All Clad 12”- The Fry Pan of The Gods
Here it is, ladies and gentlemen: the Mt Rushmore, Fender Stratocaster, Moby Dick, iPod, Hercules, and Frank Sinatra of cooking vessels. The All Clad 12 Inch Stainless Steel Fry Pan - the single best workhorse of a pan. No kitchen in the world would be ashamed of it, and every kitchen could use it.
And so now you’re thinking, really, Neven? A $180 pan? Does it make that much of a difference? It does, it really does. This thing cooks evenly, thoroughly, and beautifully. You’ll never brown in a Target-bought pan like you will in an All-Clad. It’s also built like a damn anvil - no way will this ever warp, dent, or lose its handle.
But $180? Ok, fine - that is a lot of money. But you’ll save in the mythical long run, and in fact, I recommend you trash most of your current pots and pans. You need no more than, say, five. Next time you buy, skip the set and pick a few great pieces. The 12” should be your starting point (a Dutch or French oven
should be your next piece, by the way.)
When America’s Test Kitchen puts cookware through its paces, you don’t even need to read to the end of their review to know that All-Clad will come out on top. It always does. It’s made here in the USA, and your dollars will go to well-paid workers with high standards.
But… one hundred and eighty dollars? Alright, alright, alright - what if I told you Amazon is currently selling this, the world’s best fry pan, for $90, lid included?
I’m not kidding - $90, free shipping.
P.S. This isn’t nonstick, you say? Look, for decades now, we’ve been told to buy teflon everything. This is mad; you need one nice nonstick pan, and that’s it. Much of the flavor of chicken, steak, potstickers, green beans, garlic, and apples comes from the very fact that they do partially stick to the pan. That’s how rich, caramely goodness is born.
Fuck Teflon. Buy this pan.
