Hi folks,
After many years with the Costco-clearance Calphalon Non-Stick cookware set that I bought myself when I moved into my first apartment, I'm finally ready to upgrade.
I really don't need much. The majority of cooking that I do is handled by two large carbon steel frying pans and a carbon steel wok (I make a lot of stir fries, noodles, etc), so I really just need a few pots of varying sizes for making curries, soups, and sauces.
So, I'd like to get myself some nice stainless steel pots. Seems easy enough. The issue I'm currently having is basically option paralysis - every company has dozens of different lines and I'm struggling with the differences between many of them.
For example, my local Ross, TJMaxx, and Home Goods all regularly have Cuisinart cookware available, much of it is tri-ply. However, Cuisinart alone have four different lines of tri-ply cookware: the PureClad, the French Classic, the MultiClad Pro, the Profile, and then the 5-ply Custom-Clad.
Similar issues persist with other brands across a wide range of price points, and then there are the highly-rated DTC brands like Made In, Misen, and Goldilocks.
My question, ultimately, is, does it matter? Is there a meaningful difference in the quality and performance of, say, a $35 tri-ply Cuisinart pan from Home Goods and a $200 tri-ply Made In pan?
I would think "probably not for most people," but I defer to y'all.
Cheers!