I think Green Pan depends on a client base that doesn’t know how to cook.
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People buying entire sets of non-stick cookware. A subset of this practice is believing the claims that the particular nonstick is invincibly durable and abuse proof, and then proceeding to treat it in ways I wouldn’t treat even my non non-stick cookware. And then they wonder what went wrong and start the wasteful purchase cycle all over again. The photos on Reddit are terrifying.
Full disclosure: I do own 2 non-stick skillets. I replace them rarely, only when I get bored and feel like buying something new. I’ve never worn any of them out, probably because I never expect the pan to be totally non-stick, and treat it as such, always cooking with a little fat or oil. Note non-stick is a helper, not a solution. I don’t plop a naked egg in the pan, “fry” it and slide it around with a flourish for the camera.
You just need to AVOID using non stick pans on high heat and only use silicone utensils in them.
Then they’ll last for half a decade. That’s enough for me to justify using it.
I have other pans for high heat searing jobs.
Carbon steel pans never were the proper successor and replacement for non stick pans in my household and trust me I’ve owned a dozen CS top brand pans and had them 5+ years before I finally dumped them.
Most people I know who heavily uses nonstick have already treated them as disposables. They literally budget to get a new nonstick cookware every one to two years. I used to inherit and bought many nonstick cookware (think that college to grad school years). It wasn’t until 2-3 years into my graduate school, then I wanted to switch out of nonstick cookware, and it has nothing to do with health concerns. It is just to try to save money in the long run. I figure even a $200-300 stainless steel cladded cookware will be cheaper than a $30 nonstick cookware that I need to constantly replace.
Environmental /health concerns aside, there’s just something in me that hates the fact that so much stuff is disposable, quality-wise. Not only does it cost a lot to keep replacing, there’s the aggravation of no dependability and the annoyance of spending time replacing things that logically shouldn’t have to be replaced. . It’s instructive that so many young people like to shop for vintage clothing; the stuff from today is so poorly made that it will never survive long enough to become vintage.
I remember the first cookware I got in college: a small Teflon aluminum saucepan (probably from the 5 -and-10 like Woolworths, another Teflon brasier-like pan with a copper colored lid (it was aluminum - could double on the stove or in the over ) a cast iron frying pan (still have it) and an aluminum soup/stockpot. A granite ware roaster and that was it; maybe I had a cookie sheet, didn’t buy any more cookware for 5 or 6 years. A cookware set was for magazine displays.
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The talk of can openers reminds me of the engineer, the chemist, and the economist stranded on a desert island. Their lifeboat, thankfully, was loaded with lots of canned food, but they had no can opener. The engineer began to reconnoiter for items from which he could fashion one. The chemist began inventorying plants and the soils and rocks to see if he could compound a chemical solution that would not be harmful to ingest but would eat a hole in a can. The economist put up his index finger and said, “Assume a can opener.” Groan.
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It is comforting to have a kitchen stocked with things that will serve my children well that I know they will enjoy and love.
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My SIL inherited a complete set of absolutely mint, vintage jadeite nesting mixing bowls.
I was with her the first time she broke them out to use them, then of course insisted on putting them in the dishwasher. When I protested, she said she didn’t care if it was bad for them, because she wasn’t attached enough to them to care if their condition deteriorated.
I collect mid-century dishware, but not jadeite. It still pained me very much. I eventually found myself buying the same set (at considerable expense) even though I don’t collect jadeite, and when I asked myself why I was doing so, the only reason I could come up with was my distress at my SIL’s behavior. So dumb!
Then recently I was standing at my sink washing EVERY SINGLE THING in my kitchen after being away for three years, and of course I dropped and broke one of the bowls in the set.
Ugh.
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Oh noes… sorry. I have a j’adore mug I’m very fond of using. And yes, it’s gotten stained
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That should read “jadeite” not j’adore, although j’adore the mug. My autocorrect is stuck somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic.
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Picture this: an in-law walks into my kitchen when I’m cooking and insists on washing dishes that are on the counter, ignoring my instructions to not do so, and getting in my way in the process. The imbecile washes a Dutch oven and puts it into the other sink on top of my champagne flutes that are soaking there. When I protest she tells me she’s not going to leave it there. The wife gets taken aside and gets told in no uncertain terms to get the idiot out of my kitchen immediately!
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I post this question with a great deal of trepidation, but nothing ventured…
I just moved back to my home state and am in the process of buying a house that I intend to be my “forever” home. I hope they carry me out of it feet first many years from now. But when I left my old home I gave away almost all my furniture and cookware. I kept my 8 quart T-Fal Stockpot and a few favorite mismatched tools and knives but no cookware.
I am an enthusiastic but unskilled cook. The thing I loved about my T-Fal stockpot is that I could simmer stews for hours and not have to scrape the bottom of the pot to get it clean. It was never completely non-stick but it was good enough.
So now I am thinking about getting a set of cook ware and would love some advice from people that know cook ware. My first choice was a T-Fal Advanced Nonstick (Titanium branding) because it matches my one favorite stockpot. Then I saw a review of Cuisinart TPS-10 Professional Performance Tri Ply and it was supposed to be even better. But I realize that 10 or 12 piece sets priced below $150 are not really great cook ware. Is there a price point that gets you more bang for the buck?
On a similar front, I recognize that you can find a substantially better bottle of Cab Sauv for $20 than you can for $12 and I will pay the $20 for a nice meal. This even though I can taste a bit of an improvement with the $40 bottles of wine, but I will not pay $40 for a slightly better bottle. It seems like there is a point of diminishing returns in wine and I wonder if there is in cook ware too? Knowing that it is different for everyone, is there a type of cook ware set that may be more than $300 but is worth it because it is noticeably better?
Sorry for the disjointed explanation/request, but any cook ware advice would be greatly appreciated!
Mods, if the threadjack is too egregious, please feel free to delete this.
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I suppose you could buy a “set”, but is that what you really need? For tri-ply stainless steel and nonstick, Tramontina is high quality and an excellent value. So is Lodge for cast iron.
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My well seasoned 10" Lodge is one of the few items i kept, despite its weight.
I will definitely look at Tramontina. Thanks!
It’s not much different than using styrofoam coffee cups.
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Our first set was somewhat ironically named “JC Penney Professional Gourmet” (I mean, there weren’t any other JCP-branded sets at the time to compare against). It was hard anodized, 4mm thick, and non-stick coated. I’ve still got a couple of the bigger pots around almost 30 years later. It was really an entry level set, cheap, but there was nothing wrong with it and and I got a lot of use out of it.
Similarly about 15 years later I got a hard anodized NS Anolon branded set. I can’t remember the price but I’m sure it was pretty cheap (knowing me back then). Most of the pieces have been replaced, but I’m still using the 8 quart stock pot and 2 of the sauce pans.
About 4 years ago I bought 4 Calphalon HA, NS “Signature”-branded sets using my MIL’s Costco account. They were $150 each (online at Amazon and Calphalon were (and still are) $465). I’m gifting one each to my daughters as they graduate college and start out on their first longer-term apartments (plus one set for me). From “my” set I’ve only used the large skillet, which failed after 10 months of daily eggs scrambled in ghee. By “failed”, I mean the center of the coating started thinning down to the metal, then the thinned area spread until it covered about 80% of the diameter, making it more or less worthless as a non-stick. My oldest daughter reports her skillets from the set are starting to do the same thing, and eggs/omelets are mostly what they use the skillets for, too.
All the above to say, I don’t see anything wrong with buying a cheaper set and using it with some care and getting hopefully 10+ years from it. The T-FAL Titanium set is currently $108 on Amazon and the ratings split between 1+2+3 stars vs 4+5 stars is 8% vs 92%, whereas my Calphalon set at $465 on Amazon has 10% vs. 90%. Maybe price/expectation skews these results a bit, but in general people are pretty damned happy with the $110 T-FAL set. My only caution with that one in particular is the weight - basically same number of pans is ~ 1/2 the weight of the Calphalon, so heat holding might not be great, and warping might be an issue. With the Cuisinart TPS, are you jumping into a different category? I didn’t see a NS version specifically called TPS, but saw a Cuisinart HA NS set running $160 that looks decent and I’d pick it over the $110 T-FAL set just because it’s HA and heavier.
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The Cuisinart triply is excellent stuff. BBB (at least here) has it on open stock. I also love carbon steel fry pans. They are tough and easy to season. Even if they are not seasoned a smidge of oil and butter makes them slippery enough for omelettes. Or you could go the great used stuff and down the rabbit hole that is heavy tinned copper. For much of the copper experience without the weight and need for re-tinning, heavy aluminum is another great choice. Happy hunting and all the best on the new home!
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I’ve given 2 sets of it as gifts.
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Scott, Kaleo, CCE, Tim, Meekah, thank you all for your input! I feel better knowing that I have had some more experienced cooks share this info with me. I am going to drive into the big city (Missoula) this weekend so I can actually put my hands on these cookware sets and see how they feel. If the price is even close to Amazon I will buy from the store. I feel like I have three different options that all would be a winner for me.
Thanks again!
And to put this threadjack to an end and get back on subject.
I have a Green+ Pan that conveyed with the short term rental I am in for the next month and it requires either butter or EVOO to cook my morning eggs over easy. I do not think it is an old pan, it was just one that was so worn that the previous tenant did not bother to take with them when they left. LOL!
It still looks good, it just does not have much in the way of non-stick property left in it.
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A short “Honeymoon” period is a common bitch about Green Pan. I know the maker has changed the lining materials several times to try to extend the hydrophobicity. What I have not heard are any Hallelujahs that the problem has been solved.
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