I was a boy, and I believe an old “cured” cast iron skillet is essential to that home cooked flavor. I never have problems with sticking, and to clean them up I just rinse, scour slightly without soap, then heat to disinfect the pan.
These new-fangled pans make me nervous.
All Clad does in fact get discounted – just not at the big stores – like Macys.
You have to go to a mom/pop store – like “a cooks companion” on Atlantic Avenue in Brookly (recently moved up the block and across the street from its old sluggish location, to right next door to sahadi)
Their sales may be a thing of the past though, a 200 ft (literally) move across the street seems to have made all the difference for this perennially struggling store – they now have ALL of the Sahadi foot traffic, and have been packed on saturday and sunday since the move. Its not just the holiday, its Sahadi – which ill leave for someone else to explain… its too bizaar.
In terms of All-Clad and discounts, I have no inside knowledge thereof, but I’ve observed it fairly consistently for years now.
I have gone to literally dozens of cookware stores, and the same pans are always within 4 pennies of each other at any store I can mention (some stores will end at .95, others at .99). Bed, Bath and Beyond periodically sends me “20% off anything in the store” coupons – but the fine print always says “Excluding All-Clad”. I’ve even been to a “Going Out of Business” sale and the All-Clads are still listed at full price.
This is not to say that its impossible to get a discount on All-Clad. Some Bed, Bath and Beyond employees have poor eyesight, and I’m still not sure if not volunteering information is technically lying… >;-)
It’s not just All-Clad that has this weird ability to prevent even big-box discounters from selling their products cheaply – ever try to buy an iPod for less than list? Unless you go gray market, it can’t (or at least couldn’t) be done. Even an ultra-hot product will be discounted somewhere, even if it’s just a bait and switch to generate some foot traffic. But All-Clad, Apple, and Wusthof seem to be able to suspend the rules…
I haven’t bought pots or pans in a few years, because the All-Clad (and one or two Cuisinart pans) I’ve got have lasted. I do have one Calphalon product, it’s a large roasting pan. I like it, and my early fears that it wouldn’t perform as well over burners have proven mostly un-founded. It has the advantage of being light, as well.
It seems to me that, years ago when I purchased my last few All-Clad pieces (those that weren’t given as wedding presents, for example), I bought on sale. There was a small cookware store on Decatur street in New Orleans that closed some years ago, and it seems like I bought at least pot or two on sale there. You can also occasionally see the odd piece on sale at Williams-Sonoma. This place seems to have some All-Clad “Master Chef” on sale…
Here’s one tip: if you are looking for a stock pot, look at Piazza. I’ve got a 12 quart, and an 18 quart, and they’re pure sex. At least to the extent you think making stock is sexy. That sounded better in my head…
Bacon shouldn’t stick to a calphalon pan, whether you start it cold or hot, by the way. I’m curious as to what’s going on there. The only thing I can think is that you’re trying to move it too quickly? Start it in a cold pan, then put it on medium-low to low heat long enough for the bacon to begin to render some fat. It shouldn’t be a problem.
I got hooked on Circulon stuff about fifteen years ago. They have a nice Commercial Grade line, but even the standard stuff is pretty good. Double rivets on the standard, triple on the Commercial.
They’re hard-anodized aluminum, with a good non-stick interior. What’s unusual is the continuous spiral groove which starts dead-center in each pot/pan, and goes all the way across the bottom and up the sides, all the way to the top.
As years of cooking tend to wear down non-stick, only the very top of the spiraled ridge gets worn. The other 95% of the cooking surface stays nonstick. I’ve never worn one out.
They also cook very evenly, and the lighter, standard versions heat up quick as you please, even on electric.
The only downside is the molded grips on the riveted stainless handles. Not 100% oven-friendly. 375 is about as hot as they’ll take.
My prefered knives are the commercial versions of Chicago Cutlery. Carbon steel blades aren’t glamourous, but they’re bulletproof knives at good prices. Avoid the mass merchant Chicago knives though. Pure junk.
But nothing takes the place of a good Cast Iron Lodge skillet and Dutch Oven.
I’d love to have ‘em, but being so heavy, they’d make my 30′ floating home list excessively to port.
Unacceptable, as my politics are decidely to starboard.
Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX
I vorte: Cast iron for 70% of my needs, All-Clad for the foofy stuff. My stepkids wonder why my food tastes better than their mom’s ever did, and they just don’t believe me when I tell them it’s partly the pans (but mostly the cook.)
Calphalon’s OK, I guess — never used it, cuz I just don’t like the idea of aluminum — remember the Vega? I buy All-Clads when I can afford it, and now I’ve got everything I need. Unless I’m forced at gunpoint to cook a paella. Guess I’ll grab a cast-iron skillet and heave it at the gunman.
Forget the politics — let’s talk pots and pans
Two of my favourite current events bloggers, Instapundit (Professor Glenn Reynolds) and Vodkapundit (Stephen Green) are weighing in on cookware. Instapundit’s even opened up comments from his readers on this one, albeit briefly. If you’re in the market…
GPS, Work and more…
It’s 4am in the morning and I’m only now settling down to go to sleep. It’s nights like this that make me wish I had a different job. I can’t seem to get to sleep earlier than 2-3am anymore. I’ve…
Reid writes: “Brian Enst comments: “All-Clad…simply never gets discounted – I think it’s contractual.”
If true that would violate Federal Fair Trade laws. The Supreme Court ruled on this issue in the 1970′s. A manufacturer can’t dictate the retail price of it’s product. ”
Gee Reid. Have you visited a Saturn car dealer lately?
I use the Calphalon commercial anodized as well – for everything but eggs. For a long time I tried to get the butter or *shudder* PAM to keep things non-sticky, but no more. I bought a Calph non-stick (with glass dome ild) and love it – but again, only for eggs or some other similar item.
I love my Crueset stock pot – which does everything well and heats so truly.
I use Henckels knives (Global are cool too, although their style can sometimes interfere with function) and just make sure to keep them sharp.
Copper is out for me. With the humidity and salt air I have here on the islands, it’s going to be worthless within three weeks of my purchase.
So my big question is this: considering that I cook at least two meals a day from scratch and that I’m a pretty damn good cook at that (with a couple of HGTV awards, even), how on earth can I justify the price of All-Clad or Calphalon to a husband who thinks my “Maker’s Mark” set from Sam’s Choice is the creme de la creme? (Nevermind that I was asking for La Creuset?)
You are all a bunch of imperialist pikers. The only cookware worth its weight in gold is, well, gold cookware. Doesn’t stick. Doesn’t stain. Has tremendous thermal mass. Easy to clean. And holds its value generation after generation. Ah, those were the days…