Product Reviews – Page 13

In-Depth Product Review: Demeyere Proline Skillet a/k/a Atlantis Gold 5-star Frying Pan 28 cm & 32 cm diameter (11 inch & 12.6 inch diameter)

THE COMPANY

Demeyere (pronounced Deh-MAI-reh) is a Belgian company founded in 1908 as a family business. 100 years later, the family sold the company to Zwilling J. A. Henckels (itself owned by the Werhahn Group, a German family investment firm that also owns Staub and other high-end brands).

Demeyere is an offbeat cookware company. Imagine an uncle who loves cooking. Imagine he wins the lottery and decides to build the ultimate set of cookware for himself, regardless of cost, such that he will never even think of buying any more cookware afterwards. Imagine that he loves the results so much that he shares them with the world. That’s pretty much Demeyere in a nutshell: superb–likely the last pan you will ever want to buy.

Here is Demeyere’s video about Demeyere Proline skillets, explaining the skillet’s 3-layer magnetic stainless base and how it’s more responsive to induction than most other pans:

If you’ve never cooked on stainless before, here’s a video showing you how to cook on stainless (though the take-off-the-burner-with-lid trick is only applicable to Demeyere’s extra-thick pans; for other pans that don’t hold as much heat, you will probably have to keep cooking on the burner):

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In-Depth Product Review: Bar Keepers Friend (BKF)

PRODUCT REVIEW: BAR KEEPERS FRIEND

“The answer to life’s problems: F it. BKF it!” –unused advertising jingle

Okay, they’ll never use that line as an advertising jingle, but I do want to shine a spotlight on my favorite way to quickly clean stainless steel and copper cookware: Bar Keepers Friend (all varieties)!

Many people gravitate to cookware that has stainless steel inner linings, but discover that stainless steel discolors easily. The discoloration usually comes from two sources:

Rainbow discoloration often stems from overheating the metal or oil residue¹
Grungy/white discoloration often stems from food residue or sometimes hard water (mineral stains left behind by water that has metal in it)

Regardless of why your stainless steel is discolored, the easiest way to get rid of it is to use a weak acid such as oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a natural acid found in nature (e.g., you can find oxalates in spinach and potatoes), but that doesn’t mean you should eat a lot of it. Thoroughly rinse out any cookware you wash, regardless of whatever cleaning agent you use.

Oxalic acid is commonly sold in canisters of Bar Keepers Friend Powder, which is affordable, doesn’t take much space, and never expires. Just add it to the pan, add a little water to make a paste, and scrub lightly, letting the chemical do most of the work.
There is also Bar Keepers Friend Cookware which now come in silver-colored canisters. This is better for cookware because it’s less abrasive, according to the manufacturer. I’ve used both, and the difference is subtle. But since the Cookware version costs about the same as regular BKF, I’ve switched to the Cookware version.
Also, you could also buy pre-made Bar Keepers Friend paste, but that’s less economic if you don’t mind adding your own water.
You could also use citric acid, such as lemon slices, but those tend to cost more and not keep as well as canisters of BKF. Similarly, you could use white vinegar, but it’s usually sold in bulky jugs at 5% acetic acid concentration that take up a lot of space.

After 2 Rounds of BKF and Scrubbing — After a Round of BKF and Scrubbing

After 3 Rounds of BKF and Scrubbing — After 2 Rounds of BKF and Scrubbing

In my experience, a large canister of BKF lasts for several months and never expires. I like to use concentrated BKF, so I add only a small amount of water to a pan (just enough to cover the surface), mix in some BKF, let the chemical do its thing for a minute, and then scrub with a Scotch-Brite Non-scratch Scrub Sponge. Starch residues from beans/pasta/etc. will succumb to a BKF-enhanced scrubbing. So will black, burned-on gunk, though it will take a while (let the BKF sit for a minute–let the acid do some of the work). If you don’t want to press down at all while scrubbing, perhaps due to arthritis, I can personally recommend the OXO Good Grips Soap Dispensing Palm Brush (brushes are refillable) which we use in our household because it’s easy to hold, and you can dispense dish detergent by squeezing it via the top button (which is well-designed and hard to accidentally squeeze).

Whatever acid you choose to use, don’t use a strong acid like sulfuric acid or undiluted hydrochloric acid, as those can corrode and etch stainless steel.

FOOTNOTES

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In-Depth Product Review: Anolon Nouvelle Copper Nonstick

THE COMPANY

Meyer Corp. is one of the largest cookware manufacturers in the world. Meyer owns the Anolon brand all by itself, but Meyer makes a lot of stuff for celebrity chefs like Paula Deen, too. Typically, the brand owner and Meyer agree to specifications in a contract, and Meyer then makes the cookware and slaps the brand owner’s name on it.

THE PRODUCTS BEING REVIEWED

This review is for Anolon Nouvelle Copper, of which I have several other pieces. They are made in Thailand. I bought the 8, 10, and 12-inch skillets, as well as the 5-quart (12 inch) saute pan, but this review is applicable to the rest of the product line, too.

Anolon Nouvelle Copper features some of Meyer Corporation’s best technology. These are beyond a doubt some of the sexiest pieces of cookware I have ever seen, due to the curved handles, copper bands, and slick, black interior surfaces that are not marred by uncoated, bumpy rivets that can collect food particles and grime. Every time I cook with them is a joy, as is every time I clean them up in seconds with a splash of water and Scotch-Brite 3M Non-Scratch Sponge.

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In-Depth Product Review: Williams-Sonoma Thermo-Clad (Thermo Clad or ThermoClad)

Williams-Sonoma Thermo-Clad Stainless Steel Saute Pan

The short story: This cookware is an All-Clad Stainless type of design, but with more comfortable handles, nicer, double-walled lids. Performance is within the ballpark of All-Clad Stainless in terms of even heating.

The long story: Thermo-Clad (ThermoClad or Thermo Clad) is a decent All-Clad Stainless knockoff, but the bang for the buck is poor for this cookware when you consider the alternatives, and Thermo-Clad marketing is potentially misleading (below). [Read more…]

Product Review Rating Methodology for Cookware

Ann and I are real people, cooking real food, in real consumer kitchens (ours, and those of friends and family). In contrast, supposedly “professional” reviews are often flawed and follow a herd mentality. For instance, Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen’s methodology is flawed in many ways:

Their testing is unrealistic–most home chefs don’t have access to big, professional gas stoves, which benefit clad designs more than disc-base designs. (Clad pans often aren’t as even heating as disc-base, but the difference lessens on big gas burners.)
They often don’t seem to care about factors like handle comfort or ease of cleanliness–yet home chefs care about such things.
They tend to select a handful of weak competitors to challenge the cookware they anoint as “best.”
Their reviews are inconsistent; what matters in one review doesn’t seem to matter in another.
CI has a history of shoddy reviews. E.g., they promoted the cheap OXO can opener but that model falls apart quickly. Ditto when they promoted the old KitchenAid blender (cracked jars), Zyliss garlic press (nonstick coating peels off after a while), T-Fal (crowns in the middle despite CI’s claiming its longevity), etc. CI’s recipe guides are good, but their product reviews need improvement.

Celebrity TV chefs don’t cook realistically, either. They often get free stuff as part of their sponsorship deals with kitchenware companies. They often cook on pro-grade gas stoves as well–not realistic for most home chefs. And they don’t really comment on handling, heating performance, value, corrosion resistance, or ease of cleaning. After all, some poor intern is the one doing the dishes.

Then there are typical, low-quality internet review sites, most of which don’t do their own homework; they just crib notes from others or copy and paste from manufacturer brochures. Some sites even take free or discounted samples from manufacturers and then claim that they are unbiased. Yeah right.

And don’t get us started on the biased reviews that plague the internet where companies send samples to reviewers who are pressured into giving high ratings or else the flow of free stuff ends. (But at least those biased reviewers might have actually used the product at all. My advice would be to disregard any online “review” site that only has stock photos. A genuine reviewer would have shots of the product in action, like I do.)

This site is not like others.

We actually use stuff like a home user would, with photos to prove it. We do NOT take any free samples or any other incentives. We pay for everything ourselves. We’re cooking enthusiasts, not paid shills for some megacorporation. This site is a labor of love, and we cook like home chefs actually cook: on residential-grade electric coil, induction, and gas stoves. We talk about pros and cons. And we use testing equipment properly. Many readers have written in to say that they love the unique, detailed reviews on this site, so we’ve continued to review products.

This site did not start off as a cookware review site (which for better or worse is the most popular part of this site right now), but we happened to have a LOT of different cookware because of our obsession with even heating and avoiding creating carcinogenic chemicals due to overheating. That might sound extreme, but when your spouse develops colon cancer in their 30s and the blood tests show that the cancer was not caused by genes, it makes you worried about environmental carcinogens.

Okay, off the soapbox now. Let’s get to how we rate kitchenware products:

Ratings are inherently subjective, except for even heating. Nevertheless, you can use these subjective rankings as a rough guideline. 5 = Excellent, 1 = Very Poor.

Overall ratings are derived from various factors and subfactors:

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In-Depth Product Review: Berndes SignoCast Pearl Ceramic (a/k/a Vario Click, Aluguss, EcoFit Pearl) Saute and Fry Pan Skillet 32 cm diameter each

THE COMPANY

NOTE: As of 2021 this produt line appears to be discontinued.

Berndes (BURN-dez as pronounced in the USA, or BAN-dez in German), formally known as Berndes Küche GmbH, and formerly known as Heinrich Berndes Haushaltstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, is a German cookware manufacturer established in 1921 in Arnsberg, Germany.¹ The Berndes family eventually sold the company to an investor that moved nearly 70% of production to China to cut costs, with underwhelming results. There was a January 12, 2012 news article on German broadcaster Deutsche Welle about how Berndes subsequently brought production back from China to Germany. The clip is below:

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