Looking for a Good Stainless Steel Saucepan

[slackmax]

I say a 'good' one, because the one at Walmart I looked at today said not to ever use it on the high setting, since it would blacken the stainless steel. Outside or inside, I don't know.

Who buys a pot or pan they can't use on high ??

That was the only stainless steel sauce pan Walmart had, so I have ruled them out. It was $7.95, btw.  And it was ' 3 ply' whatever that means. 

Where can I get a decent stainless steel 1 or 2 quart saucepan with lid, that I can use on all temp settings?

I want to buy it at a real store, not online, also.

And how much should I expect to pay?

Not interested in coatings of any kind. Just want plain old stainless steel.

I'd be using it a lot to heat up coffee in the morning, and to make popcorn, and other stuff.

Oh, one more thing. This pan at Walmart had a lid that had a small hole in it. Why would it have a hole? Never saw that before. To let steam out and prevent boilover? 

Thanks in Advance!

[Queen Frugal]

I always buy my pans from thrift stores. Only metal, no funky coatings. There is a thrift store close to me that is just an awesome little place. I am missing it right now. The owner won't resell teflon-coated stuff so she always has stainless steel pots and pans. I have determined they are all pretty decent and they aren't that much different from one another.

No idea about the hole on the lid.

[slackmax]

I always buy my pans from thrift stores. Only metal, no funky coatings. There is a thrift store close to me that is just an awesome little place. I am missing it right now. The owner won't resell teflon-coated stuff so she always has stainless steel pots and pans. I have determined they are all pretty decent and they aren't that much different from one another.

No idea about the hole on the lid.

Thanks for the reply, Queen Frugal!  That's right, no funky coatings! 

[CupcakeGuru]

I received a set of stainless steel All Clad set for my wedding almost 20 years ago and they are still perfect. It did come with some of the teflon coated that didn't make it 5 years. I hate all the coatings and vowed to never get the coating ones again.

I bought several used All Clad sauce pans on ebay and they are still working great. I just looked some up and then are about $40. Nextdoor also may be a good option during this time.

A good set of pots and pans can be a buy it for life purchase.

[Wintergreen78]

I’d look for a restaurant supply store. A stainless skillet should be fairly inexpensive. If there is any warning about damage from high heat, then it isn’t stainless steel.

In fact I think restaurant supply places are really good options for most kitchen stuff. It’s all built to last under heavy use. I’ve never gone to one in-person though, kitchen stuff I always buy on-line.

[PMG]

The hole in the lid is so that it doesn't create a vacuum inside and seal the lid to the pan.  That happened to my mom while fixing a birthday dinner.  Very memorable, prying the lid off with a screwdriver. 

Brother swears by his All Clad.  Walmart sells a brand Calphalon, that has some plain stainless I've used and liked while house sitting.  I think of Calphalon as knock off All Clad.  They won't be $7 though. 

I got two Cuisinart stainless pans at thrift.  One a small skillet, the other a deep, straight side skillet that we use for everything. We really like them. I don't know exactly what model they are but when I looked up their website they also caution against using the highest heat.  There is very little I would cook at high.

Cast iron ought to be able to handle the highest heat, but like all pans, you start at a lower heat and gradually increase.  There are some nice looking enameled or bare cast iron sauce pans out there. 
 

[FINate]

We got a cheap set of pots and pans as wedding gifts. They lasted 2-5 years before things started breaking, melting, corroding.

Almost all the cookware from second hand stores in our area has weird coatings and/or is in really rough shape. This may be a regional thing, lots of people shop second-hand here so stuff is usually picked over.

So we bought a set of All-Clad. After 15 years of hard daily use they're still in like-new condition. And they do a great job of dispersing the heat evenly to minimize hot/cold spots (important if cooking with gas).

If you can't find a quality saucepan second-hand, it's worth paying a little more for quality IMO.

[APowers]

I always look for Farberware pots/pans in the thrift store. I have no idea if they're "the best", but they are what my Mom had when I was a kid, and have always been perfectly satisfactory. Except that one time I left an empty pot on high for like 10 minutes and accidentally made the bottom just a "little" melty. I was sad about that one.

[lthenderson]

We have had a complete set of All Clad stainless steel cookware for 20 years and it still is in excellent shape. It is definitely oven safe because we throw ours from the cooktop into the oven all the time. I will never buy another stainless steel pan again... mainly because I won't have too.

[Uturn]

I bought a set of All-Clad in 2005.  Stainless, no coatings.  All are still looking and performing like new.  One of the reason I went with All-Clad is because of the solid copper core.  Some lesser brands only look like they have a solid copper core.

[Dicey]

Paging @Malkynn. Sigh, I wish this site's search function weren't so damn useless...

As they say in TV courtroom dramas, "Asked and answered, your honor."

[NorCal]

I got a wonderful Kirkland set from Costco a few years back. I fully expect it to last the rest of my life. I think I got it on sale for about $160. It was a full set of pots and skillets.

[Metalcat]

Paging @Malkynn. Sigh, I wish this site's search function weren't so damn useless...

As they say in TV courtroom dramas, "Asked and answered, your honor."

All of my stainless steel are Paderno. I picked them up while I was in New Brunswick. However, I mostly use my cast iron, or copper.

That said, if the only issue with the high heat is that it will be blackened, then who cares? Let it get blackened.

[englishteacheralex]

I looked this up on Wirecutter.com and they like the Tramontina tri-ply ones. I bought a 12" fry pan of that make/model about five months ago for $37 and I've like it quite a lot. They're available at WalMart; not just any Tramontina pan, mind you--the tri-ply ones. Just read the review; it's very comprehensive.

[jamaicaspanish]

Life Pro Tip for your stainless steel pots and pans:  Barkeeperīs Friend.
We outfitted our entire kitchen with thrift store stainless (Cuisinart, I think it turned out).
And Barkeeperīs Friend was our best friend.
Every stainless pot and pan we bought cleaned up like new with a little elbow grease and some BF.

[chemistk]

Through Christmas gifts and thrift/sale purchases, my entire set of cookware has slowly been replaced by All-Clad.

My Mom used Faberware for 25 years and finally just got sick of it. Plastic handles suck. We received a set of Faberware for our wedding and it's not been doing so great - especially the pans that came with the set.

Comparing All-Clad to Caphalon, All-Clad wins every time. We've had a few Caphalon pans that just don't cook as well as the All-Clad.

Since nearly all our meals are cooked at home and we like to cook a wide, wide range of recipes, I have no issues eventually replacing everything with something that I know is going to work well.

[Kem]

We have a couple copper core dent/defect all-clads from 2005 & couple of cast iron.  The outside of the all-clad has some heat coloration, but I really dont care.  The cast-iron looks a bit gnarly --- flavour additives
I cook 99% of all the food the family eats.

[chicagomeg]

Life Pro Tip for your stainless steel pots and pans:  Barkeeperīs Friend.
We outfitted our entire kitchen with thrift store stainless (Cuisinart, I think it turned out).
And Barkeeperīs Friend was our best friend.
Every stainless pot and pan we bought cleaned up like new with a little elbow grease and some BF.

I tried the Barkeeper's Friend on my boyfriend's all clad pans as a quarantine project and made no progress. But, a tip I found on Wirecutter's YouTube channel to boil the pots in water with a box of baking soda mixed in did the trick and they look gorgeous again. I would definitely buy used stainless steel pots & pans if I were in the market. Like most things, the quality of those made 20 years ago is likely much better than those being made today.

[Kem]

clean & polish... or... toss them on top of a charcoal grill for a session or two and say they now have Flari une cuisine

[slackmax]

Thanks for all the replies!

I looked online and the price for a new one quart stainless steel sauce pan by AllClad was $100 to $150.  For one saucepan. Maybe no one pays that much, I would guess, even though that's the asking price? 

I went to a bargain/discount store today and they had lots of sauce pans for $8  and $10 but they were all coated with something.   

I do have a one quart Corning glass saucepan, but for some reason I never thought of it as being usable for anything except boiling water, or heating up coffee. Well, I started using it to heat up food, and even made some popcorn in it. It seems to be surviving somehow! Cleans out easily too.

I'm going to keep looking for a one quart stainless steel sauce pan, though.  Maybe thrift store is the way to go.       

[Kem]

I see a handful of well loved units on ebay for $20-80.  The Rdstore has a 2 qt stainless with try ply bottom for $15

[slackmax]

I see a handful of well loved units on ebay for $20-80.  The Rdstore has a 2 qt stainless with try ply bottom for $15

Thanks, Kem.

[lthenderson]

I looked online and the price for a new one quart stainless steel sauce pan by AllClad was $100 to $150.  For one saucepan. Maybe no one pays that much, I would guess, even though that's the asking price? 

Yeah the sticker shock can be off-putting for sure but the way I see it, you are putting down a lifetime investment on something of high quality. We spent probably five years acquiring our collection of AllClad one piece at a time. They are a joy to cook with and I haven't had a single regret, especially considering all those pots I bought prior that had handles fall off, bottoms that warped, hot spots that would scorch things instantly, etc.

[AccidentialMustache]

We have a (semi-)spendypants royal prestige set. The wedding push type deal. That said they do stand behind their product -- they exchanged our original set out for one that works on our (then new) induction stove, no fee. I don't remember if we paid shipping to them or if they covered it.

I say semi because I'm not sure we bought even half the collection we have new at this point. Ebay. Lots of newlyweds buy pot sets, don't cook, and then sell them -- or they did back in the early 2000s.

We do have a couple generic stainless steel pots/fry pans we bought at Meijer. I don't recall the brand. Good thick heavy bases that were induction capable when we were just testing out induction with a little countertop burner. They are still in our cabinets and still get a lot of use because most of our RP isn't sloped-sides.

[big_owl]

Life Pro Tip for your stainless steel pots and pans:  Barkeeperīs Friend.
We outfitted our entire kitchen with thrift store stainless (Cuisinart, I think it turned out).
And Barkeeperīs Friend was our best friend.
Every stainless pot and pan we bought cleaned up like new with a little elbow grease and some BF.

This works for copper pots as well.  I used to polish ours with metal polish once every month or two and it was a PITA.  Now literally I just gently rub a paste or barkeepers friend and water on the copper and it makes it look good as new in seconds.  No elbow grease even needed here, I just use the dish sponge. 

[zolotiyeruki]

We got a set of stainless Cuisinart as a wedding gift 17 years ago, and they've served us very well.  Well enough that last year we bought another saucepan for those days when DW is cooking something more complex.  Zero complaints, and a lot cheaper than All Clad. (to be fair, I've never used All Clad, so I have no basis for comparison)

That said, we have three cast iron skillets, which we use All.  The.  Time.

[coffeefueled]

Second vote for Tramontina. Americas Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated suggests them as the next best thing if you don't want to shell out the $ for All Clad. I got a set of the tri-ply ones about 5 years ago and they're still great. I used them on a high BTU gas burner to sear steak before I got my cast iron skillet and they did fine. The tri-ply extends up the sides which means the pan wont warp on high heat.

I have a coated pan I use for eggs/omelets because it's easier, but I use the stainless steal for everything else and they hold up great.

[imadandylion]

We have a set of 'tri-ply' Calphalon stainless steel pots/pans for about 10 years, and I've never had a problem with them or felt the need to upgrade. I love to cook quite a bit and they do the job and look new without discoloration/warping, etc. they heat up quickly and evenly. I think that in general heat distribution depends more on your type of stove top than the actual pan. I like that the pots/pans are completely stainless steel (handle and all) so they can go straight into the oven (up to 500 degrees F, I believe). My own gripe is that some of the lids are marginally smaller/larger than each other, so when you're trying to grab a lid for a pot/sauce pan they kind of fit but are not the right lid. Who fvcking designs like that? Why not make everything the same diameter so you can use any lid for the majority of the pots? (But once you get the right lid for the right pot, they fit fine, obviously. I'm just being picky.) But other than that, it's fine. And if you're just buying one pot, you probably won't run into this problem.

In general, I wouldn't stress about it and try to go for the most expensive thing in cookware unless there is a certain effect you're trying to achieve or you want a specific pot/pan size (e.g. Dutch oven or cast iron) and you know for a fact that new piece of cookware is going to deliver on that. I'm not sure how a more expensive brand would 'cook better' than a basic stainless steel pan/pot, and you could definitely make a great meal without expensive things. There are great cooks everywhere who don't have 'the best' equipment. At some point, you'll run into the law of diminishing returns.

[cooking]

Warning: Slightly off-topic but I couldn't help myself.  Why make popcorn in any kind of pan?  Put about 1/3 cup regular popcorn in a paper bag, fold it over to close a couple turns at the top, set microwave for 2 min. at full power.  Remove when there are about 3 seconds between pops.  Boom, you're done.  Can even reuse the bag a few times, and no need to shake a pan or wash it.  I find very few unpopped kernels with this method, either.

Alton Brown appears to be the first to publish the method, but it has since been even more simplified by eliminating the staple closure he originally called for at the top of the bag (which he assured his followers was not enough metal to make the microwave arc and spark, but which I found inconvenient b/c I could never seem to locate a stapler with staples in it when I needed it), and by eliminating yet a second refinement which advised to spray the inside of the bag with cooking oil spray.

Sorry for deviating from thread topic.

[PMG]

But then I have to buy paper bags and a microwave? I already have a pan.

(I’m not the OP)

[cmk]

I love making popcorn in a paper bag, no oil necessary, no staple necessary, easy cleanup!

I bought some Tramontina about 17 years ago at a TJMaxx.  That's a good place to look for deals on cookware too!  I wouldn't have bought it if I realized they were primarily sold at WalMart, assuming poor quality.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  They still look like new and I'll never have to replace them.  I do have some All-Clad, including the 14 inch chef's skillet.  What a wonderful piece of cookware if you are cooking for a family.  It was my 50th birthday present and listed at $250!  If you invest in buy-it-for-life cookware, be sure to remember bed-bath-and beyond's 20% off coupons.

[lthenderson]

There is also no comparison in taste between popcorn popped in oil in a pan versus dry popped in a plastic bag.

[cooking]

But are you saying you eat the popcorn popped in a pan w/nothing on top?  I use Bob's Red Mill popcorn and pop it in a paper bag in the microwave.  It's the freshest, sweetest-tasting popcorn I've ever eaten.  But I'll admit I usually use something on top of it which I adhere by spraying lightly but evenly with some type of cooking oil spray first.  Rule of thumb in taste tests is usually apples to apples.

[lthenderson]

But are you saying you eat the popcorn popped in a pan w/nothing on top?  I use Bob's Red Mill popcorn and pop it in a paper bag in the microwave.  It's the freshest, sweetest-tasting popcorn I've ever eaten.  But I'll admit I usually use something on top of it which I adhere by spraying lightly but evenly with some type of cooking oil spray first.  Rule of thumb in taste tests is usually apples to apples.

My tool of choice is to use an old aluminum pressure cooker that no longer has rubber seals. It keeps the kernels contained that way and the lid stays in place. But I have to shake it every so often so the kernels don't burn on the bottom which is something you wouldn't have to do with the paperbag method. I have done it in a frying pan but you can't cook as much at a time and depending on the fit of your lid, you might have to hold it with one hand while shaking it to prevent scorching. I find that the oil used in the pan is enough to coat the kernels and get salt to stick after you dump it into a bowl.

[J Boogie]

I shelled out the big bucks for a demeyere. Not sure who else makes one that doesn't have carriage bolt style connectors that can make cleaning annoying, but demeyere brazes/welds the handle to the pan instead of using a mechanical joint.

Love that thing. 5 ply. I heard 7 was not needed and that 3 is good but 5 is perfect.

[lsgrey]

Thank you, everyone. For me finding a good stainless steel pan was always a problem. Next time I'll take into consideration all your tips.

[GizmoTX]

If you are considering All Clad, check out MadeIn.com. Great quality & customer service. A full line of clad stainless steel, plus some nonstick skillets. I own & love their Carbon steel wok, which has a very flat bottom that we use on an induction cooktop. We also bought their 10" carbon steel skillet because cast iron is getting too heavy for me & I don't want to scratch our cooktop. We also have some All Clad pots without the long handles that I can't stand.

At a lower price point, we found a very serviceable Emerils branded stainless set at Sam's Club to use while our good cookware was in storage.