skwid 
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5452
 | | 06-01-2005 05:44 PM |
| Yep, the old Calphalon nonstick were just the same as any other nonstick pans. Lite and cheap feeling. I really like the Calphalon One stuff I have. | | | |
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Dave
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5772
| | 06-02-2005 02:50 AM |
| For posterity's sake, I'll post a link to All Clad's Factory Store here. I bought a 13" Braiser and a 4 QT copper core from them. These seconds come with the same lifetime warranty and they say that they eliminate most of the cosmetic defects that earned their "second" status before the pans are sold. In my case, one pan was flawless and the other had scratches (minor) on the bottom. After a few rounds of cooking both had identical scratches! All Clad Factory Store | | | |
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Dave Mci
Hudson, OH
Grape Fermenter
Posts: 697
| | 06-02-2005 01:47 PM |
| All Clad is having its annual "seconds" sale tomorrow at the Washington County Fairgrounds, about 25-30 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Gates open at 9:00 AM, and the line typically starts forming around 6:00 AM. I may take a spin down there. | | | |
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Edward Bowers
Palm Beach Gardens
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2072
| | 06-02-2005 02:18 PM |
| A word of caution with Calphalon. THE HANDLES GET HOT!!!!  Had a full set of these a few years ago. The handles got super hot. HAd to use their leather sleeves to be able to take a pot off the stove. They were so hot, that AFTER dinner, the handles were still hot. Took them all back to Macys's and got Circulon. Problem solved. Since then, have been very satisfied with the choice. | | | |
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Edward Bowers
Palm Beach Gardens
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2072
| | 06-02-2005 02:21 PM |
| Also with the non-stick, remember that a high heat setting will wreck the finish. Use of detergent will also degrade the finish, and ability to brown properly. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5452
| | 06-02-2005 03:51 PM |
| Quote:
A word of caution with Calphalon.
THE HANDLES GET HOT!!!!
Had a full set of these a few years ago. The handles got super hot. HAd to use their leather sleeves to be able to take a pot off the stove. They were so hot, that AFTER dinner, the handles were still hot.
Took them all back to Macys's and got Circulon. Problem solved. Since then, have been very satisfied with the choice.
The new Calphalon One pans/pots to not have the same problem as the older Calphalon's do with the "hot handle". My original set of Calphalons came with a leather handle cover but the new set does not need this as the handle was redesigned and I haven't had any "hot handle" problems. | | | |
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rjs3
NJ
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1124
| | 06-02-2005 04:20 PM |
| I got my Calphalon One by sending back a non-stick I had that was no longer non-stick. They sent me the C One with no problems. Love customer service. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2098
| | 06-02-2005 10:18 PM |
| I prefer the Calphalon handles - I can put the whole pot/pan in the oven and not worry about anything melting. An attribute I particuarly love when I'm cooking omelets, want to brown the top of something, or want to keep something warm.
I just buy one of the handle sleeves when I buy a Calphalon pan. They hang on a little rack next to the stove. I just grab one when I need it. My large Calphalon skillet has one of the rubber handles - it's a bugger to pull off when I need to put it in the oven, but not impossible. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts: 13773
| | 06-06-2005 01:15 PM |
| Quote:
I don't know what I'm doing that is giving me problems with cleaning these. I don't cook with real high heat, but I must be doing something different than everyone else, because these are hell to clean....
I had an interesting experience with my All Clad Master Chef series small pan. I was doing a bunch of scallops for Mrs. TJ and I for dinner, and I needed to use two pans. The first batch in each pan went fine. For the second wave, I only needed one pan so I used the smaller pan with the more gently angled sides. The pan was a bit smaller than the burner (only just) and I was working on finishing this last batch.It started to get a bit smoky in the kitchen, so I turn on my hapless cooktop hood to at least get the smoke moving and away from the food so I could better see what I was doing. It was a bit strange to see what was going on in the pan....
I popped the scallops out and moved the pan to a cool burner and we went to go eat, but about half of the pan had a really brown layer of super hard scunge on it. As if the oil and the tiny bits of juices from the scallops (I say tiny because I thoroughly dried them) merged in the whirwind of suction of the range hood to form this. At least that is the only thing that I can guess happened. The pan looked like hell.
I soaked the pan for a few hours and nothing was loosening. So I went to work on it and after a long, long time, or serious scrubbing I was able to get almost all of it off, but I think the pan now has at least some signs of permanent battle scars.
I have no idea what caused this (too high heat?), but it was weird. | | | www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2098
| | 06-06-2005 05:30 PM |
| TJ - what was the fat you used to cook with? I notice some cooking sprays become this thick grunge that is nearly impossible to clean off. There are some oils that are tough to clean as well. When I run into one of these, I heat the pan over a burner until it is just warm enough to make the fat move, but not hot. Then I get one of the "soft scrub" cleansers on it with a scrubber. Seems to work. Also try soaking the pan in hot water with an unused dryer sheet (think Bounce, Snuggle, etc.) or with a small capful of fabric softener. Both normally loosen anything stuck to a pan and are very gentle. Just be sure to wash it all off once you get the crud off or you'll have snuggly-smelling chicken.  | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts: 13773
| | 06-07-2005 02:05 AM |
| It was just olive oil. Just odd what it did I was quite puzzled. Thanks for the cleaning tips, though. I'll let you know which one works the next time something like this happens. Grazie! | | | www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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NobleRot
Grape Puncher
Posts: 720
| | 06-07-2005 02:27 AM |
| TJ, I'm wondering if the oil reached its burning point? I think something like that happened to me awhile back. I like starting with EVOO but also add some butter to enhance the browning effect, but obviously, you risk burning the butter. Just a thought. Hope you got it cleaned up though! I've had my LTDs for 7 years now, and they still look new. I would love to have the Copper ones someday, but the LTDs are much easier to care for. No wonder you often see chefs on TV use the LTDs.  | | | |
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NorCalVinoLover
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2202
| | 06-07-2005 09:54 PM |
| I'm curently adding to my All Clad LTD set, trying to replace everything except the large stock pots with All Clad. Just received one of the Saucier's as a wedding gift  , I love my All clad!  | | | |
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rjs3
NJ
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1124
| | 06-08-2005 04:59 PM |
| Don't ever use pan spray on a non-stick pan - it will turn into a superglue gunk, like Lilac was talking about. | | | |
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whiner
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning
Wine Thief
Posts: 2875
| | 06-25-2005 01:13 PM |
| Quote:
I've had my LTDs for 7 years now, and they still look new. I would love to have the Copper ones someday, but the LTDs are much easier to care for. No wonder you often see chefs on TV use the LTDs.
Out of curiosity, what is the difference in care/cleaning for the LTDs vs. the Copper Core?
Also, anyone who has cooked with both, what is the difference in conductivity/even heat?
a | | I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.
-- Woody Allen | |
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ChangeMe
Barrel Filler
Posts: 1475
| | 06-27-2005 05:41 PM |
| The LTD's are anodized aluminum. They are dark, don't tarnish, are hard as hell to scratch, and wipe up really easily. They are much easier to clean than the stainless, and since the Copper-core is stainless with a little strip of copper, it is a safe bet that LTD is much, much, much easier to care for than the copper core. I think the copper-core technically has a higher conductivity, but I would be truly shocked if the difference is one that could be noticed at all in 99% of pot and pan use. | | | |
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Al_ksyrah
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2118
| | 06-28-2005 03:24 AM |
| I agree, it's not clear that the copper core is thick enough to make much difference.
-Al | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts: 12487
| | 06-28-2005 01:10 PM |
| I have a question and apologize in advance if it has been asked before. I've seen all of these features such as copper core, copper bottom, stainless steel, anadon (sp?), teflon coated, etc... How does using Gas versus Electric stoves impact each of these? Would a teflon coated pan such as Calphalon be better for electric while a copper core stainless be better for gas? | | | Joe-----Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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Al_ksyrah
Barrel Sampler
Posts: 2118
| | 06-28-2005 01:28 PM |
| The idea of copper core is that the higher heat conductivity of copper efficiently spreads the heat laterally (assuming the layer is thick enough), reducing hot spots. Some cooks use different construction pots for different kinds of cooking, like solid copper for sauce pans because they respond more quickly to changes in the burner temperature allowing more control. You also wouldn't want a copper wok since a wok is supposed to have a hot spot. I think these effects are the same for either gas or electric.
-Al | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts: 5452
| | 06-28-2005 03:33 PM |
| Just purchased several Calphalon Commercial pots and pans off Amazon for less than $20 each. Combined with my brothers wife and we ended up getting the following for $60 total (8.5 qt saucier, 7 qt. chef caserole, 2.5 qt. shallow sauce pan, 10" everyday pan).
Thanks to SFWine for the pointer to the sale. | | | |
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