Not cheap, but there are sale prices to be had on Staub cookware at the moment. Though of course the sale price is still up there!
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If I only spend $40, I have more money to travel
If I only spend $40, even if I have to replace it in 10 years (unlikely) I can be set for another 20nywars and still haven’t spent as much as I would have on a Staub. (See other discussion on thrifting, by the way)
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Those are pretty but Wow! Does anyone really pay $600? Or is that a cosmetic price, with frequent enough sales that most do not pay so much?
I waited for a sale. Patiently. For years. Think I paid around $200 or so? I wanted one, multipurpose, beautiful Dutch oven that I will use for the rest of my life. It’s proved a workhorse that helps compensate for the many shortcomings of my electric range. Braises and soups are next-level (for me) as I can cook to my desired, concentrated consistency without fussing. The results and my diminished frustration with our kitchen range were worth the wait.
So no, I myself wouldn’t pay full price though I did splurge during a sale. I’m getting joy—which of course is likewise available from other cookware, at a variety of price points.
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Many thanks for your informative reply!
My own experience in shopping the Zwilling website has been similar. As all 3 daughters have gone off to college, and/or graduated, we’ve gifted them a nice 6-and-8-inch chef’s knife. Watching always for sales on zwilling.com and on Amazon.
Edit to add - so they’ll have knives similar to what they’ve grown up using. But these newer Zwillings have a fuller bolster (if I’m using that term right) that I like a lot to help avoid finger-slip slicing, which is something I do a lot when I’m in my cups using my older Zwilling knives.
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Costco on occasion has Staub sets for sale as well. You may want to try your luck there.
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My chef pal bought himself one of the Misen knives our of curiousity…about $60 on Amazon or from the website (sign up for email discounts…usually weekly).
It’s a gorgeous knife…cuts like a dream and fits my hand (I’m one of the fortunate few allowed to touch his knives!)
It’s apparently designed as a hybrid between Eastern and Western knives, but has a full tang and lots of little features to make it comfortable (and fast) to use
I have been a loyal Wusthof girl from the time I bought my first one…but a Misen may be in the cards.
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You gonna add that to your resumé?
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American foods that I’m fond of:
My father’s side was from Mississippi, farming people. Boy could they cook! My aunt churned her own butter, made biscuits or yeast rolls every morning for breakfast. What I’m most appreciative of is church potlucks, wonderful home cooking. I’d take a spoonful of various renditions of smothered chicken, etc. (my maternal side is Italian, so 2 great cuisines) Sadly, I never got the Southern recipes BUT I have the Internet!
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I did the same (the 8" chefs) and I like it a lot. Very comfortable to use, lighter weight than my comparable Wusthof chefs. It holds an edge better than my Wusthof lineup, too. I still prefer my Wusthof 8" or 10" wide for certain tasks but for a lot of daily, lightweight chopping, I reach for the Misen.
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The Misen def keeps a better edge than the Zwilling I used to use a lot. I just recently purchased a Global that I love.
But talk about thread drift…
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I’m cool with thread drift. I try not to do it to others’ threads too much (still, guilty at times!), but I’m always happy for informative and interesting drift in my own.
I am a little sad to learn, after reading up more on the Misen knives and apparently well-educated reviewers, that I could have equipped my daughters with an arguably better set of chef’s knives for about half the price.
Live-n-learn.
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Quick tattletale tale on Trader Joe’s. Daughter 3 (age 20) was there yesterday to get GF oats and some produce, plus a bunch of cooking extracts (vanilla, almond, coconut).
The checkout lady asked to see her ID as she rang up the vanilla extract. “It’s got alcohol in it, you can’t buy it unless you’re 21.” My daughter was flummoxed - “I buy it here all the time”.
Checkout lady insisted, “No you were probably buying our alcohol free vanilla.” Daughter, getting frustrated, pointed out that it’s not vanilla. It’s vanilla flavored syrup. Lady insists (incorrectly), “No, it’s real vanilla; I can hold your stuff here if you want to run get some.”
Daughter, at this point exasperated says “No thanks, just skip the vanilla. But you’d better un-ring the almond and coconut extracts, too.”
Lady, now confused, asks “Why?”
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Wow. I’ve actually never had a bad experience with a Trader Joe’s cashier. This one must’ve been an outlier.
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Oh certainly all of her other experiences there have been good.
I’ve been seeing headlines in my “curated” feed about rolling out new training for folks who sell alcohol. I haven’t read the articles, but I can’t help but wonder if this is related.
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I tend to agree. Besides, the Costco near me turns perishable food around so fast it blows my mind. I do hate that they do the mechanical tenderization on everything, though.
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True that. The big question is kids or not. I have two kids. Will either care it’s a Staub when I’m cold? My daughter likes to cook. I think she’d appreciate it. She’s gonna get some decent stuff. That, and I’m trying to avoid Chinese made. Staub isn’t the end-all, though. Good stuff out there.
Follow-up to this comment. I didn’t get to it for a few days, but eventually made the Serious Eats recipe for lomo saltado. It was very good, thanks!
My only regret is that I can’t seem to find the really good fries (McCains) around here that @ScottinPollock mentioned and that everyone else who’d tried them agreed was the best brand for frozen fries.
Have you tried Lamb Wesson fries? They’re a favorite brand with many of my cooking peeps, although they do have a light seasoned coating.
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