/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Le Creuset. You pay for it for a reason.

>>5011888
Because of French labor costs and import taxes? I dunno man, I can think of better reasons to pay more for something.

>>5011890
Because of serious build quality.

Unless you're a Rockerfeller, that bitch is getting all clad and liking it.

I think it depends highly on which specific items you're talking about.

My grandma has an old Le Creuset dutch oven, and it's awesome. My parents have a newer one (purchased a couple years ago) and it's much thinner. It's still nice quality, but honestly it's a bit silly that they made it thinner because the whole F'n point of a Dutch Oven is that thickness for even cooking. It also has a plastic knob on the lid which is equally silly since it's supposed to go into the oven. Many of their other items are great though.

All-clad is pretty damn good and frankly I think you're getting better value for money since there's no foreign import duty, etc.

That being said, you can get cookware that's just as good as either brand but a fraction of the cost from a restaurant supply store. It just won't have the fancy brand name on it that you can brag about to all your friends.

If I were you I'd make a list of what cookware you want, then go to a restaurant supply and choose the best option for each one. I don't know of any one brand which is best in all categories.

>>5011937
>plastic knob on the lid which is equally silly since it's supposed to go into the oven.
I am pretty sure you would never bake it at more than the melting point of the knob. Which iirc is 512F

All Clad is superior in every considerable way.

Y'all niggas stupid. We all can agree that french crap is a waste of money. All Clad is cheaper and equal in all ways pretty much. my bitch knows her place and uses T-fal the knock off shit.

>>5011961
>>5011973
And so the poors emerge.

>>5011979
>white
>poor
pick one

>>5011985
>not being able to afford quality
Yes you are the poor john

>>5012000
yuropoor please leave

>>5012008
>muh poorness

>>5012017
>get on my level pleb
>not having a fat black mother with diabetes
>not eating from foil
>not broadcasting it to the world
>step up

>>5012008
>>5012017
>>5012032

y'all niggers need to go back to >>/pol/

>>5011884
>buying la creuset over staub
doesn't la creuset just make enameled shit? you use different tools for different tasks..

Depends on whether you want enameled cast iron or stainless steel with a copper core.

>inb4 not buying copper core all-clad

Also, for all the people calling everyone poor
>using Le Creuset over superior hammered copper
>calling other people poor

Le Creuset. I wouldn't touch american metalwork with a ten foot pole. I had a Chevrolet once.

>>5011884
>Le Creuset or All-Clad

are you even serious OP? Le Creuset shits all over All-Clad

>>5011884
don't be dumb OP of course ceramic coated cast iron is going to be much more expensive than cheap stainless steel garbage

>>5012211
All those supporting facts. Man I'm blown away! Really and truly!
>>5012177
>talking about a shitty car in a cooking thread.
>are you even trying?
>>5012214
Again all those supporting facts! Man I'm shitless at how well thought out your posts are!

Go with all-Clad. If anything its the one thing americans managed to do right. Hell that superior stainless steel look makes bitches flock to you OP. The way you can flaunt to your nigger friends at how nice yo shit is. No need to pay the additional 100$+ for shit that Europoors made and try to hock off like an asian businessman. Get this shit fo real nigga. My bitch seems to like it and hasn't complained yet!

Demeyere

>>5012240
>bitches about supporting facts
>tells OP to select a pan based on its ability to attract bitches

>>5012254
>bitches cook, therefore it is necessary too attract them
>bitches like things that look nice, so get them something that look nice
>Bitches cook the MANS food therefore bitches want semi-nice shit
>Not accepting this as good facts
>stay a pleb you newfag

Quality pots and pans will produce better food. My parents recently replace a bunch of their suuuper old pans with sur la table stuff. Its amazing.

>>5012260
you sir are not my nigger and are uncultured swine. Please go back to
>>/b/
>>/int/
>>/pol/
or get >>/out/

>>5011973
Hurr durr mofo, tefal is also french.

I guess le creuset would be better for longer cooking time. Family's got one from our grandma, it's fantastic. Try making veau aux olives in that, or boeuf bourguignon.

how can you guys have this huge thread arguing if apples are better than oranges?

/ck/ confirmed for poor and ignorant about cooking equipment

>>5011884
>Which is better for cooking
They are totally different. It's like comparing a sneaker to a loafer and asking which is better.

Personally I wouldn't touch Le Creuset with a bargepole, I'm not a fan of enamelled cast iron anyway as I prefer the regular type that you season, it is much better value in the long term (practically impossible to damage). And theirs is overpriced by a significant margin anyway.

And All-Clad is overpriced too, you're paying for the name. You can get same or similar performance for significantly less if you're in the market for stainless pans. Look for thick bases (THE factor in heat distribution), all-metal construction (glass lids are fine if you like that feature) and riveted handles and it'll be a good buy, regardless of price point.

>>5014034
>Look for thick bases (THE factor in heat distribution),

You again. Thick base + thin sidewalls = scorch rings.

Please stop spreading bad advice.

>>5014040

I don't think he's disagreeing with you. I think his point is that thickness is more important than layers, coatings, brand name, and the material the pan is made from--which I agree with 100%.

OFC it's better for a pan to have thick sides, not just the base.

>>5014066

But coatings are helpful. Layers are questionable depending on the layer. Brand names are a useful guide and people who shit on something because it's expensive are just jealous.

Enameled cast iron isn't a substitute for cast iron any more than teflon coated aluminum is a substitute for steel lined aluminum.

tl;dr use the tool for the job, and stop being poor

>>5014070

Yeah, but thickness is more important than all those things.

>tl;dr use the tool for the job, and stop being poor

Agreed 100%.

>>5014040
>You again. Thick base + thin sidewalls = scorch rings.
No, not me again. I don't know who you think you're talking to but it ain't me.

Anyway if you could explain that thick base + thin sidewalls = scorch rings thing I'd appreciate it. I cook on electric cookers mainly (no gas where I live or where GF lives) and I don't find this, so guessing it's an issue cooking over gas burners?

>Please stop spreading bad advice.
Sorry spreading info from Modernist Cuisine is bad advice?!?

>>5014250

Yes, I was referring to gas burners. For smaller pieces on larger burners, the base is small enough that the flames lick the sidewalls and this creates problems with thick disc bottom pans.

Also, the context of the passage I assume you are referring to (vol 2 pp41-43) is referring to the importance of thickness in relation to various metals (specifically copper vs the rest). Since All Clad made its name with aluminum as the primary conductor, and pretty much any respectable stainless pans use the same combination (stainless lining, aluminum conductor) the relevance of MC's copper analysis has no bearing on whether a certain brand of stainless lined aluminum pan is overpriced or not. I suppose there is now a line of copper core All Clad pans but that is not what most people think of when they think of All Clad.

Also, in another section of that volume, in another context, he literally states that the thickness of the pan DOES NOT matter (for using saute pans to saute). If you are talking about a large fry pan, then your absolute statement about thickness holds true.

Disclaimer: I do not own any All Clad pans, although I have used them and I think they are pretty nice. I am not advocating All Clad or any brand necessarily, but I am saying looking for a thick base over all else (such as reasonably thick sidewalls) can sometimes be a bad idea.

I have a calphalon skillet which is the best piece of cookware I have ever owned (poor graduate student here).

Am I a pleb for liking this?

>>5015589
>but I am saying looking for a thick base over all else (such as reasonably thick sidewalls) can sometimes be a bad idea.
Fair enough, but I didn't actually suggest thick base > all else, just stated that it was THE factor in heat distribution.

Incidentally in terms of good conductors over anything else, ever seen a demo of a solid gold frying pan? I have, worked awesomely, if a bit heavy, according to the chef. I'm curious why no super-rich dude who is into cooking hasn't actually gone ahead and commissioned one. Can't be the cost alone.

>>5015657
If it's the best thing you've every used it's the best thing you've ever used. And you know the old adage: if it works it works.

Just like high price is no guarantee of quality low price doesn't tell you something is shit. Many /ck/ dudes swear by their 10-buck Chinese cleavers for example and they obviously do the job, and even cheaper than this are the Kiwi knives out of Thailand I think which are like razors (and apparently last too, amazingly).

>>5016999
>If it's the best thing you've every used it's the best thing you've ever used. And you know the old adage: if it works it works.

This, really. But your mileage may vary! I bought an expensive Calphalon nonstick pan because I was tired of the cheaper ones only lasting a year or two. I plunked down nearly $100 on that pan and it lasted less than a year before the coating started to fail. Cheap pans like T-fal lasted longer for me. I switched to Eagleware from the local restaurant supply store, cost $30, and I've been using it for four years now and the coating is still perfect. It's also much thicker than the calphalon and cooks more evenly.

I have stopped paying any attention to the brand name whatsoever. I do not buy a pot/pan unless I can handle it in person. My criteria are thickness and no plastic. This has never let me down.

>>5016999

Yeah but it makes my burgers itch to see it implied that thickness is the only important quality of a pan (or that thick bases are good when they come at the expense of adequately thick sidewalls). It is important to pay attention to thickness, of course, but it seems to get overemphasized around these parts. Maybe that's because the default assumption on /ck/ is that everyone is a poorfag and they've never seen a pan that didn't come from the 99 cent store, where all the pans are made of sheet metal.

I don't know of this gold demo, but I remember a national geographic article decades ago where they did that. They described how they fried an egg and it was the most perfect pan ever. Then they melted it back down and made some comments about how this wouldn't have been legal in the olden days when gold had to be made into coins, and nothing else.

>>5017694
>(or that thick bases are good when they come at the expense of adequately thick sidewalls).
In my experience (mostly cooking on electric stoves for the last 25+ years) thick sidewalls are basically irrelevant to cooking performance.

I have two pots of the same size, been around since I was a nipper, one has a laminated base with alu core the other is copper clad to around ~2cm/1" up the sides and they basically cook **exactly the same**. I've never noticed any tendency of one or the other to scorch stuff more at the edge/corner.

What I have noticed more recently as I've been on the lookout for it is the copper clad one, which has a thinner base, is more prone to hot spots.

>>5018988
if you have or willingly cook on electric stoves your opinions about cooking are invalid by default.

>>5019015
LOL don't be a twat.

Willingness has nothing to do with it, no choice where I live: it's electric or nothing. I wouldn't choose it given any option believe me — gas rings and electric oven all day every day as far as I'm concerned... IF you have a choice.

>>5019290

Gas is always an option. If there isn't a city gas supply, get a propane tank.