Cookware

[Guest guest]

I have a Rival crockpot that's painted green. Does anyone use a

crockpot where the cooking surface is painted?

I have some stainless steel aluminum clad pots and pans. Does anyone

know what clad means? I'm wondering if I need to replace these.

We've had them for many years.

[Guest guest]

At 01:55 PM 7/14/2002 +0000, you wrote:

>I have some stainless steel aluminum clad pots and pans. Does anyone

>know what clad means? I'm wondering if I need to replace these.

>We've had them for many years.

:

Usually, those are the best kind! It means there is aluminum

sandwiched between layers of stainless -- you get the nice

conductivity of stainless without the leaching of aluminum.

But the ones I have are called " Stainless steel clad " , not " aluminum

clad " .

Mine are All-Clad and Sitram, and they are wonderful.

The All-Clad have oxidized aluminum on the OUTSIDE (instead

of stainless), which is also great: oxidized aluminum is very,

very tough and cleans easily. The aluminum doesn't come into

contact with the food if it's on the outside, and if it is oxidized

(dark grey), then it is very stable anyway.

BTW if you want GOOD pans without spending an arm and

a leg, and can get to one, some business Costco outlets have

Sitram pans at a really reasonable price (about $30 each instead

of $90 each).

" Painted " pans are usually baked enamel (glass), which I

believe is ok. Glass doesn't generally leach unless it

is improperly made -- and if it is improperly made it

is also fragile, you'd notice.

Heidi

[Guest guest]

Matt-

>Can anyone give me some suggestions for the safest cookware available. I

>want my pots and pans without allumunium. Any suggestions?

The safest would probably be a high-quality enamel. Le Creuset's enameled

cast iron is excellent but expensive. I'm given to understand that Macy's

carries a knockoff which is just about as good for a fraction of the price.

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