Over a million synthetic pots and pans are tossed in landfills every year. These nonstick wonders don't seem to last very long, 3 to 5 years is common. If you're re-investing in new cookware, consider replacing your Teflon with a far more cost-effective solution. Consider the value of Stainless Steel Waterless cookware.
The Investment
Comparably priced nonstick stainless steel waterless cookware (between 0 and 0) will save some serious coin over the years. These quality pots and pans are warranted to last for your lifetime.
The Bargain
Durability is a good measure of value. If cookware doesn't last, it's no bargain. Too, it's best to cook on a nonstick surface free of toxicity. Teflon fuming, peeling and erosion represent a serious health hazard as does leaching from soft metal cooking surfaces like copper, aluminum, cast iron and others.
Stainless steel waterless utensils confidently provide the ideal nonstick cooking surface free of toxic risk or continuous 'seasoning' to manage rust, "...the closest thing we have to the ideal chemically inert but thermally responsive pan" says Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen: Scribner 2004, page 791. (Search 'Waterless Cookware: Hype or the Real Thing' for more on McGee).
The Bonus
Imagine the value of having a lifetime to explore and enjoy the most hygienic, responsive, food-friendly, cook-friendly, earth-friendly and health-friendly set of pots and pans you can own. Yes, 'friendly' because cooks, food and cookware are best served when engaged in a supportive relationship, one of consistent service and celebration, learning and triumph.
Included in this friendship are family, friends and another very important member to be invited, seated and served at the dining table, one of robust taste and aroma, of natural nutrients and energy, of wholesome vitality and healing health. There's no substitute for nature's honest foods, no 'fortified' material worthy of the name 'whole food' (search 'waterless cookware, the healthy choice').
The Value
It's no secret that much of today's food has evolved for the sake of convenience and not nutrition. The composition and function of modern cookware has evolved as well, and not for the better. For example, synthetic or ceramic coatings on the inside and colorful enameled coatings on the outside don't reflect cookware value, good health or good sense. Coatings are cosmetic at best, 'cover-ups' applied to lesser grades of steel used in fabrication. Look below the skin for a lifetime of value.
Let's revisit the purpose of food (and the cookware that cooks it) to more fully appreciate the value of quality stainless steel waterless cookware:
Cooking is actually a moment of truth, a culmination of nature's food cycle, a moment when the vital cache of earth's nutrient goodness is tastefully enhanced or sadly wasted. A pot or pan is more than an appliance to heat processed food material or boil away nature's precious minerals, vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants. Real food deserves better. There's simply more to the enriching soils of organic vegetables and free-range meats, more to engage the palate, the nose, the eyes, more to savor and certainly more to revitalize and re-energize. We are, after all, only as healthy as the health of that which we eat. To that end, pots and pans are a huge contributor to the nutritional and savory fate of foods. Much can be gained or lost in the simple act of cooking.
Stainless steel waterless cookware honors and retains the goodness of nature's honest efforts. As with good friends or marriage or other maturing relationships, a partnership with food and cooking takes time to appreciate and thrive. It helps to have cookware that's reliable, steady, dependable, trusted, capable of ideal cooking conditions simply and easily mastered. Cooking is life long. We might as well mature a friendship with cookware durable and worthy enough to nurture and sustain this kind of relationship.
The Return on Investment
Your grandma likely used similar pots and pans way back when. Stainless Steel cookware isn't new, but grandma's originals lacked many of today's Waterless features:
- Multi-ply stainless steel fabrication, 5-, 7-, or 9-ply 18/10 chromium/nickel construction for quality
- Capsulated heat-conductive elements (copper, aluminum, etc.) for unparalleled low-heat cooking
- Steam Control covers to fully preserve and retain nutritious vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants
- Thermally responsive, efficient utensils to cook faster, safer, more evenly and economically
These and many other improvements now render today's waterless utensil capable of cooking food the way it was meant to be cooked, the way Mother Nature intended her vegetables and meats to be served, fully appreciated, fully valued, fully themselves. To serve anything less isn't a bargain, it's a wasted opportunity for all concerned, especially food.
When real food is experienced (cooked as Mother Nature intended), one tends to develop an honest taste and firm loyalty. My acquired personal preference of 30 years as family cook, and my business specialty, is Stainless Steel Waterless pots and pans. Being in the business I'm confident I speak for others in this specialty when I share this fact: not a day goes by without hearing from folks looking to replace a pot handle or lid knob on their cookware. These little attachments, durable as they are, eventually wear out. Here's a sample of today's customer requests from ChoiceCookery's on-line Contact Us page:
"I have a set of Flavor-Seal by Cory cookware that I bought in 1963. I need to replace the handles on the large fry pan. Are they available?"
"My mom has a set of Miracle Maid pans she got when she was married. She loves them, but the electric fry pan has a short in the cord and we would like to get a new cord. Can you help us?"
"I need to replace the vented knobs on my Royal Queen waterless cookware. I have had it for 27 years and I love it but over time the knobs have begun to lose their ability to seal the moisture in. Could you give me information about how to order? Thank you in advance."
"I can't find Nutri-Seal anywhere. Can you help me? I need a new handle on my 8qt stock pot."
"I'd like to order a vent knob for my set, Maxam KT17. It has been thirty years since I brought them home, lots of cooking mishaps along the way and the handle on my roaster finally broke. Please call me."
We called. And yes, all these cooks were relieved to know replacements are still available.
1) Trust a brand that's here to stay. Maxam, the brand we represent, has been innovating and manufacturing stainless steel waterless cookware for over 60 years.
2) For businesses like ours, there's a beautiful irony here. Unlike disposable bargain cookware, our pots and pans last a lifetime. Our customers return of course, usually to purchase a set of cookware for their grown children or a grandchild's wedding, maybe a handle or knob for themselves (a replacement easily attached, adding another 30 years of cookware service and value). These folks tend to share the good news with family and friends. Too, they're experiencing a cookware partnership they are not about to give up! Loyalty is honestly earned and yes, priceless.
The Bottom Line
Look beyond 3-to-5 years. Invest in cookware that matures your relationship with food and cooking. For me, it's about two hats I wear and a bond that ties them together, a hat I experience everyday as family cook and a friendship with customers embracing the simple joys and lifelong value of waterless pots and pans.
Your friendship with food and cooking simply can't be explored, experienced and enjoyed using cookware less capable than stainless steel waterless pots and pans. Bargain prices and cosmetic glitz just can't appreciate in value. Consider cookware you'll never have to (or want to) replace. Real value keeps giving for your lifetime, but that's just our warranty. Cook healthy, eat honestly, and thrive.
