Weak woman cooks

[Danestress]

I am ready to invest in a few new pieces of cookware. I have a small kitchen and want to weed out the junk and rely on a few really good pieces. I regularly cook for five big eaters, so one thing I really want is a large lidded skillet (sauté pan) that I could cook chicken or chops in, add sauces, cover, cook. So I have been pricing 6 quart stainless steel sauté pans. Or maybe 5 quart minimum.

 

So today I went to look. I could not believe how heavy the good ones are. I can barely pick up the all clad 6 quart. A lot of them have really uncomfortable handle designs, too. I am not sure I will really use them if they are so heavy and then picking them up is also miserable. On the other hand, I am drooling over the large cooking surface, heavy duty construction, etc.

 

Does anyone have advice? If you cook for a largish family, do you struggle with manhandling cookware? This isn't even cast iron!

 

 

[Harriet Vane]

Dh does most of the lifting. If there are noodles to drain, for example, he does it. I can take care of things myself in a pinch, but with arthritis in both hands it's nice to have dh do some of that. I consider it worthwhile because I love how my heavy, good quality pans operate.

[Miss Tick]

I don't have a particularly large family, but I do have a large pan (birthday present I think. sigh.) Anyway, it is SUPER difficult to handle with one hand, like if you want to pour that sauce onto a dish of pasta, or drain fat or liquids out. I don't know if there is a solution (maybe a set of good ladles?), but it is something to keep in mind.

[LisaKinVA]

Satue pans of that size should have two handles, and really aren't for making sauces (well, except gravies...which I've made in the saute pan). I use mine to mostly make casseroles, saute fish/chicken/veggies (which you can take out, before lifting), but in general, you shouldn't be pouring things out of a saute pan...they are too wide/bulky to handle in that manner.

 

A large sauce pan will usually only have one handle, and can be difficult to manage with one hand when full...in which case ladles are very helpful.

 

It really depends upon what you're doing in them, I guess.

[Murphy101]

The older I get the worse my hands are getting. Any quality cookware is going to be heavy. The heft makes it last longer and cook more evenly. I have found the key is well placed and shaped handles.

 

I have two decent priced good quality sets that I've enjoyed for years.

 

Wolfgang Puck stainless steel set from SAMs that I got a few years ago for Christmas.

 

I don't think my other older set is made any more.

[Liz CA]

I would even recommend Cast Iron Dutch Ovens because of how they cook (so much better IMHO) but they are even heavier. I always use both hands to move my little 12" cast iron pan. Every time I do it, I think I know why women did not used to have "chicken arms" 50 years ago. :laugh:

[Murphy101]

I would even recommend Cast Iron Dutch Ovens because of how they cook (so much better IMHO) but they are even heavier. I always use both hands to move my little 12" cast iron pan. Every time I do it, I think I know why women did not used to have "chicken arms" 50 years ago. :laugh:

 

Yes. And why they were twigs in their old age. They couldn't lift their pots to make food to eat!

[DarlaS]

Lift weights? :w00t:

 

Whatever you do don't buy this:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FCT33-28H-Classic-Tri-Ply-Stainless/dp/B004YV5ZVK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

I'm getting used to it, but the reviewer who stated that it is lightweight is nuts. Maybe compared to cast iron, but it is much heavier and more awkward than the pan it replaced (Kitchenaid hard anodized nonstick). The handle is also more than a little awkward for pouring. I have quite a few skillet dishes that end in the broth being thickened into some sort of gravy or sauce. It's also my go-to pan for meat sauce for lasagna etc.

 

It sure is pretty though. I hate to even think of what the 8 qt pot must weigh.

[Danestress]

Lift weights? :w00t:

Whatever you do don't buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-FCT33-28H-Classic-Tri-Ply-Stainless/dp/B004YV5ZVK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

 

Lol, Darla, that is one of the ones I am considering!

[DarlaS]

Lol, Darla, that is one of the ones I am considering!

 

 

Well, it IS a gorgeous pan--and it's growing on me. I was planning on collecting these as I get rid of my older nonstick, but now I'm not so sure. I may get one of the smaller saucepans and return it if I can't fill it with water and pour it more easily. They're SO pretty. I really want to like them. I know they'll last forever though, so I want to like them a LOT. The helper handle helps some, but I only have two hands. It's a BIG nuisance to pour anything out of because you don't have a hand free to help it along with a spatula. Admittedly, that's not what it's designed for, but seems to get used that way in my house.

 

I have had a shoulder injury though, and not nearly as much strength in my hands as I used to. My current set has handles coated with silicone, so the slipperiness is also something I'm having to adjust too. When pouring, it's difficult to keep the pan from rotating in my hand. The handle could be a little wider and flatter.

[AdventureMoms]

Use cast iron for awhile, then everything will seem light! You do get used to doing things a bit differently. For example, I do not "pour" things out of the pan if they will need help from a spatula, I'll scoop them out with a ladle or a big spoon. My big skillet is a 16" cast iron monstrosity and I'd break an arm if I tried to pour one-handed.

[Danestress]

It's a BIG nuisance to pour anything out of because you don't have a hand free to help it along with a spatula. Admittedly, that's not what it's designed for, but seems to get used that way in my house.

 

 

 

I have read this criticism about a number of saute pans I am looking at. I know this may seem dumb, but I can't think of why I would ever pour out of a skillet this big. I am thinking I would use a ladle to serve, or if I wanted to thicken a sauce, I would remove the meat with tongs and then thicken right in the pan, adding the meat back if necessary. I am curious, though, what it is that other, better cooks are doing in their kitchens that they want to pour sauce out of this pan! Maybe it's just that I am sort of a klutz and don't trust myself to pour in general.

[Liz CA]

Yes. And why they were twigs in their old age. They couldn't lift their pots to make food to eat!

 

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Murphy101]

I don't know how old your kids are, but what we have done with smaller cookware that is useless for a large family is to pack it up in the attic for the kids to pilfer as they move out. Our attic and garage is sort of a huge hope chest for the kids. Just because I can't use it or don't want to, doesn't mean they won't get lots of use out of it in a few years.

[DarlaS]

I have read this criticism about a number of saute pans I am looking at. I know this may seem dumb, but I can't think of why I would ever pour out of a skillet this big. I am thinking I would use a ladle to serve, or if I wanted to thicken a sauce, I would remove the meat with tongs and then thicken right in the pan, adding the meat back if necessary. I am curious, though, what it is that other, better cooks are doing in their kitchens that they want to pour sauce out of this pan! Maybe it's just that I am sort of a klutz and don't trust myself to pour in general.

 

 

I'm probably just a weirdo. :tongue_smilie: I like to make a meat sauce for lasagna in a big deep skillet and pour it from the pan prodding it along with a spatula. (Even washing it would be easier if you could tip it more easily while rinsing with the sprayer.) I've adapted though by scooping it with a small measuring cup or spoon. I just remembered I intended to hunt for something flexible for that purpose, or some ladles in various sizes.

[AdventureMoms]

I'm probably just a weirdo. :tongue_smilie: I like to make a meat sauce for lasagna in a big deep skillet and pour it from the pan prodding it along with a spatula. (Even washing it would be easier if you could tip it more easily while rinsing with the sprayer.) I've adapted though by scooping it with a small measuring cup or spoon. I just remembered I intended to hunt for something flexible for that purpose, or some ladles in various sizes.

 

 

I use this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Silvermark-S09046-Silicone-Ladle-Red/dp/B002AS9QTQ/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1354245352&sr=1-4&keywords=silicone+ladle

[DarlaS]

I use this one:

http://www.amazon.co...=silicone ladle

 

 

Thanks! And it's already red too. I just bought it, and since it's about time to update a few other things in my kitchen, some prep bowls with pour spouts and bendy beaker-looking things (and a red fiesta gravy boat, cobalt teapot...).