"Melba's Jammin'" > wrote:
> I'm probably the sixth person to tell you to not buy a whole set of
> anything but to choose each pan or pot on its own merits. Am I right?
> :-)

I'm going to go the other way! ;-)

This is what I did. I bought ONE All Clad pan that was offered at a very
attractive price as a "try me" thing. That way I would know one way or the
other whether I liked the basic characteristics of the line of pans. Based
on that trial, I bought a set with a reasonable group of pans. I've since
supplemented that set with a couple of additional pieces.

The problem with buying open stock is the prices are so much higher that
even if there is a piece in the set you don't use, you still come out ahead.
The set I got had these in it: 8 quart stock pot, 3 quart and 2 quart sauce
pans, 10" fry pan. Of those, I don't use the stock pot very often because I
have other large pots I can use.

Just for comparison, I took a look at an 8 piece All Clad stainless set vs.
open stock at Chefs Catalog. The set price was $450. The total open stock
price was $645 ($50 + $105 + $140 + $155 + $195). From this, one can see
that one or two pans could be tossed away and you'd still come out ahead.
I'll admit if you looked very carefully over time you might be able to
assemble what you need via open stock by searching for each individual piece
on sale. But then again, you should be able to find the set on sale too.

The bigger the set you get, the greater the chance of things being on it
that you don't need. That's why I'd go for a good basic set and then
supplement it. Of the ones I didn't really need, there are occassions where
I do need to pans of roughly the same size and am glad that the extra pan is
there for me.

Regarding quality vs. price, I think it depends on what kind of person you
are. I tend to buy infrequently and buy things for life. I don't buy stuff
willy nilly, get tired of it, and throw it out after a few years. If you
think out your purchases and keep them for decades, the cost of the cookware
is almost insignificant in the big picture, even buying the high end brands.

--
wff_ng_7 (at) verizon (dot) net