Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
For some reason, I find the All-Clad pans a lot easier to clean, particularly with eggs, cheese and burnt matter. With a bit of soaking, even the worst stuff comes off easily.
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Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
My cheap pans ALWAYS plink, and freak me out!
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
hehe, this is like an episode of america's test kitchen.
ditto on what jperlow said. went to target to buy one of those chefmate copper bottom fry pans maybe half a year ago. 17.99 or something and it's pretty good. handle doesn't really get super hot, but i've never tried to fry an egg in it b/c i'm an amateur that uses teflon pans for eggs. (mmm.. teflon in my tummy. damn dupont to hell)
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
As I understand, the All-Clad that is currently sold is no longer certified for professional use in restaurant kitchens. I think that's something people should consider when spending that kind of money on a pan with a "name".
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
The speed with which the pan heats is of less concern to me than how evenly the pan heats. Aluminumm is a good conductor of heat; copper is even better; steel is not as good and stainless steel is very poor conductor among metals. A heavy aluminum pan with a thin stainless steel lining is going to be a better frying pan over time than a stainless steel pan with a thin layer of aluminum. It's hard to tell if the butter burns in one spot first or all over at once. Nevetheless, a pan that responds quickly to heat is good, especially if it also cools down as quickly as it heats up. Hot spots can, and often do, develop over time. The plinking would lead me to suspect the pan was heating or cooling evenly. I'd worry about both hot spots and warpage over time, but I don't have the scientific background to provide good reasons for my worry.
Sometimes it's more economical to buy a cheap tool and replace it when it wears out than to buy a good tool once, but I find I tend to keep on getting by with the cheap tool long after it's stopped functioning properly. To protect myself, I've learned to buy better tools in the first place. On the other hand, it's often as easy to abuse good pans as cheap ones and the low cost pans may be good first choices for beginners learning to cook.
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
I might not have used an egg for this test. I might have seared red meat. Eggs are a good test of heat distribution but the searing of meat is the true test.
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
@thebkk: Correct, I wan't clear enough. The MC2 is actually three layers sandwiched : "Brushed aluminum exterior; 18/10 stainless-steel interior; pure aluminum inner core." The plinking could well be due to quality of metal.
Are Expensive Pans Necessarily Better?
Megnut, the All-Clad has an aluminum core with Stainless Steel on the cooking surface (and the exterior, if Stainless line, raw alum, if M2). The Aluminum core significantly improves the heat distribution, but I am willing to bet that the metal on the Crestware was lower quality than the All-Clad, leading to too-fast heating and maybe to the "plinking." Still intrigued!
I do believe that the stainless layer adds resistance, helping for more even distribution. I want to get a sliced pan, cut in half to see the clad strata!
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