What advantages does top-of-the-line cookware (e.g., a $200 clad stainless frying pan) offer over well-made, less expensive cookware (say, a $50 clad stainless frying pan)?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “top of the line stainless steel cookware“
For most things (pots, pans), it won’t make a huge deal.
The concern with these is heat distribution and control. Thicker pots and pans (and some materials more than others) spread heat more evenly, but give you less control of where and when the heat hits the food. Some implements, woks for example, are built to have uneven heating, and a skilled wokmeister will use that fact to control when the different ingredients get cooked. I would say that unless you are experienced enough to answer this question yourself, you won’t notice a difference. You may also notice that the best chefs never use teflon-coated pans. They are better w.r.t. flavor control, and if you’ve got half a brain you can prevent things from sticking, but if you’re worried about using a ton of oil or just don’t want to think about it, you won’t lose much by getting a nonstick pan (just be sure to never use metal spatulas on it, because once they get scratches, they’ll stick worse than a non-coated pan no matter what you do).
Knives are, I think, the thing where quality matters most. A good, sharp set of knives (maintained properly, of course), will do more for you than you can imagine. You’ll make better and cleaner cuts, be able to try new types of cuts, you’ll get your tomatoes diced all the same size instead of having the end bits be all chunky because your knife wouldn’t catch the curvy part, and best of all, you’ll be safer. A dull knife is far more dangerous than a sharp one.
BELLA 21 Piece Cook Bake and Store Set
Stainless steel cookware are made from an alloy, or combination, of different metals that include steel, chromium and nickel. These other metals basically help in making the steel able to resist corroding. Better stainless steel, such as clad, have a higher percentage of these other materials, like nickel and chromium, inside of it. These types of appliances would not require any use of excessive oils and butter to prevent food from sticking. You might find this helpful, essentially a buying guide for stainless steel setl: http://www.stainlesssteelset.com/index.php/stainless-steel-set-buying-guide
10 Pcs Non Stick Cooking Set w/ Frying Pans & Saucepans
The main advantage is that they are usually shiny, and you can show them off to people who visit you (as in “see how much I spent!”) if you have a nice rack to hang and display them. Seriously, that’s the main advantage.
If you don’t care to have name brand items to show off, you can get ones that are essentially of equal build quality and heat transfer characteristics by getting the Kirkland Signature cookware sets from CostCo such as these: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11503441&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|90608|56625|55004&N=4047399&Mo=17&pos=1&No=4&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=55004&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10598-Cat56625&topnav= . Go check them out at the store. It’s amazing how good the quality is given the price. I believe these were also the top picks by Consumer Reports.
Non-Stick Cookware Set, Pots and Pans – 8-Piece Set
Just to add/reiterate. I truly believe in non-matching sets. 1. Pots: All-clad pots are great as the heat distribution goes all the way up the side of the pot as well as the bottom, they go stovetop to oven, and they are so easy to clean. Cheaper pots have good bottoms, but thin sides, and can burn food and cleaning can get rough. 2. Pans: simple Lodge cast iron pans are fantastic. I would save here. They heat perfectly, go stovetop to oven, and are tough.
Calphalon 10-Piece Pots and Pans Set, Nonstick Kitchen Cookware
from what i’ve read and experienced, differences in name brand vs. less expensive items which are otherwise similarly advertised, include things like
weight
thickness of walls as well as bottom
heat distribution to the handles (annoying)
lid design (fancy things like divets that help water collect and fall back down on the food) and lid fit snugness
durability of finish (eg. enamel for cast iron)
It sounds dorky but reading online reviews is really helpful when you don’t know a brand. I also agree with Ryan that a diversity of tools aquired specifically for a job often works best, and depending on the function, cheaper tools really can be just as good or better for the job.
T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized Nonstick 17 Piece Cookware Set
Calphalon all day…I paid good money for a pan but they also replaced it every 2 years when I had some scratches…
T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized Nonstick 17 Piece Cookware Set
Overall the best way to get good tools (in any field), such as cookware, is to give up on the idea of a “matched set” from a single vendor, and buy individual pieces that work well.
For instance, I’d prefer a bunch of cheap aluminum (anodized if possible) stockpots, a cast iron skillet, a cheap black steel wok and crepe pan, a nonstick egg frying pan, and a copper or stainless-over-aluminum sautuese, vs. any comparably priced set from a single manufacturer in a single material.
The only way I would get a single manufacturer for all of my cookware is if the manufacturer varies materials for each item, like Demeyere. Even then, I think it’s better to buy pieces individually which are best value for you.
Gotham Steel Pots and Pans Set 12 Piece Cookware Set with Ultra Nonstick