You get what you pay for....Dec 02 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line In stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware you get what you pay for! If what you buy is "almost as good", you will be "almost satisfied" - but not quite.
Like many things in life one can buy, there are many different options in "waterless/greaseless cookware". From cheap Teflon pans at the local dept. store, to Saladmaster - one of the most expensive sets of cookware available anywhere, there are many different products available. If you bought a Yugo, because it was "almost as good" as a Honda, you will definitely experience the points on which it is not as good. Those points may be reliability, longevity of the company that sells the car, availability of warranty work when needed and even several points where it simply cannot do/be all that the Honda would. In cookware, the same is true. If you buy inexpensive stainless steel cookware, you will undoubtedly experience many of the same negative result. For example, there is NO cookware sold in mainstream retail stores that has stainless steel has T304 surgical grade (or higher) stainless steel which is also higher than 18/10. Many people (both consumers and retail store sales staff) have no way of knowing that 18/10 stainless steel WILL CLEARLY put a bitter taste in the food cooked in it. Only 20/12 or higher won't add bitter flavors to the foods as they cook. Additionally, most of the less expensive stainless steel cookware in the retail stores is only 3 ply (which will not hold heat well) or may have an additional aluminum slab added to the bottom. Either way, it will not have edge to edge even heat, while holding the heat on a lower heat setting on. In order for stainless steel to cook as a non-stick surface there must be an even heat wherever the food touches the unit. If the heat is not even wherever it touches the food sticking will result. (Think of the old copper bottom Revere Ware - sticks like mad doesn't it!) Additionally, there are only a few companies which can be trusted to honor a "lifetime warranty" 30 years from now. After all, think of the GREAT many brands of cookware that have disappeared from the market - and are unable to honor handle and other warranty needs. Lastly, don't be fooled - aluminum is aluminum. Whether anodized, Teflon coated or whatever the flavor of the day is, it is still aluminum. Teflon is porous and the aluminum WILL leach through. Anodized aluminum may be hardened on the cooking surface, but is still aluminum - which is a soft metal and will not last a lifetime. Ask anyone who bought Miracle Maid - it was sold from the 50's into the 70's. Then, the manufacturer (West Bend) discovered that they were losing more than they were making in warranty work. At that time, they sold the name to Rena Ware. Rena Ware honored the warranty - with replacement items made of stainless steel. Aluminum cookware simply cannot hold up over time and will not do all that the stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware will do. There are many great brands of QUALITY stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware - all of which are primarily sold on in-home demonstrations or at trade shows. They are well worth the $$ - you will appreciate many years later. Finally, there are only 2 main manufacturers of stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware - West Bend and Regalware. Both have been in business and making cookware for over 50 years. Recently, Regalware bought West Bend - so now, 90% of all quality stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware comes from Regalware! These brands include Saladmaster, Classica, Cordon Bleu, Kitchen Craft, Lifetime and Cook Best. Regalware (and West Bend) manufacture for more than 30 brands in all. The bottom line is very simple - in stainless steel waterless/greaseless cookware you get what you pay for! If what you buy is "almost as good", you will be "almost satisfied" - but not quite.  |
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