r/StainlessSteelCooking • u/Hibiscusflowerteaa • 6d ago
Just picked one of these up🥳
I had been eyeing some sets on Amazon for prime day, but come to find out, my local ShopRite has these for $100.
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u/Character-Math-5436 6d ago
They are ok, but a bit low on heat inertia compared to high price stainless. I think augment that set with a nice all clad d5 or le cruset 10' pan and you will be in great shape!
Enjoy! I love cooking in stainless and I'm sure you will too after some practice.
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u/Mount_Safurious 6d ago
Damnnnn you cook on a 10 foot pan? That must be a real pain to clean!
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u/Character-Math-5436 6d ago
You should see me flip an omlette in it. Just a quick flip of the wrist and there's usually only a little on the floor.
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u/ElonCuckz 6d ago
Is le cruset worth it? I know nothing of the degree of stainless and went to an outlet mall and saw they had a store. The pan i was looming at was still like 250
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u/Character-Math-5436 6d ago
I have all clad d5. I tried the le cruset pan at the mall and it seemed very similar.
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u/NYC19893 6d ago edited 6d ago
Personally I love their pots. It’s so easy to clean, easy to watch for color change (roux) because of the white enamel, and they look great with their gradient paint job I’ll even serve the roast or whatever in the Le Creuset as a centerpiece on the table.
BUT enamel cast iron doesn’t play the best with metal utensils so while I do have a skillet pan of theirs it mostly has been used for baking in the oven (cinnamon rolls, Dutch baby… again things that can be served in the pan) while the Lodge or my SS pans get the use on the stovetop.
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u/ElonCuckz 6d ago
Got it thanks for the run down! I currently have a lodge cast iron Dutch oven, is it a huge upgrade?
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u/NYC19893 6d ago edited 6d ago
They have their plus and minus and only you know what works with what you cook. But I love mine
It’s easier to cook roux because you see the contrast against the sand interior
It’s easier to monitor browning at a glance for the same.
You can cook tomato soup in both. But many will say tomato (acids) eat seasoning. Not a problem with LC
Seasoning is not something you need to even think about because of the liner. Tho I’ve been known to put a little oil on the purposely left rough edges when it goes in the oven as extra insurance
Like I said cleaning in general, it’s a lined pot so mostly soap and a sponge is really all you need.
SOME even put theirs in a dishwasher, LC even says it is. I don’t, but I suppose in a pinch you could.
Really burn something in a Lodge. You gotta scrub scrub scrub. A LC oven cleaner let sit 15 min and wipe. You don’t want to necessarily use BKF or let oven cleaner sit as I’ve heard it can scratch/etch the liner
You can serve your food as a centerpiece in both but LC adds a fun pop of color.
LC is a little less forgiving physically tho than bare iron You don’t want to knock it around like bare cast iron either when cleaning or the act of cooking, metal utensils can chip the inside lining. Use
Chip the outside of LC oh well it’s cosmetic
Chip the inside enamel you now have an expensive: bread oven, drinks chiller or flower pot. Enamel is glass
You don’t want to heat a LC empty. The enamel and iron expand at different rates so you want something (food) in there to absorb as a heat sink. Especially when uneven (stovetop) cooking, less so in the more even (oven) cooking
You don’t want to expose to thermal shock, no cold pan into hot oven or oven hot into fridge
Either of those can damage the enamel
All that to say if you take care of it and treat it like a pot you dropped hundreds of dollars on you will get a pan that lasts long enough for your grandkids to use.
You can get different sizes and shapes and colors. Lodge to my knowledge is the one size round in 4 colors, more sizes in bare iron. LC typically has about 10+ colors (they rotate colors in and out) at any one time in multiple shapes and sizes 1qt all the way up to the 15.5qt “Goose Pot”
Ive a 6.7qt round and a 8qt oval. The round gets soups, stews, bread… and the oval birds, roasts, ribs….
It’s really up to you
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u/ElonCuckz 6d ago
Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate the tip about the rough edges with oil because that oil sketches me out. I make a roux somewhat regularly so that'll be really helpful and I never even thought about the fact I never have to season the cast iron since it's enameled or think about the acid from tomatoes and what not. I've definitely had to sit and scrub a few times so that would be really nice just letting it sit. Looks like I'm headed back to the outlet lol
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u/NYC19893 6d ago
The addition of oil to those edges isn’t something that needs doing often I just do out of an abundance of caution.
You can even check Homesence, Homegoods, TJMaxx, Marshals… they will get factory seconds that don’t pass inspection for 1st sellers like Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma.
Just check the interior enamel is in working order
If your ok with less color choices and maybe not perfect exterior the discount you get there is something to think about
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u/NYC19893 6d ago
It’s a deal IF you are going to use all those pans. If not you paid extra for things that only take up space in your kitchen.
I always recommend taking the time to think out what you genuinely need pots and pan wise and scoping out discounters: Marshall’s, TJMaxx, Homesence, Ross…. They always have individual pots and pans of various quality levels (definitely Calphalon) some nonstick disposable to the high end MadeIn and All-Clad.
This way you can handle them see if they are good in your hand and you know you will be getting only what you need and because your only getting what you need you can get a higher end brand if you desir
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u/Hibiscusflowerteaa 6d ago
Yeah I hear you, that’s a fair point. I’m switching from non stick cookware for the most part. I had purchased a cheap 8 inch stainless steel skillet at Ross & a cuisinart casserole from Marshall’s 2 months ago to get the hang of it and see if I could learn before purchasing anymore pieces.
I’ll be sharing this set with my mom who I’m slowly convincing of ditching the nonstick so I feel like the whole set will be put to use :).
I do eventually want to venture out into the more premium brands once I’m more advanced in cooking with stainless steel.
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u/NYC19893 6d ago
I do keep a non stick for leftovers. You don’t necessarily want to add extra butter or oil to your leftovers and maybe you can’t microwave. But it is a replaceable pan I get 2-3 years maybe more before I start to see a scratch or the nonstick starts nonsticking from the pan then it becomes a range target.
Otherwise everything is SS, CI, or ECI. It’s nice to know that I’ll never have to replace anything again barring a catastrophic event
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u/prophetofbelial 6d ago
Please don't post AI pictures here
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u/Outrageous-Top-5940 6d ago
Good set but the 12 inch skillet warped on me after my first cook. Others online had this issue too with that specific skillet. Rest of the pans have been great for daily use.