368
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 04 Jan 2024
368 points (98.2% liked)
Asklemmy
43968 readers
1223 users here now
A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions
If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!
- Open-ended question
- Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
- Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
- Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
- An actual topic of discussion
Looking for support?
Looking for a community?
- Lemmyverse: community search
- sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
- !lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities
~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
I feel like there are too many exceptions to this rule. Maybe dont get the cheapest but you dont need to spend a lot to have a very good:
I could go on but I believe Ive made my point.
Man I misread your comment as going in the other direction and I was about to go off about how good a cheap Lodge cast iron pan is.
It used to be the case that cheap brands were prone to the enamel chipping off easily, so Le Creuset was considered "worth it" because it not only doesn't chip, but if it does it's got a lifetime warranty.
It seems like cheap enamel maybe has gotten better recently, though.
That's interesting, I didn't realize that! I think it may have, because I've been using my Cuisinart one that I picked up pretty cheaply at Marshall's a few years back and it's been pretty solid—no chipping at all. I had been wondering myself why I would shell out for a higher end one if the cheaper one is working, but that makes sense if the cheap ones used to be worse.
I do have a Le Creuset French press that I splurged on that I enjoy, but that's neither here nor there.
Yeah, one thing I'd say to be careful of (unless you just want it as a splurge) is not to be fooled into thinking that just because a brand is famous for being good at one thing, that everything else it makes is also high-end. For example, All-Clad invented stainless steel-clad aluminum cookware and is still the best at it, but you'd be a chump if you bought an All-Clad teflon nonstick pan instead of a cheap T-Fal one. Le Creuset non-cast-iron stuff might look pretty because it comes in the same colors as their enameled cast iron dutch ovens, but there's otherwise nothing special or premium about it. Kitchen Aid made famously-durable stand mixers (until recently, at least), but doesn't mean you should get a Kitchen Aid can opener or something.
You're best off mixing-and-matching between brands according to what experts like ATK say is the best tool in each category.
Very good point. I'm still early on in trying to build my collection of kitchen implements, but that is something I've been learning very quickly.
I would definitely agree on the Le Creuset stuff, as far as the French press goes! It probably wasn't worth what I paid for it, though the ceramic does keep my coffee a little warmer a little longer than glass ones and looks nice on my counter top. You could probably get one just as good/nice looking for much cheaper.
Cost doesn't mean quality, but at the same time be sure you pick the right item. I have a subscription to America's Test Kitchen, which has for the most part served me well. For more expensive items, they will often pick a favored item and a less expensive "best buy". I honestly use them more for their equipment reviews than for their recipes at this point.
There is one thing I would point to for needing to go for the expensive option. If you want a high quality stainless steel skillet, you want it to be fully clad, aka triple ply. There are cheap skillets with an aluminum disc on the bottom, sometimes deceptively marketed as "fully clad base" or "tri ply bottom". They perform poorly, scorching food and sometimes allowing the disc to detach. I have an All Clad skillet, but I hear Made In is also good.
Completely agree. Didnt put stainless steel on my list because of it.