Should everyone have a cast iron skillet?

[Anonymous]

Wow. It's so rare to get an on the Cooking forum! It must be referring to truly outrageous behavior!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Money asiide for a moment, I'd like him to be able to make a good-tasting meal. I feel decent cookware is required for that. And no, I won't be angry if the cookware doesn't go to grad school with him.

Hmmm...and I went to college and bought most of my first set of cookware (mixed) from the local Goodwill and Woolworth's. My mother was a cooking instructor while I was in junior high and high school and I was one of the better cooks in my circle of friends (about 4-5 of us were the core better cooks in the group). You can make good tasting meals with less expensive equipment. Really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Money asiide for a moment, I'd like him to be able to make a good-tasting meal. I feel decent cookware is required for that. And no, I won't be angry if the cookware doesn't go to grad school with him.

Hmmm...and I went to college and bought most of my first set of cookware (mixed) from the local Goodwill and Woolworth's. My mother was a cooking instructor while I was in junior high and high school and I was one of the better cooks in my circle of friends (about 4-5 of us were the core better cooks in the group). You can make good tasting meals with less expensive equipment. Really.

Great. What "equipment" do you recommend? That's the question of the thread. Really.

[Anonymous]

George foreman grill is is for grilling inside. Anything you would do on the grill outside, you can do on this inside. And its easier to maintain than a cast iron skillet (unless you take proper care of the cast iron skillet, which most college kids won't do). Its great for cooking lean meat like chicken breast.

[Anonymous]

OP, I would take a look at America's Test Kitchen website. You have to register, but you can sign on for free. They do very good reviews of cookware and usually include a best bargain option. There is also an article on what the basics are for the kitchen in terms of which pieces you need. They discourage getting the pre-packaged sets.

I agree with you sometimes quality costs a little more but the results are worth it.

And yes, at this stage of life, I would skip the iron skillet. I would get this:
http://www.amazon.com/All-Clad-5112-Stainless-12-Inch-Fry/dp/B00005AL5F

[Anonymous]

I love my Le Creuset covered skillet. It's really versatile and can go in the oven. I got it on sale at Sur Le Table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Money asiide for a moment, I'd like him to be able to make a good-tasting meal. I feel decent cookware is required for that. And no, I won't be angry if the cookware doesn't go to grad school with him.

Hmmm...and I went to college and bought most of my first set of cookware (mixed) from the local Goodwill and Woolworth's. My mother was a cooking instructor while I was in junior high and high school and I was one of the better cooks in my circle of friends (about 4-5 of us were the core better cooks in the group). You can make good tasting meals with less expensive equipment. Really.

Great. What "equipment" do you recommend? That's the question of the thread. Really.

I posted my recommendations on page 1 at 12:03.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never had a hard time cleaning my All-Clad pans. I always sear, sauté, etc. in a little oil and/or butter. Brillo pads are fantastic for badly stuck-on stuff, and if there is a lot of debris I use a little plastic scraper first- it's about the size of a credit card. But I seldom have to resort to Brillo or the scraper. A scrubby sponge almost always does the job.

Oh my. I would never give a college student All-Clad. That's a good waste of money. A college student is going to be brutal on pots and pans unless they already knew how to cook and care for cookware before they went to college and even then, some kids will regress and not take the time to care for pans. I recommend getting an inexpensive Dutch oven pot, an inexpensive medium sized sauce pan and an inexpensive non-stick skillet. You can purchase such items as places like Wal-Mart, Target, etc. Replace as needed, but likely the only one that you'll need to replace will be the non-stick skillet which you'll probably replace once or twice during college depending on how much the kid cooks.

If you want disposible pans, go for cheap. Well crafted pans like All-clad are easy to care for and last forever. That is why they are widely used in professional kitchens. If you can afford a nice pan that will last a lifetime, why buy cheap ones that will not perform as well, won't hold up to abuse, and will need to be replaced, at greater overall expense, "once or twice during college?" That's the good waste of money.

Do you remember what it was like in college? Most kids do NOT care for pans well. I've seen many, many college kids trash good pans. Even something like All-Clad and Calphalon, etc are not immune from the abuse from poor equipment, poor treatment and poor habits. When a relatively new cook overcooks something, burns it on, then dumps the whole mess in a sink, then takes a spatula to scrape off the burned material, even a good pan like All-Clad will get ruined. Or a cook who doesn't take the time to grab a wooden spoon and uses a regular stainless spoon to stir food while cooking. Even All-clad non-stick, once you scratch the non-stick surface, it will start to peel like any cheap pan. I've seen college kids ruin $100 pans. How often do you want to replace the All-Clad in college. For every college kid who can take care of good pan well through all four years (or more) of college, I get there are several dozen who won't take care of it and will ruin it. So, do yourself the favor, get them cheap replaceable disposable pans and when they've cooked for a few years, know how to take care of equipment better and get out of college (where they are less likely to be sharing their kitchen and equipment with other college kids), then get them the All-Clad that will last them a lifetime.

Just curious. Are you an RA or something?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted my recommendations on page 1 at 12:03.

That post was very helpful. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

He's 20 years old--why don't you ask him? Or better yet, give him a budget to buy what he needs, and let him shop for the items that he will use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would take a look at America's Test Kitchen website. You have to register, but you can sign on for free. They do very good reviews of cookware and usually include a best bargain option. There is also an article on what the basics are for the kitchen in terms of which pieces you need. They discourage getting the pre-packaged sets.

I agree with you sometimes quality costs a little more but the results are worth it.

And yes, at this stage of life, I would skip the iron skillet. I would get this:
http://www.amazon.com/All-Clad-5112-Stainless-12-Inch-Fry/dp/B00005AL5F

I'm buying the for myself. Thanks for the recommendation!

[Anonymous]

Go to homegoods, pick up a nice quality nonstick skillet. It should feel heavier. Will prob. Cost thirty bucks. Dont get the lightweight ten dollar ones. Then get a standard pasta pot. I'd probably just get a large sauce pot with lid instead of a huge pasta pot. He will be good to go. It will cost you fourty bucks on the high end.