Finally, a decent set of pans!
Written: Feb 18 '03 (Updated Feb 23 '03)
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Pros: Fast, even heating, easy clean-up, high quality materials
Cons: Clean it well before you first use it!
The Bottom Line: Don't suffer along with sub-standard cookware when really good stuff is so inexpensive!!
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We've all sat through the demonstrations at the State Fair watching the salesman go through his pitch selling waterless cookware. Everything he says is true. There are a thousand reasons why you would want to use it. Then he comes to the price. . . Without blinking an eye, they try to convince you that their set of pans is worth roughly the same as a 3-year old Buick. I've seen them charging in excess of $3,000 for a complete set. Unfortunately the only people who buy it are those who can least afford it.
Well, here's the alternative. This set is every bit as good, if not better than the set at the fair, and is generally available for less than $250 delivered to your door. I've purchased two sets now, one for each of my daughters as they started college. The stuff is wonderful to use, cleans up easily, heats rapidly and allows you to use a much lower heat setting for cooking.
You MUST however, clean it well prior to using it first. The pans have a very light coating of oil from the factory that will stain the exteriors if you heat them over the stove before cleaning it off. After that, you're home free.
The pans are wonderful for browning meat, unlike many non-stick pans, and clean-up is a breeze. I've found that even "burnt-on" stuff comes off easily with just a few minutes of soaking in the sink.
One of the things you have to get used to is cooking at a lower setting. The pans conduct the heat from your stove throughout the walls of the pan unlike most of your others. The net effect is that your foods cook faster, at a lower temperature.
The lids have a nice feature built into them too. They each have a steam valve to allow you to really take advantage of their ability for low-temperature cooking. Leave the valve open with the heat turned to medium. When steam starts to appear through the open valve, turn the heat down (way down) and close the valve. A small vacuum will form inside the pan as the pan cools but the food will continue to cook. It works quite well. (Just like the huckster told you at the State Fair) Only now, you don't have to pay thousands of dollars for the last set of cookware you'll ever have to buy!
The 17-piece set consists of a 1.7qt covered saucepan, 2.5qt covered saucepan, a 3.2qt covered saucepan, 7.5qt covered roaster, 11-3/8" skillet, a double boiler unit with a capsule bottom so you can use it as a 3qt saucepan, 5 egg cups (for poached eggs), a 5-hole utility rack and high dome cover with capsule bottom so you can use the lid as a super deep frying pan. (The high-dome lid fits on both the skillet and the roaster).
I wish I had known about these when I got married. My wife and I suffered through 27 years of lousy (brand-name) stuff because we didn't know any better.
So, run, don't walk, over to eBay and pick one of the many online retailers who sell this and get yourself a set. You won't regret it. As Justin Wilson, the Cajun humorist would say, "I guarantee it!"
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 225.
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Epinions.com ID:
letaylor
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Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 0 members
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