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(More customer reviews)Hi y'all,
If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I try to tell you what I think about the item, rather than gush or slam emotionally.
I got on the waterless cookware research kick after attending a Saladmaster party. I loved the idea of waterless for the health benefits and flavor of the food, as well as the quality of construction of the surgical steel pieces. My husband is a full time seminary student, and I homeschool our children. There is no way we will ever be in a position where $2000-5000 for a set of cookware will be a good buy in our opinions. I am not impugning Saladmaster, at all. I'm saying we can't afford it, and even if we could, I don't have it in me to shell out that much money for pans.
What anyone considering this cookware needs to consider is that waterless is a distinctive, and probably a new way of cooking. It requires adjustment in practice and thinking unless you already cook waterless. The idea is to cook the foods at a low enough temperature (212 degrees F or less) and with as little liquid as possible so that the majority of the nutrients are not cooked out and additional calories from fats/oils/grease are not cooked in. The natural flavors of the food really do come out when cooking waterless. It is a technique that requires a little patience and maybe some practice if you are in the habit of bringing something to a boil and cooking it until it is done. Waterless cookware does not mean you won't burn dinner if you are not paying attention. That is not to say you can't use these pans exactly the way you use other cookware--with water. If you want to cook waterless, you have to be in the kitchen until the steam valve whistles so you can turn the heat down to low or off. The food continues to cook from the steam and it's own liquid. The instruction manual that comes with the cookware has recommended cooking times for vegetables, and those should be followed because when all the liquid evaporates, the food will burn. If you're leaving the burner on, and you're leaving the kitchen, set a timer to come back and turn the burner off. Also, you have to use the right size pan for the amount of food you're preparing. The bottom of the pan needs to be covered with food, or the natural moisture in the food and the little water that clings to rinsed off vegetables cooks out too fast, and the food will burn. Other waterless cookbooks are avaliable, and I recommend getting one so that you can learn how to adjust your favorite recipes to the waterless cooking method. I found other sets on-line, and the affordable ones are made by Maxam--if you have Maxam, World's Finest, Chef's Secret or Steam Control, Maxam made it. The expensive ones are made by Regal--Saladmaster, West Bend, etc. Regal sets are made of T317 (grade)surgical steel, and there is little difference in quality between the T317 and T304. Maxam offers T304 surgical stainless steel in 5, 7, and 9 ply (layer) construction, though I've been told the nomenclature has changed slightly so that the layers are more easily understood. Mom gave me a set of the 9 ply, and it is fabulous.
The quality is outstanding. The company has been in business since the 1950s, and when you look at and use the pans you can see why. They have a mirror finish and are very heavy, especially compared to standard metal cookware--even stainless steel. 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 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 because they look sturdy, but if they 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) and they are inexpensive to purchase from the company.
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. 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, and everything comes off by hand very easily. 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. Butter beans(large lima)are very starchy, and nothing is more difficult to scrape off of a pan besides blackened, carmelized, starch. I followed the directions in the manual by scraping out that which could be salvaged, adding water to the pan, returning it to the stove, and bringing 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 when things burned--I've had to do the dryer sheet trick, and not had alot of luck with that. 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.
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 dinner, 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 cook, and the price is unbeatable. I don't know whether or not you can boil an egg with a wet paper towel 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.
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Chef's Secret 22-Piece Element Super SetProduct Description: 22 pc 9-element super set with surgical stainless steel.
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