I'm due to replace my saucepans and want a good quality set which will last. Does anyone have any recommendations? I notice that Briscoes have Hampton and Mason cookware on special-has anyone had a good experience with this?
0800xford,
Jan 7, 9:08pm
i have some copper bottomed "supreme industries NZ" saucepans which are about 20 years old and show almost no signs of wear, they have really good lids that seem to fit on any other pot and the handles don't fill up with water when you wash them.
steven's are having a big sale too
prendy1,
Jan 7, 9:14pm
Thanks for that. Would you say that a copper base is important?
0800xford,
Jan 7, 9:16pm
what i know is that copper is [a] expensive and [b] a good conductor of heat and electricity
i'll take a photo of one now for you.
clair4,
Jan 7, 9:25pm
Baccarat from the Farmers.I have a very large pot that I use for all my pickles and jam making.Wonderful to use as they do not stick to the bottom.Farmers have them on special from time to time.Lovely stainless steel with nice handles.
cookessentials,
Jan 7, 9:27pm
x1
Buy yourself as good a quality as you can afford. Hampton & Mason are cheap and like the Warehouse and some of Farmers own "brands" are made at a price and yoou WILL get what you pay for. Copper and aluminium are the best conductors of heat, copper being ahead of aluminium. Very few, if any pans that come into NZ now have a copper base. You want an encapsulated base..this means that the stainless base of your pan has a core of aluminium in between two layers of stainless steel..the aluminium is what will give you good heatdistribution as stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat. Now some will tell you you want sandwich base...the difference between a plain "sandwich" base and an encapsulated base is quite obvious when you look at the side of the stainless pan. An encapsulated base has stainless steel wrapped right atound it with the inner core of aluminium inside this, whereas a sandwich base looks like someone just stuck and extra pad of metal on the base. Pick the pan up, how does it feel in your hand? is it lightweight?...if so, look at something else. You want a good heavy based encapsulated pan which is still comfortable to hold. Of course, it will depend on your budget, but if you can, buy the best you can afford. If your budget will not stretch to the Infinite Circulon, Henckels or similar, then I would suggest the best of the Baccarat range as it does have a good heavy base for a cheaper pan ( I dont mean cheap, I mean cheaper than the others mentioned) I was in a store a week or so ago and they had a set of pans which I picked up, they were so light and flimsy, they did not even HAVE any base, neither sandwich or encapsulated, just plain stainless steel...just walk away from those types of pans as they will give you no end of trouble.
prendy1,
Jan 7, 9:33pm
x1
Thanks so much for your advice! The pans I have used for the last 15 years are zip and have a copper base, and yes they have lasted incredibly well. I'm only replacing them because I've caused a few fires in them and the handles are all coming off! I will definitely be looking for a set with an encapsulated base. Cheers.
0800xford,
Jan 7, 9:59pm
x1
the pictured pot of mine is 180mm diameter, 90mm deep and weighs 400g without the handle, that's pretty heavy i thought. the copper base looks like a cap, there is no seam on the inside though.
pity they only used plain steel screws for the handle!
prendy1,
Jan 7, 10:07pm
Thanks 0800xford for the photos. Your pots look like the ones I am replacing. I'm beginning to wonder if "they don't make pots like they used to!"
prendy1,
Jan 7, 10:19pm
x1
Cookessentials: can I ask one more piece of advice? I'm looking online at the Baccarat five 5 piece series; are you familiar with this range and would you recommend it? The website says:Consisting of a high quality multi layer 18/10 stainless steel and aluminium construction, the Baccarat Five has lead the way in kitchenware innovation. The multi layer permanently bonded cnstruction of this cookware with outer layers of stainless steel and a triple bonded layer of aluminium, produce exceptional cooking results. I would really appreciate your expert opinion :)
0800xford,
Jan 7, 10:30pm
i'm convinced they don't, i just weighed a far smaller pot here and it's almost the same weight. also my small one says "18-8 stainless" it still has a copper base.
camper18,
Jan 8, 12:31am
Baccarat for me. Half price at Farmers sale couple of years ago after I got sick of old pots clattering away and splattering moisture all over ceramic hob which I had to clean after every time I used them.Now hardly ever have to clean as lids have sliding vents to let steam and pressure out and pots are deeper than old ones. They also have measure guides on the inside. My daughter looking to buy same in Aus now they have moved over there.
prendy1,
Jan 8, 12:34am
Thanks camper18. Do you find that they cook evenly and don't tend to burn (apart from chef's errors!)?
cookessentials,
Jan 8, 1:00am
Sure. I am not sure which part of their range is sold here in NZ, but i did see this particular one when In Australia in August. it is called "Capri" and looking at it, the handles are alot better than one of the others in the range. I would steer clear of the black phenolic handles as those are usually the first things to go, especially if they are washed in a dish washer. The die cast riveted handles are the way to go in my opinion and they do have an encapsulated base which you will see when you read up on the info. Here is the link to the Capri and the rest of the Australian site. They also have a lifetime guarantee.
I only use WMF Transtherm. They are very expensive - however you will be able to hand them down to your grand kids... So per year of use they are cheap.
We slowly replaced all our old saucepans with Baccarat from Farmers.They were 50% off for about two months so although they are quite pricey we bought them one at a time over a few weeks.They are great. They hold the heat really well and are non stick.Only problem i have found is the handles do get hot.
cookessentials,
Jan 8, 5:25am
Yeah and sadly, they are made in China, not Germany as the name would suggest.
raevah,
Apr 24, 8:35pm
Hello again stranger. Did you end up replacing your pots? I'm looking at getting some new pots and wondered if you were happy with what you got?
pickles7,
Apr 24, 9:18pm
I just had to look at what was deleted, elsewhere. Dosn't take long to work it all out....
macandrosie,
Apr 24, 9:23pm
I work out the quality of the saucepan by its weight. I like it tohave a copper base, & be realitvely heavy
raevah,
Apr 25, 8:35pm
Hello again stranger. Did you end up replacing your pots! I'm looking at getting some new pots and wondered if you were happy with what you got!
pickles7,
Apr 25, 9:18pm
I just had to look at what was deleted, elsewhere. Dosn't take long to work it all out.
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