Cookware for a Beginner

Revere Ware!

Love it. (The Pro line.)

sozobe, I loved it too, and that's what I was thinking, a second generation user. But you know what? I can't find it here.

There has to be a lot online -- found this with a quick search:

http://www.dreamretail.com/SV000070800417.html

Got ours about 6 years ago and just love it.

A microwave oven. c.i.

Those are very nice and I will have a set one of these days. I love the see through covers :-) I bought myself a nice set of pots and pans before I even had my own place as well. I paid a fortune for then and I still have them to this day which is why I haven't gotten another set. My set is still like new after 21 years and I'm starting to think they are going to last forever :-) They are very heavy and are called Vita-Craft.

Hi All,
I started out with a set of cast iron, and still have it.
It was inexpensive, heats like a dream, and when seasoned properly is quite nonstick.
I like the versitility of being able to pop it into the oven or broiler.
Since I cook for a living, I've tried out many different types. I now use a set of anodized aluminun/titanium clad pans, the nonstick is not a coating, but is the whole pan, so you can use any utensil, and not worry about scratches. The set I have was relatively cheap, I think it was around $150. for 2 skillets, 1 lg covered fryer, a medium saucepan, a large saucepan, and a nice big stockpot, all with lids, all oven safe. I'm really happy with it.

We bought Le Creuset (they're cast iron) in 1992 with funds from my bridal shower. It's still working beautifully - I love it!

Excellent thread. Will provide me with some ideas about an update for my kitchen ware.

what did i start out with? odds and ends from my mother's kitchen. next generation in my kitchen - more discards from my mother - next generation? i've got some dansk pots that i love - i've had some of them about 10 - 15 years. i'm not so fond of their pans - i ended up getting some cheap pans that work much better than the dansk ones.

i had planned to go buy one cheap, light-weight pot to make popcorn in (it doesn't come out well in the heavier dansk pots), but i caved and bought a hot-air popper instead.

Like ehBethie I started out with a collection is mis-matched odds and ends.. I've managed to go through several different sets over the years and the only set that has survived is my cast iron stuff that I had originally bought for when I go camping. As heavy as they are you just can't kill real cast iron and I always end up coming back to them.

I had bought a new set (no name brand..) back in October and the non-stick coating is already starting to peel off of them after a few uses.. They'll be tossed shortly and I'll be back to good old cast iron again.

Heavy is good. Not always pretty, but good. I want mrs. hamburger's last cast iron pan - but as it's part of her original wedding kit, i suspect that battle will be going on for a while longer.

(it's soooooooo perfectly seasoned - i waaaaaaant that pan!)

I just bought a set of cast iron at a flea market this summer. I have a revere pro pasta pot set and a cephalon risotto pan - my favorites.

Odds and Ends for me too. My favorite pot, which is now holding a cooling potted flank steak and vegetables, is a Revere Ware copper bottom pot. Got it for Green Stamps, and in a few years could conceivably qualify as an "antique"!

Subsequently, I have bought a number of more Revere Ware pots, but without the copper. (I am not into cleaning copper). They are not too expensive, and work well for me!

I started out with a set of Club Aluminum. Remember that stuff? I still have the Dutch oven, but since all the hubub about aluminum and Alzhiemers I quite using it. My best pans are Calphalon and I love them.

c.i., that's it, exactly. I've failed as a mother. Her cooking skills don't go much beyond thawing and reheating food I've prepared and frozen.

ok, so a microwave, a toaster oven and lots of rubbermaid?

gezzy, do they still make Vita-Craft? 21 years is a good long time.

I have some old cast-iron pans, too, that were my mother's. They are very old, and well-seasoned, so they cook beautifully.

What is the brand, Jerry? That's not a bad price. I like the non-stick idea, but like fishin', most of them are ruined after a few months in my kitchen.

Beth, yeah, and I've got my old microwave and toaster oven in the basement. Lots of Rubbermaid too.

Hey! I don't have to buy her anything for her birthday.

I used an old aluminum pot for popping for years, until I had to pop about 20 jars of Redenbacher's for a block party. I bought a hot air popper and like it much better.

mckenzie, I knew my offer on this forum would not go for naught. Heck, I don't know of any sane person that's a beginner that doesn't consider as a first purchase, the great invention called, Microwave Oven. c.i.