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I stupidly thought picking out a new pan for myself would be easy. Find something that looked half decent and wasn’t made of cheese; job done.
After a couple of days looking at options I still can’t decide what to go for and, seemingly, don’t have anywhere nearby to go and have a look at them. So, here I am asking you lot for advice again.
Ideally I’d want something that works with induction hobs and has cooks well. So I’m leaning toward some sort of multi-ply stainless job but would consider other things too.
Quite like the way the le cruset triply ply pans look but have seen some similar ones from Samuel Grove which are possibly slightly better value if their handles aren’t too weird to use.
So, ignoring most of the above what do you all have/recommend?
I've got some Stella ones which I quite like, work well on induction too. About eight years old, in daily use and still in excellent condition.
Don't feel quite as nice as the Aga own-brand ones but are considerably cheaper.
I bought some Bourgeat stainless steel ones at the turn of the century and they are still going strong.
IKEA 365 stainless stuff for me.
There's a wee bit more scrubbing of the pan. But a Brillo pad brings it back to shiny as opposed to every teflon thing that eventually flakes. Including an IKEA 365 teflon frying pan.
We have a heavy small frying pan, mid size sauce pan and massive 5l pan. They are all 5 years old and still looking shiny.
We also have a set of Stellar pans which have had daily use for 7 years. We bought them as a set of 5 - three saucepans and two frying pans. They are used on an induction hob. They can be bought much cheaper than the link below suggests
https://stellar.co.uk/cookware/by-range/profile/stellar-profile-draining-saucepan-set-5-piece.html
We did have an issue with two where the aluminium rivets failed but they were replaced under their lifetime guarantee with no quibbles at all. The other original ones and the new ones are still in excellent condition so I think we were unlucky.
(Oh, and I repaired the damaged ones)
Would recommend the brand
We have the le creuset stainless pans..... not the really expensive ones, the other ones. Set of 3 pans, frying pan and a saute pan.
The main thing when buying stainless pans is to make sure that the rivets are stainless too - otherwise they just disintegrate in the dishwasher. We've had the LC ones for 8 years now - and they get used and run through the dishwasher daily - good as new.
We don't have anything non-stick these days, doesn't seem to last very long, even if you baby/hand wash it. Oh, and it gives you cancer apparently.
The other pans we've got are these ones solidteknics - not cheap, but will outlive me.
Yeah, as above watch out for alu rivets on stainless steel pans. Dishwashers eat them, or maybe some dishwasher tablets eat them. not sure? I repaired the lid handle by using stainless bolts from accu, but the same fix wouldn't be a seal on the main pan, so did a warranty claim and le creuset sent a new one. Now it's hand washing for pans as I think most of the other pans we have have alu rivets.
We have the le creuset stainless pans..... not the really expensive ones, the other ones.
We have the expensive ones (two large pans, one small pan and chef's pan as below). They're very good, but we dare not put them in the dishwasher.
My top tip for buying pans is to get a chef's pan (which is kind of like a deep frying pan with a lid) - we have one and it gets used a lot for making curry etc.
Stellar also very good - we inherited a couple of Stellar pans from my M-i-L.
If you have a Boundary Mill or equivalent not far from you, or JL you can go and have a look?
Anything with "wok" in the punchline.
Sorry, misread the thread title
I have some stainless ones my mum bought me for my first house in 2004, she got them in John Lewis, they're good.
If you're after non-stick, I've had Kitchen Aid pans for 20+ years and they have been amazing.
Always hand washed, only using wooden implements and they're spotless / like new inside.
Also got some similar age stainless pans (Meyer) which still look new - again, only hand washed.
Pro Cook Stainless Steel have been good here for 5 years on an induction hob / dishwasher, though the rivets on the lid handles shrink over time (aluminium?) so eventually the handles detach from the lid.
Given up on non-stick as they never survive the dishwasher despite what they say, also trying to move away from forever chemicals / carcinogens. Only takes a little more attention to cook with.
Ikea 365 stuff always seems good.
#RecommendWhatYouHave
After going through several "good" branded but ultimately garbage frying pans I have a Scoville and it is excellent. Buy online or instore exclusive to ASDA. If I was in gainful employment I'd replace every other pan in the house with similar in a heartbeat.
My top tip for buying pans is to get a chef's pan (which is kind of like a deep frying pan with a lid)
This.
(It's also known as a sauté pan)
Years ago I bought a used De Buyer Affinity sauté pan on eBay. Their Affinity range are very high grade polished stainless with a 5 layer aluminium sandwich and potentially bonkers expensive.
It was a game changer for me. It probably gets used 5 times a week and still looks like new. It's incredibly useful, a joy to cook with and the one pan you really need. I'm buying one for each of my daughters when they move into their own places.
I'm not saying only buy De Buyer ..... there are other good makes but just don't go cheap - I also have a 3 layer Mauviel sauté pan and I can tell the difference in heat distribution when cooking with it. If you spend the money now you may never need to replace it.
(oh and don't put pans in the dish washer)
Are you looking for a single pan or a set?
For everything except frying pans -
I've got a set of Meyer 'professional' pans that I bought when I got my first flat nearly 30 years ago. They weren't super expensive, but hard to justify replacing them with anything nicer as they're still good and I can't imagine anything else working much better (and we've been on induction for 10 years).
So I suppose what would I look for if buying again?
- mine look like the pan top is bonded/welded to a sandwich base (that's probably what separates them from really good pans) - so theres a ring that must be alu as it's pitted after 30 years of dishwashers. I'd want something smooth edged inside and out.
- anything with a non stick coating will have a short life. Even our le cruset non stick frying pan (thats about £150 now) and has never been used with anything but wood and plastic tools, and has never been in the dishwasher has a coating that's no longer anything like as good as when new. If you're buying coated pans no point spending big money.
- we've got a few pans that came with Siemens induction hob. (Shulte Ufer branded). They're surprisingly good - I really like the glass lids (though they get grubby under the handle) and the volume markings on the inside. It looks like they might have changed their supplier but there are always loads of sets cheap on eBay where people already have pans and get them free. RRP is meant to be £160ish but you can pick them up for about £25.
I'm frying meat. Since I bought a good cast iron pan my De Buyer Elemet Metal hasn’t been out of the drawer, but for either don't underestimate the importance of seasoning and care - no soap EVER.
Get one that has the option of a well-fitting silicone handle cover, they get HOT.
Quite like the way the le cruset triply ply pans look but have seen some similar ones from Samuel Grove which are possibly slightly better value if their handles aren’t too weird to use.
I have a couple of Samual Groves. Quite expensive but lovely to use. Heavily riveted handles. They also offer a refurb service in case your pans need properly cleaning.
Ikea or John Lewis, plain stainless steel ones. I have the John Lewis set I got as a wedding present in 2003, they're still in perfect nick, my mum has Ikea pans that were bought in 1999, ditto.
We got the le creuset ones as a wedding gift in 2003 and are used daily on induction and are still like new.
Just purchased some ProCook stainless steel ones - so far a million times better than the salter ones they replaced.
I've got a Kuhn Rikon culinary 5 ply chef pan. Got it in a sale and it's excellent. Completely stainless, welded handles so no rivets to corrode or loosen, also very nice not having the rivet heads inside the pan. It's also got rolled edges so the aluminium core isn't exposed, means it can go in the dishwasher. I never put it in as it's so big, but nice knowing it can.
Prefer the curved sided chef pan style to the flat sided saute pan. Bit more versatile for saucy dishes.
Any 3 to 5 ply stainless branded ones should be sufficient. There are plenty at Fenwick and John Lewis or if you are lucky at TK Maxx like Kitchen Aid. The nickel free stainless steel tends to be more expensive.
Any 3 to 5 ply stainless branded ones should be sufficient. There are plenty at Fenwick and John Lewis or if you are lucky at TK Maxx like Kitchen Aid. The nickel free stainless steel tends to be more expensive.
Another vote for Stellar. the alu rivets on ours died over many years in the dishwasher, they sent us a new set in exchange for photos of the old ones, no problems. The pans now have steel rivets, and they recommend hand washing the lids as they still have to have (apparently) alu ones.
They are nice pans to use, too 🙂
oh I went through all this and went with Circulon, which certainly does the job very well so far but I have no idea what its overall position is in the grand pantheon of pans
Prefer the curved sided chef pan style to the flat sided saute pan. Bit more versatile for saucy dishes.
I must admit I do fancy one of those if I can find a nice one at the right price.
Another vote for ProCook. I bought some towards the end of last year after recommendation on here. Really impressed with the pans, well made, good weight and at a very reasonable price and good service in the shop. I popped into one of their stores and was generally very impressed by all of their range.
Still using a set of prestige stainless pans from our wedding in 1990 they take a lot of hammer but have a lifetime guarantee, we have thrown out lots of cheap non stick pans. Not sure if they work on induction hobs .
We're still using the same Stellar stainless pans (with a couple of extra Meyers) that we got on our wedding list some 21 years ago. Work on induction too.
Mother in law has been through 3 sets of PFAS and aluminium rubbish in the same time.
I must admit I do fancy one of those if I can find a nice one at the right price.
Lidl have decent non-stick ones for under £20 sometimes.
Got my ex one after she'd been admiring my similar Kitchen Aid version.
And no, that's not why she's my ex.
I love my La Creuset big pan, use it for alsmost every meal. Bought the poshest IKEA ones for extras and they are fantastic, heavy enough stainless lovely things.
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/hemkomst-saucepan-with-lid-stainless-steel-glass-40513159/
Buy the individual pans so you aren’t doubling up on any that you still have.