Excellent Cookware
Written: Jan 22 '06
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Pros: Excellent quality cookware, recommended as waterless without Regal's brands pricetag.
Cons: None for me. These were exactly what I wanted in cookware.
The Bottom Line: I wanted Saladmaster, but couldn't afford it. This cookware is just as wonderful and the price is fantastic.
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| bddailymom's Full Review: Chef's Secret 15-pc 9 Element Stainless Steel Cook... |
This is a set of waterless cookware and favorably compares to that of Saladmaster, any other Regal brand, and that sold at state fairs nation-wide. It's higher quality than the competition at kitchen retailers, and unbeatable for the price when compared to top sellers at department stores as well as home demo parties.
The company has been in business since the 1950s, and when you look at and use the pans you can see why. The pans have a mirror finish and are very heavy, especially compared to standard metal cookware--even stainless steel. This cookware is 9 Element, which means 9 layers of different metals. The top three brands at kitchen and department stores advertise tri-ply which is only 3 layers. The multi-layer construction is incomparable to the standard 18/10 stainless I'm replacing, and I was using one of the nicer sets. The metals within the layers includes aluminum and surgical stainless steel. Aluminum is incomparable for even heat distribution, but it warps easily and can contaminate the food with metal properties leaching in when cooking. Stainless steel is durable and retains heat very well. It doesn't warp. For stainless steel to be considered surgical steel, it must contain a higher percentage of nickel and chromium. These are higher quality metals that improve performance as well as quality. The surgical steel prevents metallics from cooking into the food, enables extremely easy clean up even from scorched starches, and carries a shine forever.
The handles are sturdy and stay cool when cooking. The set is completely self-stacking, which is significant. Other cookware can be stacked, but the lids slide around and the cookware slips off if it isn't balanced just right. These lids lie flat under the rim of the pan, which makes a flat surface for the next pan to set on. Nothing slides around or crashes the second you close the cabinet. The set comes with a lifetime warranty, excluding handles. I don't expect the handles to wear out in the next several years for several reasons. First, they seem very sturdy. Secondly, this is waterless cookware, so I'm cooking at lower temperatures for less time. They aren't exposed to heat like traditional cooking methods require. If the handles do need to be replaced, they can be easily replaced with a screwdriver (as opposed to having to replace the whole pan when the handle comes off.).
The price is excellent. You can't walk in Linens & Things or Dillard's/Foley's/Macy's and get a full set of cookware of this quality for the price. You probably can't even get a bigger set. Most of these waterless sets run between $200-300, depending on which ply you choose and from which website you order. Some websites charge more than $300, but do not pay it. There are too many out there that sell for $300 or less. Even if the handles break, or you drop one and break your foot, you can buy 10 sets of this waterless and still come out cheaper than the any of the Regal lines.
Clean up could not be easier. The pans are all dishwasher safe, but everything comes off by hand so easily, I haven't had to put mine in the dishwasher. I scorched butter beans last week. I was not sure how much water was needed to cook dried beans, nor how long to cook them, and I burned the bottom layer badly. Those butter (large lima) beans are very starchy, and nothing is more difficult to scrape off of a pan besides blackened, caramelized, starch. I scraped out that which could be salvaged, added water to the pan, returned it to the stove, and brought the water to a boil. When it was boiling, I scraped the scorched food off with a wooden spatula. I have have not had burned food come off teflon that easily. My standard stainless was a real pain to clean up under similar circumstances. I don't generally burn dinner, but we've all done it occasionally. I was actually worried about having to clean this one up because the pans were brand new, and I didn't want to scratch them to get the black off. I need not have worried.
In my opinion, anyone considering this set needs to think about the technique of waterless cooking. If you want to use these pans as you would with any recipe in any cookbook, you can, and you're getting high quality cookware to do it. If you want to try waterless cooking, you have to adjust your habits to accommodate the technique, and these pans are designed for waterless cooking. The idea behind waterless is to use the natural moisture in the food, the residual moisture from rinsing fresh vegetables, steam, and a seal to cook foods at the lowest temperature possible, with the least amount of added water, fat, or oil. Cooking foods above 212 degrees significantly decreases the nutrient values of the foods. When you add water, you cook the nutrients into the water, some of which evaporate in the steam, but then we drain the water to eat the food. To keep food from becoming dry and burning, using traditional cooking methods, we lubricate the pans with some sort of fat, which cooks additional calories into foods. At the same time nutrients are being cooked out, fatty calories cooked in, we lose the natural flavors of the foods. When cooking waterless with this set, you select the smallest pan that will accommodate the amount of food you need to prepare. Rinse the food, place it in the pan, turn the heat on medium, cover with the lid, making sure the steam vent is open. When the pan begins to whistle, turn the burner to low or off, and close the steam vent. Allow the food to continue to cook for another few minutes (depending on what it is, and according to the directions in the manual that comes with the set). Don't lift the lid until the cooking time is over, or you'll break the seal and allow the steam which cooks the food to escape. It's an easy cooking method to employ, but you have to be in the kitchen to hear the pan whistle, and you have to remember to turn the burner off and close the steam vent, or you will burn your food. If you aren't accustomed to cooking waterless, you are accustomed to food taking longer to cook, which means you have more time for it to sit on a hot stove before it burns.
I really like this set, and I won't buy any other kind of cookware. This set passed the Saladmaster baking soda test, and the fresh/frozen vegetables I have cooked in it taste better than they do when cooked in standard cookware. The meats have been more flavorful, juicier, more tender, and absorbed the seasonings better. It takes less time to cook diner, and l don't have to worry about a pot boiling over. I am glad that more of the nutrients are staying in the food I prepare, and the price is unbeatable. I don't know whether or not you can boil an egg with a wet paper towel (another Saladmaster claim) in these or not (because I haven't tried it yet), but for less than $300 and better quality than the mall, I don't care. I haven't meant to impugn Saladmaster, at all. We went to a party not long ago, and nearly fell out of our seats at the price. $3K for the same size set as this. I was captured by the waterless cooking method for all the benefits and quality of cookware, but at their price there was no way. With this set, I do not feel like I settled for a knock-off. I've cooked the same dinner at my house that they did at the demo party, and the food tasted exactly the same. I've been able to adjust to waterless cooking very easily and I think this is a fabulous set of cookware. I highly recommend it to anyone, whether waterless cooking is for you or not.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 235
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Epinions.com ID:
bddailymom
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Location: Rockwall, TX USA
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
Christian, pastor's wife, homeschool mom, American patriot, and aspiring author.
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