Kitchen

[gardenman]

To be honest, you're hard-pressed to go too far wrong with any cookware. I watched the "Great Chefs of (insert name of a big city here)" series when PBS first aired it many, many years ago, and I was amazed at the cookware commonly used in the finest kitchens. It was often the cheapest, most beat-up, stained, and unsavory-looking cookware imaginable. In some cases, they even used cheap tinfoil disposable pans to make delicate sauces. You can give the best pans in the world to a bad cook and they'll still be a bad cook. You can give the worst pans in the world to a good chef and they'll still be a good chef. 

I have a small All-Clad fry pan that's great. Does it cook better than my cheap frypan that was included with some other pans from Walmart? No. It's just a pan. I have a $13 12" cast iron frypan that's great. 

Since your old pans were thirty years old, I'm assuming that means you're among us older cooks. I'd probably go against cast iron or any of the really heavy pans that become a chore to use. A lighter, easier to handle pan might be a better option for daily use. Just find pans that fit what you need them for.

I went very cheap on saucepans ($18 at Walmart for a set of three with glass lids and a small frypan) as I rarely use them. I mostly use them for cooking corn or making a custard for homemade ice cream, and they're fine for that. When making a custard, I'm standing over it, stirring it nonstop while monitoring its temperature, so I don't need a great pan for that. And boiling water to cook corn can be done in nearly anything.

My pans aren't hanging from racks and on display for the world to see, so I don't really care how they look. I just care that they do what I need them to do. I'd rather impress people with my food than my pans. It's not hard to spend thousands of dollars on cookware and find out you're still the same cook you were before. 

As an aging cook, I now prefer lighter-weight, easier-to-handle, easier-to-clean pans. I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm just using them to cook food and you can cook food in pretty much anything.

[Moonlady]

I'm a big fan of both MasterClass and the D&W pans from TJX/Home Goods/Marshall's. D&W is their proprietary brand (F/K/A " The Palm"). They come in pastel colors, too, but I stick with black.

I never intended to get another matching set of cookware, but that's what I've acquired since I bought a single saucepan about 5 years ago, and loved it. When I'm in these stores, I always check to see if there's a new style or size I might be interested in. They're incredibly affordable (cheap), but VERY well made. Their low casseroles are perfect for the stovetop rice dishes I make, and I also have the small and large stock pots, and skillets in a variety of sizes. I appreciate how lightweight they are while empty because they'll be easy for me to handle when full.

I like the idea of now getting individual cookware items, rather than a set with items I seldom use.

[ID2]

I had two full sets of All Clad and just got rid of them. I found that Hexclad seems to be much better for my cooking style. 

[Twins Mom]

Using All-Clad stainless for last 4 years.  I am very pleased with evenness  of cooking, ease of cleaning, etc.  It goes from stovetop to oven and that helps.  

I have a small ceramc-!ined J. Henkels pan and its perfect for eggs.