I've been wanting to buy a stockpot with a pasta insert - primarily for
cooking pasta, but I also want something decent enough to reheat soup or
heat up some pasta sauce, simple things like that. My last stockpot
finally had to be tossed and I'd like a replacement, and I'd like the
pasta insert.

However, my budget is limited, and spending All Clad prices or even Bed
Bath & Beyond prices for something that's mostly for boiling water seems
like a waste. But my last stockpot was so flimsy and thin on the bottom
that it was pretty useless - it even rusted on the bottom by the end.
So I want something that has some quality to it, even if it's not a
premium brand.

I haven't found anything locally at a decent price (the only thing
available seems to be $100+), so I've been checking ebay for bargains.
I've come across quite a few sets (stockpot plus insert plus steamer in
some cases) at fairly good prices. But some of the brands are ones I'm
not familiar with - they all seem to be 18/10 stainless, mostly with a
disc bottom, but that can cover a lot of quality levels.

Is anyone familiar with the cookware made by Williams-Sonoma (under
their own name) or Crate & Barrel (also under their own name)? How
about "Command Performance" which is an HSN brand? Or Dansk? These all
seem to show up fairly frequently on ebay. (I'm hoping to find a
bargain on Calphalon but it seems to be going for a bit more than I can
afford.)

Thanks,
Karen

"Karen Wheless" wrote in message
...
I've been wanting to buy a stockpot with a pasta insert - primarily for
cooking pasta, but I also want something decent enough to reheat soup or
heat up some pasta sauce, simple things like that. My last stockpot
finally had to be tossed and I'd like a replacement, and I'd like the
pasta insert.

However, my budget is limited, and spending All Clad prices or even Bed
Bath & Beyond prices for something that's mostly for boiling water seems
like a waste. But my last stockpot was so flimsy and thin on the bottom
that it was pretty useless - it even rusted on the bottom by the end.
So I want something that has some quality to it, even if it's not a
premium brand.

I haven't found anything locally at a decent price (the only thing
available seems to be $100+), so I've been checking ebay for bargains.
I've come across quite a few sets (stockpot plus insert plus steamer in
some cases) at fairly good prices. But some of the brands are ones I'm
not familiar with - they all seem to be 18/10 stainless, mostly with a
disc bottom, but that can cover a lot of quality levels.

Is anyone familiar with the cookware made by Williams-Sonoma (under
their own name) or Crate & Barrel (also under their own name)? How
about "Command Performance" which is an HSN brand? Or Dansk? These all
seem to show up fairly frequently on ebay. (I'm hoping to find a
bargain on Calphalon but it seems to be going for a bit more than I can
afford.)

I have the Wolfgang Puck stock pot with pasta insert from HSN. It is very
sturdy and has a thick disk on the bottom and heats very evenly. It is on
sale now for under $30. I bought one for someone as a gift after they
admired mine. Take a look he http://tinyurl.com/p9eb

"Karen Wheless" wrote in message
...
I've been wanting to buy a stockpot with a pasta insert - primarily for
cooking pasta, but I also want something decent enough to reheat soup or
heat up some pasta sauce, simple things like that. My last stockpot
finally had to be tossed and I'd like a replacement, and I'd like the
pasta insert.

FWIW, I bought a no-name, made in Korea, disk-bottomed, SS 12Qt. stockpot at
my local kitchen store for less than $50 a few years ago. It's worked
beautifully. The same store also sells the mesh-style pasta inserts for
about $24. I wouldn't be afraid of no-name cookware, especially for
something that's just going to boil water. You might want to try
Marshall's/TJX/Tuesday Morning, etc. for what you need.

Good luck.

Remsleep

(Karen Wheless) wrote in
:

I've been wanting to buy a stockpot with a pasta insert - primarily
for cooking pasta, but I also want something decent enough to reheat
soup or heat up some pasta sauce, simple things like that. My last
stockpot finally had to be tossed and I'd like a replacement, and I'd
like the pasta insert.

However, my budget is limited, and spending All Clad prices or even
Bed Bath & Beyond prices for something that's mostly for boiling water
seems like a waste. But my last stockpot was so flimsy and thin on
the bottom that it was pretty useless - it even rusted on the bottom
by the end. So I want something that has some quality to it, even if
it's not a premium brand.

I haven't found anything locally at a decent price (the only thing
available seems to be $100+), so I've been checking ebay for bargains.
I've come across quite a few sets (stockpot plus insert plus steamer
in some cases) at fairly good prices. But some of the brands are ones
I'm not familiar with - they all seem to be 18/10 stainless, mostly
with a disc bottom, but that can cover a lot of quality levels.

Is anyone familiar with the cookware made by Williams-Sonoma (under
their own name) or Crate & Barrel (also under their own name)? How
about "Command Performance" which is an HSN brand? Or Dansk? These
all seem to show up fairly frequently on ebay. (I'm hoping to find a
bargain on Calphalon but it seems to be going for a bit more than I
can afford.)

Thanks,
Karen


I would skip the Dansk - everything I have seen in their stores looks
more like it is made for style than good cooking performance. I'd be
much more willing to trust a Williams-Sonoma house brand. However, if
something shows up a lot on ebay, perhaps there is a reason.

I have a pot that is exactly what you are looking for, and it cost much
less than $100. I bought it at Costco several years ago and it has held
up perfectly. You can probably find something equivalent there or at
Sam's Club or BJ's. The only thing I have against it is that the
interior is not machined completely smooth, so it is a little more work
to clean up.

OTOH, for $99 you can get the made-in-China stainless steel All-Clad
(disk on bottom, no cladding on the sides) 12-quart pasta pot with
insert. I have seen it in the store and it will last forever. I didn't
need it, because I have my Costco pot. I *did* buy the 16-quart model
(no insert) for making stock. (I like to make my own stock with no salt
and keep it on hand in the freezer. I end up with maybe 4 quarts out of
that 16-quart stockpot. I love it.)

FWIW, it really pays to buy cookware "in person" especially if you are
not familiar with the specific product line. It is hard to tell quality
from a picture. There is nothing like hefting the pan, feeling the
handles in your hand, checking the fit of the lid, etc.

If you don't already have a nice 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan, and you
can get a good buy on the stockpot, you might consider a saucepan too.
That's much better for reheating (less clean-up, won't lose so much
water) a few portions of soup or pasta sauce than a big stockpot.

Debbie

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Debbie Deutsch wrote in
. 71.230:

OTOH, for $99 you can get the made-in-China stainless steel All-Clad
(disk on bottom, no cladding on the sides) 12-quart pasta pot with
insert. I have seen it in the store and it will last forever. I
didn't need it, because I have my Costco pot. I *did* buy the
16-quart model (no insert) for making stock. (I like to make my own
stock with no salt and keep it on hand in the freezer. I end up with
maybe 4 quarts out of that 16-quart stockpot. I love it.)


Oops! Typo! I meant to say that I end up with maybe 8 quarts of stock
or broth out of that 16-quart stockpot. It is lovingly referred to as
"the vat" (as in "Today is a good day to brew a vat of chicken stock.").

--
Anti-spam advisory: The email address used to post this article is a
throw-away address. It will be invalidated and replaced with another if
and when it is found by spammers.

FWIW, it really pays to buy cookware "in person" especially if you are
not familiar with the specific product line. It is hard to tell quality
from a picture. There is nothing like hefting the pan, feeling the
handles in your hand, checking the fit of the lid, etc.

If you don't already have a nice 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan, and you
can get a good buy on the stockpot, you might consider a saucepan too.
That's much better for reheating (less clean-up, won't lose so much
water) a few portions of soup or pasta sauce than a big stockpot.

Thanks for the help - I'm leaning toward the Williams-Sonoma one right
now, if I don't find anything better. I've been frustrated with the
selection in local stores - everything is either very expensive or very
cheap. I don't think availability on ebay really means anything - you
find plenty of excellent brands on ebay. I miss Costco - I dropped my
membership for financial reasons but sometimes they had great things
that aren't available elsewhere. But their cookware selection had
become pretty limited by the time I left, at least at our local store.

I already have some nice smaller pieces, including two smaller saucepans
that I use most of the time (even for pasta, since I'm often cooking for
one), and a Le Creuset dutch oven that I use for most soups, stocks,
etc. But if I'm making a large batch of pasta, sometimes it's easier to
heat up the sauce in the same pan instead of washing two pans (with no
dishwasher, I've grown to loathe dishwashing and I'll do most anything
to avoid washing an extra pan). Sometimes I want to heat up a huge
quantity of soup for some reason. So I need a big stockpot. Most of
the time it will be just for pasta, but I don't want to buy a pan that's
too flimsy to use occasionally for those other things. But I don't want
to spend $100 on a pan I won't use that often. I can think of too many
other things I'd like to have!

Karen

(Karen Wheless) writes:

Thanks for the help - I'm leaning toward the Williams-Sonoma one right
now, if I don't find anything better. I've been frustrated with the
selection in local stores - everything is either very expensive or very
cheap.

Is there a Revere/Corning outlet store near you? They have a pretty
good pasta pot.
--
Mike Nolan

On 9/30/03 23:32, in article ,
"Karen Wheless" wrote:

FWIW, it really pays to buy cookware "in person" especially if you are
not familiar with the specific product line. It is hard to tell quality
from a picture. There is nothing like hefting the pan, feeling the
handles in your hand, checking the fit of the lid, etc.

If you don't already have a nice 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan, and you
can get a good buy on the stockpot, you might consider a saucepan too.
That's much better for reheating (less clean-up, won't lose so much
water) a few portions of soup or pasta sauce than a big stockpot.

Thanks for the help - I'm leaning toward the Williams-Sonoma one right
now, if I don't find anything better. I've been frustrated with the
selection in local stores - everything is either very expensive or very
cheap. I don't think availability on ebay really means anything - you
find plenty of excellent brands on ebay. I miss Costco - I dropped my
membership for financial reasons but sometimes they had great things
that aren't available elsewhere. But their cookware selection had
become pretty limited by the time I left, at least at our local store.

I already have some nice smaller pieces, including two smaller saucepans
that I use most of the time (even for pasta, since I'm often cooking for
one), and a Le Creuset dutch oven that I use for most soups, stocks,
etc. But if I'm making a large batch of pasta, sometimes it's easier to
heat up the sauce in the same pan instead of washing two pans (with no
dishwasher, I've grown to loathe dishwashing and I'll do most anything
to avoid washing an extra pan). Sometimes I want to heat up a huge
quantity of soup for some reason. So I need a big stockpot. Most of
the time it will be just for pasta, but I don't want to buy a pan that's
too flimsy to use occasionally for those other things. But I don't want
to spend $100 on a pan I won't use that often. I can think of too many
other things I'd like to have!

Karen

Whatever you buy at WS you will be paying more than you need to, unless it's
a clearance item. WS is not a place for bargains - their margins are
typically in the 55-60% range. Go with the advice others are giving you
here...
--
Michael Harp
http://CopperPans.com

"Karen Wheless" wrote in message
m...
FWIW, it really pays to buy cookware "in person" especially if you are
not familiar with the specific product line. It is hard to tell quality
from a picture. There is nothing like hefting the pan, feeling the
handles in your hand, checking the fit of the lid, etc.

If you don't already have a nice 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan, and you
can get a good buy on the stockpot, you might consider a saucepan too.
That's much better for reheating (less clean-up, won't lose so much
water) a few portions of soup or pasta sauce than a big stockpot.

Thanks for the help - I'm leaning toward the Williams-Sonoma one right
now, if I don't find anything better. I've been frustrated with the
selection in local stores - everything is either very expensive or very
cheap. I don't think availability on ebay really means anything - you
find plenty of excellent brands on ebay. I miss Costco - I dropped my
membership for financial reasons but sometimes they had great things
that aren't available elsewhere. But their cookware selection had
become pretty limited by the time I left, at least at our local store.

WS lists their disk bottom 8 qt. stock pot at $49 with $10 shipping. HSN
lists the WP 8qt. multipot with bonus pasta spoon at $30 with $7 shipping.
You could just about pay for a Costco membership with the difference in
price between the two items.

The Cusinart Multiclad line has an very nice 8 quart stockpot with both a pasta
and steamer insert. It's a heavyweight tri-ply fully clad construction like
All-Clad. Great looking, and about $80 I think at Amazon.

"Debbie Deutsch" wrote in message
. 71.230...
Debbie Deutsch wrote in
. 71.230:

OTOH, for $99 you can get the made-in-China stainless steel All-Clad
(disk on bottom, no cladding on the sides) 12-quart pasta pot with
insert. I have seen it in the store and it will last forever. I
didn't need it, because I have my Costco pot. I *did* buy the
16-quart model (no insert) for making stock. (I like to make my own
stock with no salt and keep it on hand in the freezer. I end up with
maybe 4 quarts out of that 16-quart stockpot. I love it.)


Oops! Typo! I meant to say that I end up with maybe 8 quarts of stock
or broth out of that 16-quart stockpot. It is lovingly referred to as
"the vat" (as in "Today is a good day to brew a vat of chicken stock.").

--
Anti-spam advisory: The email address used to post this article is a
throw-away address. It will be invalidated and replaced with another if
and when it is found by spammers.

I would so love to have a day to make chicken stock, but between working and
moving my grandmother to assisted living, I haven't had a chicken-stock sort
of day since it got cool enough to want soup. Unfortunately, all the fancy
pots in the world can't create time for you.

Dawn

"DawnK" wrote in
:


"Debbie Deutsch" wrote in message
. 71.230...
Debbie Deutsch wrote in
. 71.230:

OTOH, for $99 you can get the made-in-China stainless steel
All-Clad (disk on bottom, no cladding on the sides) 12-quart pasta
pot with insert. I have seen it in the store and it will last
forever. I didn't need it, because I have my Costco pot. I *did*
buy the 16-quart model (no insert) for making stock. (I like to
make my own stock with no salt and keep it on hand in the freezer.
I end up with maybe 4 quarts out of that 16-quart stockpot. I love
it.)


Oops! Typo! I meant to say that I end up with maybe 8 quarts of
stock or broth out of that 16-quart stockpot. It is lovingly
referred to as "the vat" (as in "Today is a good day to brew a vat of
chicken stock.").

--
Anti-spam advisory: The email address used to post this article is a
throw-away address. It will be invalidated and replaced with another
if and when it is found by spammers.

I would so love to have a day to make chicken stock, but between
working and moving my grandmother to assisted living, I haven't had a
chicken-stock sort of day since it got cool enough to want soup.
Unfortunately, all the fancy pots in the world can't create time for
you.

Dawn




Agreed! One silver lining to being out of work (there are several) is
time. However, even when working sometimes I managed to make stock by
setting it simmering in the evening and straining and cooling it in the
morning. I would ladle the broth into some 4-quart foodservice
containers and refrigerate them. The dregs from the bottom of the
stockpot get poured through a strainer, colander, or chinois (depending
on the size of the batch, what is at hand, etc. and cooled in a separate
container, since this portion is always somewhat cloudy. Later that day
it is simply a matter of lifting the congealed fat off the stock, and
pouring it into smaller containers (I use 1-quart cheapie plastic
containers) and popping them into the freezer.

Today (damp and chilly in the 50's) is a chicken stock day but I am
running all over town shopping for a home renovation project.

Debbie

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and when it is found by spammers.

"DawnK"
snip
: I would so love to have a day to make chicken stock, but
between working and
: moving my grandmother to assisted living, I haven't had a
chicken-stock sort
: of day since it got cool enough to want soup. Unfortunately,
all the fancy
: pots in the world can't create time for you.
:
: Dawn
:
: ==========

Isn't that the truth!

Chicken was on sale just the other week and I thought I really
should get some and do something with it... I have the same "no
time" problem.

Perhaps this weekend I can get a couple of soups going while I'm
busy with my Christmas projects. This year "they're" getting
pajamas! I've already made 1 robe, 1 nightgown and the fabic cut
for a blouse (SIL's birthday is the week before Christmas)...
Crud - it's October already... gotta get busy...

Cyndi
Remove a "b" to reply

"DawnK" wrote in message
...

"Debbie Deutsch" wrote in message
. 71.230...
Debbie Deutsch wrote in
. 71.230:

OTOH, for $99 you can get the made-in-China stainless steel All-Clad
(disk on bottom, no cladding on the sides) 12-quart pasta pot with
insert. I have seen it in the store and it will last forever. I
didn't need it, because I have my Costco pot. I *did* buy the
16-quart model (no insert) for making stock. (I like to make my own
stock with no salt and keep it on hand in the freezer. I end up with
maybe 4 quarts out of that 16-quart stockpot. I love it.)


Oops! Typo! I meant to say that I end up with maybe 8 quarts of stock
or broth out of that 16-quart stockpot. It is lovingly referred to as
"the vat" (as in "Today is a good day to brew a vat of chicken stock.").

--
Anti-spam advisory: The email address used to post this article is a
throw-away address. It will be invalidated and replaced with another if
and when it is found by spammers.

I would so love to have a day to make chicken stock, but between working
and
moving my grandmother to assisted living, I haven't had a chicken-stock
sort
of day since it got cool enough to want soup. Unfortunately, all the
fancy
pots in the world can't create time for you.


You can save time by making stock in a pressure cooker. (Would that count
as a fancy pot that can create time? )
It will need to be reduced to the level of concentration you desire, but
you can cut a lot of time off the process by using a PC.

DawnK wrote:


I would so love to have a day to make chicken stock, but between working and
moving my grandmother to assisted living, I haven't had a chicken-stock sort
of day since it got cool enough to want soup. Unfortunately, all the fancy
pots in the world can't create time for you.

Dawn

This is when a large pressure cooker comes in handy. Stock in 15
minutes! Such a useful item that I have two.
--
Kate XXXXXX
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.diceyhome.free-online.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!