<p>I was in Costco today and saw a demo of this cookware set:</p>
<p>Costco</a> - 11-piece Non-Stick Cookware with 6-piece Nylon Tool Set</p>
<p>Ok, the demo looks impressive, and he told us the non-stick part will never wear off, but really? And it costs over $500 with tax. Is it worth it? </p>
<p>How much are you willing to pay? If you have this, what do you think?</p>
<p>I never buy expensive non-stick because the coating is always shot in a year. They can talk all they want, but the reality is that the non-stick properties of these coatings never have and never will last.</p>
<p>For non-stick, I look for a decent two-pack promo deal of a decent brand like Kitchen Aide at Marshall's, use it for year, throw it away, and start over. They look identical, if not a little heavier-duty than yur link and I can get a couple of sizes in a two-pak for $20, usually. Last year, I bought two different two-paks and ended up with four sizes. Pay the serious money for stainless steel All-Clad or enamel cast iron Le Creuset that will last for a generation.</p>
<p>PS:</p>
<p>You don't even want non-stick coating your large stock pots or sauce pans. The only place non-stick is even a benefit is on skillets or sautee pans -- so that set really isn't ideal. Get a stainless steel set and then add non-stick skillets in a couple of sizes.</p>
<p>The cheapest, healthiest and best form of non stick cookware is a well seasoned cast iron pan.</p>
<p>Second the motion for cast iron ! I bought a set of Circulon 25 years ago and it's still great . Think Costco has it , or it goes on sale at Macy's . 500 is way too much !</p>
<p>I agree with idad - I consider non-stick pans disposable. Actually, I don't even have any at this point. I have a very good set of All Clad stainless, and food doesn't really stick to it. For the price Costco is asking, you can get a good starter set of All-Clad - not so many frying pans, but how many do you really need?</p>
<p>Agree about the non-stick pans. I love good cookware, however, and it is something that I find to be worth the investment when buying stainless or my LeCrueset. I bought this non-stick combo when it was time to replace - I thought it was a great price for these pans and they are all I need in terms of non-stick.</p>
<p>Calphalon</a> Unison Slide Nonstick Fry Pan Set | Williams-Sonoma</p>
<p>I bought a couple of Tfal Professional non-stick skillets. They heat evenly and work well for the price. No reason to pay a lot for something that will wear out in 2 years. Non-stick won't develop the fond that you need in lots of recipes, so nothing but non-stick would be a mistake for me. </p>
<p>I have a mixture of Cuisinart (20 yrs old), Sur la Table, Calphalon and All-Clad for day-to-day cooking & Mario Batali and Staub dutch ovens. You can get decent prices on sets in any of these, but you have to need everything in the set, hence my piece-by-piece collection.</p>
<p>Follow-up question - don't want to derail, but since we are talking cookware....</p>
<p>I have two pieces of LeCreuset, both in red. I want to add a piece to my collection and I am considering buying one in another color. I think I would love to have a variety of colors, not all red. I have hesitated buying my third piece, because if I stick to red, then it will be too late to start introducing new colors, and if I go with a new color, I am committed in that direction. And in fact, if I decide to go with a different color, I almost want to buy two pieces, so the new one doesn't just look ODD. This is not an important decision, but I am sort of stalled!</p>
<p>NONE of my cookware matches. Each manufacturer tends to specialize in a certain sort of cookware. Some make fantastic stock pots, but lousy pans. Some are great for saute and not so great with the saucier function. I buy according to efficient use. (I used to cook professionally)
Tastebuds do not care what color is used.</p>
<p>I brought a set several years ago at Costco around$300. Fewer pans. Ok but not great, like that i can put pan in broiler. My non stick never worked like demo, cheese sticks on my pans :( Two years ago h bought me All clad D-5 set from WS Love D5 stainless steel no comparison. I bought one non stick omelet pan, marvelous. Had I know AND had the $$ I wish I would have started with all clad.</p>
<p>My best non-stick pan is my castiron frying pan. I love it. I do have three non-stick skillets. A huge one dh uses for bacon, one that's a little bit bigger than my castiron, and a tiny one I use for my one scrambled egg breakfasts. Like I-Dad I just treat them as disposable. I like to get a good enough quality one that they heat evenly, but I've never met a non-stick that lasted much more than a couple of years at best.</p>
<p>Go for more color Work! I love this cookware and have the red, yellow and green in different sizes, etc. If you are close to a Pottery Barn Outlet, I find the best prices on the Williams Sonoma side!! I am going for blue next!</p>
<p>I am also in the buy cheaper and dispose of more often camp. I bought a new 3 pan set at Costco for a FRACTION of the cost you were talking about this summer and it is completely fine! Supplemented by a smallish cast iron pan I got last Christmas, I'm good to go!</p>
<p>I am a huge fan of colored cookware - especially when it's multiple colors! I shop Home Goods a lot and the pieces that get purchased are the pieces that catch my eye - they all look great in the kitchen and I love that they don't match! (sounds weird, but sometimes I even like to use certain colors of cookware for certain foods I'm preparing - because the colors look better together - weird, I know!)</p>
<p>I use stainless steel and cast iron, and as other have mentioned, I keep one non-stick pan for pancakes and crepes.</p>
<p>And I scrub my cast iron.</p>
<p>For "the big frypan" (for skillet dinners of shrimp etc / hamburger helper / lots of scrambled eggs) we thought it was worth getting a nice one. We ended up with Calaphon with glass lid. I think it was about $80, but on sale at BB&B and I had a coupon. It comes with lifetime guarantee, so I carefully filed the paperwork. </p>
<p>The small and medium nonstick frypans are cheap-ish ones. The few other pots/pans are stainless or glass.... nonstick would be overkill for our uses of them.</p>
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It comes with lifetime guarantee, so I carefully filed the paperwork. </p>
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<p>Has anyone here made a claim on the "life time warrenty"? How good is it on a cookware? So, lets say you chip the fry pan, do you send it back to get a new one? I bet you the shipping cost will be a pretty penny. Do they charge you a "milage" on the warrenty?</p>
<p>I have wonderful cast iron cookware, bought over the years at yard sales. I think the total for about eight items is maybe $15 or so. Really good stuff, too.</p>
<p>I had given up on non-stick pans until my first Scanpan Professional, ceramic-titanium surface (made in Denmark). It heats up fast, and maintains heat for searing/stir frying with minimal oil. Of course the well seasoned antique cast iron is still my favorite, but my arm muscles ain't what they used to be and it was getting harder to pour things out of the pan. Plus nothing beats nonstick for crepes. The Scanpan has lifetime warranty, runs about $85 for 8" pans & $120 for 10". That's without lids, but since I have never thrown away a pan lid I have an endless supply.</p>
<p>I have Revere ware that my grandmother in law bought us for a wedding present more than 30 yr ago. But I also have some Le Creuset and old fashioned corningweare pyroceram. I would never ever use the nonstick stuff that is made by putting a coating on a pan---that stuff is poisonous.</p>
<p>I'm a cast iron fan, too, but if I hit the lottery I would buy a set of All-Clad and a bunch of Le Creuset. Love that stuff and think it's worth it, but I can't afford at this time.</p>