Saucepans: Black vs Stainless Steel

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Phibbleberry

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Hi Guys....

So my Dad is getting me saucepans for Christmas and I'm delighted, its a fab pressie, and much needed! (I'm not one of these people who gets offended to be given practical stuff....womens rights gone too far if ya ask me - as long as its not off boyf/partner/hubby; or its been requested if it is, its perfectly acceptable!!!!)

Anyway, bit off topic...so he called today and asked if I'd object to black saucepans....theres a really good offer on some tefal ones, down from 250 odd, to 110 odd.
I went and had a look and they look kinda cool (the pans have that red dot temp monitor thingymajig in the middle and stuff...)

Just wondering if anyone has experience of either (or both, which would be great!)....are they harder wearing/harder to clean/easier for stuff to stick to/burn etc....

Any opinions?!?!

Cheers,
PB
 
Best saucepans to get are Circulon (sold in Debenhams). They are anthracite grey with chrome lids. They are 100% non-stick. They are better than Tefal in my opinion. I think you can get a set of 3 saucepans , a griddle and a small frying pan for reasonable money ( 150 or so I believe).
 
Best pans/ pots in my opinion are stainless steel or Le Creuset- they wash wall in the dishwasher and are easy to keep. I would avoid anything with a non-stick coating (it doesn't last, you must use plastic utensils with it). I got a great gift of a set of Meyer stainless steel posts some years ago, about €125 for a 5 piece set (including frying pan). I wouldn't buy those ones by Jamie Oliver (the handles have a plastic grip insert which will probably melt or be damaged in the dishwasher over time). all metal is the way to go.
 
Happy_Harry said:
Best saucepans to get are Circulon (sold in Debenhams). They are anthracite grey with chrome lids. They are 100% non-stick. They are better than Tefal in my opinion. I think you can get a set of 3 saucepans , a griddle and a small frying pan for reasonable money ( 150 or so I believe).
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Thanks guys.....

Would you believe he asked did I want the Circulon ones (the set you mentioned is down from 310 to 155 today only in Debenhams!) and I went for a quick look....I prefered the feeling of the inside of the Tefal ones as they were smoother....goes to show what I know then!! I presumed that grainer feel would make it harder to clean...grrr....
They've got the Tefal ones now, but were told they can bring them back if I decided I wanted stainless steel.....maybe I should get them to change to Circulon while we make the call...... :(
 
I would go for stainless steel. As Carpenter said, non-stick can be inconvenient - no metal utensils, can't put them in the dishwasher, you have to be careful when washing that you don't scour them.

You don't need non-stick if you're careful when cooking and don't burn things.
 
Sherman said:
I would go for stainless steel. As Carpenter said, non-stick can be inconvenient - no metal utensils, can't put them in the dishwasher, you have to be careful when washing that you don't scour them.

You don't need non-stick if you're careful when cooking and don't burn things.
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Indeed I wouldn't put them in the dishwasher, then again, you clean them by hand in 10 seconds, as nothing sticks to it.
Stupid me once left a plastic siff in the pan on the hob. The whole thing melted and I really thought that would be the end of the pan. I just wiped it with kitchen roll and all plastic came out in one wipe.

Why would it be inconvenient to use wooden utensils?

I have had normal pans and they were always a nightmare to get clean, burnt food or just dried up starch from the spuds. I have these circulon pans now 3 years and they still look as new.
I also have a set of Le Creuset, but would only use it if I want to put it in the oven. They are not only too heavy to use , but are the worst for burning food.
 
I have a set of viners saucepans(3) from the bargain basement in arnotts and they are fantastic. I also bought a set of Judge ones from House of Frasier -they were €280 and i got them for 70 at the end of last Januarys sale and also fantastic. Couldnt burn food to them if i tried. They are also very light which for a smaller female is a no-no for Le Cruseut.
 
I think Le Creuset is very heavy, I have one of their oven dishes but that's it. I have stainless steel otherwise . . . .it looks much better than black! At least you always can get instruction on how to look after stainless steel, with Tefel and non sticks you never really know I think.
 
Thanks everyone....considering bringing these back and starting all over again!!
The oul one in me would LOVE Le Creuset (in the duck egg blue colour!!!!) but they're a) way too expensive and b) way too heavy for an it'll'un like me!!
 
I agree regarding the pricing of Le Creuset, they are very expensive, however a sauce pan and one or two casseroles from their range would find a good home in any working kitchen. Sometimes you will find Le Creuset on special (maybe 10% off or more) in January sales, I think they are a good buy.
 
I bought some in Dunne stores few years ago when they were half price- €18 small, €20 middle, €22 for large. They are a stainless steel look on the outside while coated with black non-stick on the inside. I find the non-stick really good and won't go back to ordinary after using them. Very easy to clean and still look great now. As well as plastic, wooden utensils be careful what type of sponge you use to clean them with. - to be safe just buy non stick scouring pads.
 
I had stainless steel in a rented house once and just couldn't cook in them without everything sticking and I found them impossible to clean - I must have been doing something wrong but I wouldn't use them again.

Non stick all the way for me. Have good quality ones (dunno name) that surface has never come off (use plastic or wood utensils only obviously) but a few supplemental non sticks from Dunnes this year only lasted a few weeks before someone (a visitor?) scraped them with something and the surface came off - another one had something burned into it and I haven't been able to wash it off - which has never been a problem with my good quality non sticks.

So, I'll be looking for some of those good quality non sticks mentioned here in the Jan sales.......
 
I'm a big fan of Le Creuset, haven't had any sticking problems with them, and they last a lifetime. They might be heavy, but I have to say I notice significant difference between them and stainless steel for retaining heat when cooking soups, casseroles. The pots transfer to oven easily also, which I wouldn't do with steel.
Granted they are a bit more expensive, although I saw some recently in TK Maxx so you can be lucky and pick up a bargain.

Probably doesn't answer the above OP question, but if you do choose the stainless steel I'd recommend those with a thicker or copper bottom to help with the non stick and heat retention.
 
I put my stainless steel pots in the oven doesn't seem to do them any harm, the instructions say I can, but then again they are very good quality, so I agree with crazy horse comments above. Not all stainless steel pots would be 'adapted' for oven use.

According to the leaflets with mine, stuff sticking is usually because the temperature is too high.

I just love the way they look all lovely and shiny :)
 
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Stainless Steel all the way - any "non-stick" pots I've ever had eventually lost the coating - the worrying part is where did the coating go....?
 
miselemeas said:
Stainless Steel all the way - any "non-stick" pots I've ever had eventually lost the coating - the worrying part is where did the coating go....?
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yeah my cheap dunnes non sticks started leaving little black flecks of coating in my sauces - it can't be good to be eating that stuff......
 
I suppose that everyone knows that if your stainless steel pans "blue" then leaving lemon juice in them for a few hours will restore the finish?
 
another nice thing to look for on saucepans is a copper base. i got a present of a set of stainless steel pans with a copper base (dutch oven, flrying pan, steamer & medium pot, milk pan) and they are by far the best i've used. The rest of my stuff just gathers dust... apparently the copper helps distribute heat more evenly or something! They've been through the dishwasher many times and u can use any type of utensils, and they are still perfect. I'd go for stainless steel every time, myself.... but whatever you choose, so long as they are as heavy as you can manage, you should
have them forever!!

EB
 
Thanks for all the advise guys....turns out when I opened the Tefal set, one pan was damaged..they had none left so my Dad exchanged it for the Circolon ones...

I've ended up with good saucepans...they look nice on the hob (such a girl, me!) and I hear they're good quality - Apart from the fact that you can't put them in the dishwasher, they're great!!

Not allowed test them out til xmas day though, so I'll have to wait and see!!
 
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