need cookware help....do you consider made in a China vs. made elsewhere when buying?

[AnnieW625]

So part of me gets that the Chinese need jobs and if exporting to the US their goods and services then it is fine, but part of me also wants to avoid it if and when I can.

My current dilemma is that I need a few pots and pans and the ones that would work best for me (All Clad Essential, T Fal, Tramontina (the pro line is still Made in the USA, but the set of non stick pans I am replacing that is 6-7 years old is now MIC....they were MIUsa previously)or restaurant supply store) are almost all made in China. I have been researching Made In (Texas, smaller newish company that compares itself to All Clad), All Clad Stainless (Pennsylvania), Williams Sonoma Professional by Scanpan, and Scanpan (Denmark) and like what they have to offer.

I need the following:
*10” non stick frying pan
*12” stainless frying pan (don’t have one, the NS one has been our work horse pan)
*2.5 qt. or 3 qt. non stick pot (mainly for rice, and or beans if I am making more than 2 cans)
*1 qt. non stick pot (for 1-2 cans of beans of chili)
*Maybe: 4 qt. pot (could easily be stainless, but my current one is Analon hard anodized)

What I already have that doesn’t need replacing:
2.3 qt. Le Crueset covered cassoulet
3.2 qt. Le Crueset covered cassoulet
8 qt. Calphalon Professional non stick stock pot
8” Tramontina non stick pan (this is my least used pan, but since 8” and 10” are the best deals in a set I will probably end up with another 8” pan)
Lodge grill pan
T Fal non stick griddle
Victoria cast iron griddle (we use this daily)
Crate and Barrel brand wok

I am not interested in cast iron for non stick because I don’t like cast iron bits in my eggs.

I also don’t like stew or pot roast and most slow cooked meat I cook in the crock pot or instant pot so I have no use for a Dutch oven....maybe when I retire....


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[Kindra178]

Get a scanpan for eggs / nonstick needs. I wouldn’t get any other nonstick products. All clad stainless or Le Creuset pots will be the last ones you ever buy. Been using my All Clad pots for 18 years.


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[WatchingThemGrow]

We just got an all-clad stainless fry pan after going through a troublesome search. We're SO happy with it, although I am so upset with DH for using a messed up OXO melted spatula to scrape it yesterday. grrr. After I purchased from this site (that all clad cust service rep told me about!) I found some discount codes online for this "seconds" website. I think I may order another now that we are sure it's legit.

https://homeandcooksales.com/

[candaceb]

Unless it's a must-do, I would wait until after your move, or else buy all induction-compatible, in case you have an induction stove when you move. I just replaced a lot of cookware because I got an induction stove. I didn't pay attention to where it was made - I was looking for best value induction-compatible because the stove was not a planned purchase.
I think you could get away with a 2Q nonstick saucepan instead of a 1 and a 3 for the things you described.
I cook a lot and this was my list of pots I had to have that worked with the new stove
- le creuset dutch oven
- cast iron skillet
- 2Q nonstick saucepan for rice, etc.
- 4Q saucepan
- 8Q stainless dutch oven/stockpot
- 8", 10" & 12" nonstick skillets

the one "bonus" item I'm putting off is a french saute pan. I think I can live without it and I have blown my budget for now.

I got most of my stuff at Homegoods and Marshalls, and filled in with a couple from Amazon.

[AnnieW625]

Thanks so much for the suggestions.

CandaceCB, great point about the induction compatible. We have gas now and it is very common in our region; but if there were an induction stove in the perfect house then we might not be able to say no to that and it probably wouldn’t make sense to rip it out if that was the only thing we didn’t like (although I haven’t cooked on non gas since college so I would have to relearn how to cook).

I went to Walmart and checked out the TFal and the Pro 12” pan is pretty nice for $30. They didn’t have a non stick induction sauce pan to look at though. I haven’t bought it yet. Amazon also has the Tramontina Pro line and I will probably check at Home Goods as well. Scanpan also has some good deals on their webpage.

I definitely need a 1 qt. non stick pot and 2 or 3 qt. non stick pot because again I haven’t had to cook rice in a stainless pot since college and I just prefer to cook rice in a non stick pot.

And to answer yes some of the pans need replacing pronto; the rice pot’s non stick coating has been coming off for a while plus the pot was a wedding a gift so it is 16+ years old and we used it on a regular basis. The 1 qt. sauce pan has been permanently slightly warped on the side for about 15 years because DH put it in the dishwasher a few times and didn’t realize it would warp the sides. You can’t put a lid on it; the coating is still ok on that one though, but 1 qt. pots usually don’t break the bank. I didn’t realize how bad the frying pans were until I pulled them out the box from the kitchen remodel. The 10” and 12” pans were used on a regular basis for 6+ years (maybe 7 by now) and we weren’t religious about using silicone tools on them. Hence why the Scanpan looks soo appealing!


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[WatchingThemGrow]

Wait, it sounds like you don’t have an instant pot. Is that correct? Rice in the IP is the easiest thing ever. I think you could decrease your cooking time and need for so many pots if you had one. :)

And our all clad stainless D5 works perfectly on electric, gas or induction, but we are following directions to cook on Medium with it.


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[Melaine]

Wait, it sounds like you don’t have an instant pot. Is that correct? Rice in the IP is the easiest thing ever. I think you could decrease your cooking time and need for so many pots if you had one. :)

And our all clad stainless D5 works perfectly on electric, gas or induction, but we are following directions to cook on Medium with it.


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Agreed! I haven't made rice on the stove in ages....it's such a pain to have to watch and stir. Rice is a big reason I bought my second instant pot so I could do rice in one and meat in the other pot.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Agreed! I haven't made rice on the stove in ages....it's such a pain to have to watch and stir. Rice is a big reason I bought my second instant pot so I could do rice in one and meat in the other pot.

??
Boil water
Put in rice
Reduce heat
Cover
Set timer
Done.
:)
No stirring. I guess you have to wait for the water to boil but it’s not a long wait.
I just never became an IP convert.


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[georgiegirl]

??
Boil water
Put in rice
Reduce heat
Cover
Set timer
Done.
:)
No stirring. I guess you have to wait for the water to boil but it’s not a long wait.
I just never became an IP convert.


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Yes! I do have an instant pot, but I always make rice in a stainless steel pot (not non-stick) and I never have any issues. [emoji2368] I don’t use non-stick unless it’s 100% necessary. Our only non-stick items are small and large sauté pans (we also have them in stainless too).

[legaleagle]

Can't you use the smaller le creuset for rice? While I am generally a great cook, for some reason I just cannot get plain steamed rice done correctly on the stove top so I use my instant pot (I got a 3 qt esp for rice).

I've been really happy with my American Kitchen non-stick skillets (and they're induction compatible) - not much cheaper than all clad but the handles are way more comfortable (IMO). https://americankitchencookware.com/ I first found it when I got an induction stove 8 years ago when the induction compatible market was much more limited. They also have the 1919 Chris Kimball line but I'm not if there's any actual difference - definitely wait for a 25% off coupon for either! parent company is Regal Ware and made in Wisconsin.

[Globetrotter]

I’ve slowly invested in all clad stainless and Le Creuset because I figure it’s a lifetime investment. I buy Le Creuset from the outlet and I’ve gotten deals on all clad from Macy’s, I think.
For non stick I have titanium.
SKK Titanium 2000 Deep Series 9 Non-Stick 12.5' Fry Pan

I don’t know where they are made but I go by the brand reviews and reputation.

[AnnieW625]

Thank you all so much! I really appreciate all of the information.
Here is my update:
I ended up ordering ordering all induction compatible cookware (the price wasn’t that much different than the non induction) from Scanpan’s clearance section of their webpage: 10” and 12” frying pans, a 5 qt. Dutch oven, and a 2.75 qt. saucepan. The 5 qt. Dutch oven was essentially free with the purchase of the 10” frying pan (it was called an anniversary special bundle) so I will get rid of my Anolon 4 qt. pot that is 16 years old it isn’t as scratched up as the others but it has seen better days. I also picked up a Circulon 2 qt. sauce at Home Goods for $14; it isn’t induction, but If needed I can replace when we move.

Yesterday before I ordered the above I actually went to Home Goods on my lunch hour and bought some All Clad stainless non stick pans (a 10” D3, and a 12” D5) but I decided I should check reviews and they didn’t get good reviews on the All Clad website, and on Williams Sonoma. The most common complaints were the non stick coating cracking within a year. Plus there were more 1 and 2 reviews than 3 and 4 star reviews. Could’ve been due to user error, but I decided it wasn’t worth a chance so I returned them last night.

We have an instant pot and the only time the rice comes out how I like it is when I make a full batch (2 cups rice, 2 cups water) and that just makes too much rice (6 cups) for us; we are happy with the normal 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water for 3 cups of rice. Most of the time I cook it on the stove, but we also have a really basic rice cooker, but we still use the pot more. If I am cooking with my instant pot I also want to use it for the main entree and not the side dish. I also find it doesn’t save me anytime. I do cook Spanish rice in my small Le Creuset pan, but overall I have just found it easier to use non stick pot for rice.

Once I get my above order we will have:
* 2 Le Creuset brasiers (2.25 and 3.5 qt.)
*3.5 qt. stainless pot from a restaurant supply store
*1 qt. All Clad stainless pot
*2 qt. Circulon non stick pot (new)
*2.75 qt. Scanpan non stick pot (new)
*8” Tramontina non stick pan
*10” Scanpan frying pan (new)
*12” Scanpan frying pan (new)
*5 qt. Scanpan Dutch oven (new)
*8 qt. Calphalon stock pot

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[WatchingThemGrow]

My bad!!! The all clad stainless we got was D3. The D5 didn’t work as well for us. Oops! They told me D3 is the original, and that’s the one that heats better.




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[AnnieW625]

I also went to the Homeandcooksales.com site and had seen a few things that might work for me, but then they took the site down before I had a chance to order and it says the next sale starts on 11/4. So apparently it isn’t open for business all of the time.