Planning a Pots and Pans System

[Chotu]

Having been many decades since I lived on land in anything other than an RV, I find myself at a loss thinking forward about pots and pans.

My boat currently has a dishwasher. Uninstalled, just sitting there. It’s very lightweight for what it does, uses little water and is great for lazy people like myself.

However, I want to redesign my dishes method from the ground up for maximum efficiency.

I love cooking. I make everything from scratch and destroy a galley every time. My girlfriend is even worse, burning things into pots by forgetting she has something going.

I need easy to clean (self cleaning??) and lightweight.

So what are the best choices?

*aluminum pots and pans we season and can’t put in a dishwasher?
*aluminum non-stick pots and pans with ceramic coating we can put in a dishwasher?
*Stainless pots and pans we need to scrub and then put in a dishwasher?

Are there other options?

I also plan to install a small griddle in the galley. It will face the same problems. It’ll be removable but I think those need to be seasoned. How do I not have to spend time cleaning it?

Finally, we will have a Korean bbq / regular bbq outside. That’s not really part of the issue here.

In my hand washing days (every day my whole life until now), I’ve always dreamed of a sort of “pre soak sink”. A place you put your dishes on a boat filled with water that sloshes around and keeps dishes easily cleaned with a simple sponge when it comes time to wash. Does anyone do anything like this?

Another issue we have is my girlfriend destroys all our non stick pans by using a scotchbrite pad on them. She’s doing all the dishes during the boat build so it’s not easy to mention that’s not a good idea. She’s sanded off the non stick on nearly all of them, sanded off the plastic on plastic utensils, etc.

Do you all use wooden utensils? Metal? or these plastic ones that are everywhere.

I want to develop a “lifetime solution” and get an entire cooking and cleaning system that will work for many decades to come, minimizing time spent cleaning.

What is working for you over the years?

[ranger58sb]

Magma nesting stainless steel pot/pan set. These are pretty much like Cuisinart with a different/removable handle system. Stainless with a fully encapsulated aluminum bottom for heat distribution. Works great. (These were actually also sold under the Cuisinart brand name too, long time ago.)

Our set is about 30 years old now, looks new. Dishwasher safe, demonstrated by the near identical Cuisinart pieces we use at home.

Apparently you need the NOT non-stick version. Or maybe get a whole set of NOT non-stick, augment with once or two non-stick pieces, and lock those pieces away from your girlfriend.

We have augmented our set with a few more Cuisinart lids, exact fit, and with a completely separate (different brand) non-stick griddle.

Our utensils are a mixture of metal, plastic, and a very few wood. Different tools for different jobs.

Our dinner service is all Correll; two boxes of one basic pattern, plus some augmentation pieces for serving and so forth.

[LittleWing77]

Hey Chotu!

Happy New Year! I'm encouraged that you've moved on to the galley. Slow and steady wins the race...

I have annodized "Simply Calphalon" pans that have no teflon, which is toxic anyway, and they seem to be indestructable - and believe me, I know!

(Sounds like we're similar sorts of "cooks")

LittleWing77

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I want to develop a “lifetime solution” and get an entire cooking and cleaning system that will work for many decades to come, minimizing time spent cleaning.

What is working for you over the years?

In our stick house we cook 2-3 meals daily. I am making a few updates to our pots and pans this month, the first in 15 years.


Generally we use stainless steel pans with a laminated aluminum bottom and a bright stainless steel interior finish. These last forever unless overheated (i.e. boiled dry) and are compatible with all foods, and they cook evenly. They go in the dishwasher and can be scrubbed with an abrasive pad. We have a Farberware electric skillet of similar construction -- these have been discontinued but there are a couple of other makers producing stainless steel ones with aluminum diffusors. Again this will outlast several nonstick ones.


Most of our frypans are uncoated cast iron. They're cheap and last forever. Two of them I have were in my grandparents' and great-grandparents' households and have been in daily use for almost 100 years. Some are newer ones from Lodge, but I've smoothed out the inside with a grinder. We have a stamped steel omelet pan. None of these go in the dishwasher. We do have one stainless steel frypan we use for extended contact with acid foods as when browning meat and then simmering it in tomato sauce.


Utensils are stainless steel, wood, or bamboo. We mostly use a plastic scraper and a natural bristle brush for cleanup.


Some pans have glass lids and we are finding that these get cloudy after years of going in the dishwasher.



I have several griddles and am not entirely happy with any of them. The "least bad" is a heavy aluminum one with a nonstick coating on it that has to be babied. I've used uncoated aluminum ones (too prone to food sticking and hard to keep clean and condition properly) and cast iron ones (heavy and slow to preheat).


The enameled cast iron pans (Le Cruset etc) are ok too. I have a large dutch oven in this material that I use chiefly for jam and jelly. Have cooked on the frypans. A fair tradeoff vs. uncoated cast iron but they will not last if you use metal utensils on them regularly; people who have them develop a cooking style around wood, bamboo, or plastic utensils.



Even the very expensive aluminum cookware will lose any coating or surface treatment it has and develop pits in a few short years.


We have had ceramic pans over the years, and glass, and never thought they were anything special. I still have a few that we mainly use in the oven, including some cazuelas I bought in Spain once. They go in the dishwasher.


The updates we are making now are mainly replacement of some thin-bottomed stainless steel pots that aren't induction compatible, as we anticipate experimenting with induction cooking over the coming year.


Aboard, the pans with removable handles are tempting, though I think ordinary pots that nest well are nearly as compact.

[rslifkin]

I just did a pots and pans re-do on my own boat. Haven't used any of the stuff yet, being winter, but I went for this set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's all stainless, and the 1 small frying pan is non-stick (the rest is un-coated). Not necessarily the easiest thing in the world to clean, but other than heavy cast iron, it's about as good as it gets for long term durability.

The set seems well put together and has some weight to it, but it's not overly heavy. Definitely a bit lighter built (thinner side walls and such) than some of the stainless stuff I have at the house. Entire set lists at just under 20 lbs, so nothing terrible for boat weight.

I picked the set mostly based on it having stuff that stacks reasonably well, and being a good combination of stuff that I'm likely to need/want/use on the boat. And other than the 2 frying pans, everything is shaped well for use with pot fiddles. The layered bases are also heavy enough relative to the handles that they won't tip off a small burner when empty and warming up (a big concern for me with a coil top electric stove with only 6 inch burners).

[darylat8750]

We have gone to an induction cook top in our stick house and I'm very impressed with it. Very quick response and very repeatable. Someday hope to go LiFePo and induction on the boat. If I were replacing all cookware I would make most of it induction compatible .

[CarlF]

If you truly love to cook here are two inexpensive additions that make better food and also mean less cleanup:

1. A single burner induction hot plate that you just bring out when needed. Costs about $60. These are marvelous -- far hotter than a propane stove and will boil a large pot of water for pasta in 1/3rd the time - and keep a vigorous boil to keep the pasta from sticking together. They use about 1/2 the electricity to do the job as a traditional electric burner - heating only the pan not the cabin. And they come with temperature controls so you can precisely keep a stew barely on the simmer. You do need induction compatible pots (a magnet will stick to it). But you only need two - a large pasta pot and a saute pan. And these work fine on the propane stove too. You'll hardly notice the load on your batteries. Use your propane stove for the other burners. https://aax-us-east.amazon-adsystem....kle_mcd_asin_0

2. A sous-vide. $80. Very compact - stores in a drawer. The best tasting way to cook meat and most fish (including lobster). No critical timing. Meat will "hold" for hours without getting anymore done. No pan cleanup - just a plastic bag in a pot of boiling water. Very low energy use. Easy to use at sea. Just lock the pot to the stove with fiddles and only fill the pot 1/2 full so no water sloshes out. Most high end steak houses now sous-vide their steaks and just put them on the grill at the last moment to add some char marks. https://aax-us-east.amazon-adsystem....kle_mcd_asin_0

And while none of the grills are great. I like the Cuisinart Griddler the best. The griddles are two sided - smooth and ridged. And they snap out so you can wash them separately. The teflon wears off eventually but it's cheap enough to just buy a new one every three years. And if the meat was done in the sous-vide first the plates hardly get dirty.https://aax-us-east.amazon-adsystem....kle_mcd_asin_0

[foojin]

We have the 10-piece nesting Magma set. It is brilliant, tucked away in a small drawer. Do get the no skid pot protectors.

[Sailor647]

We have an entire set of All-Clad stainless steel cookware onboard. Like you, I like having nice tools. For the boat and the galley.

Three saute pans, one skillet w/lid, three pans with a single handle w/lids, and two pots; one big enough to boil Dungeness crab, and a tall skinny one, both w/lids. I brought the set from our home when we moved aboard 7 years ago. The set was purchased in 2007, so the cookware is 13 years old now and still going strong. I NEVER cook with nonstick. I have stainless steel utensils, as they're easy to sanitize. Plastic doesn't hold up.

The thing about high quality cookware like All-Clad is they distribute heat so evenly and efficiently that I use very little propane to cook our meals. I turn the burners down as low as it will go and use lids to hold the heat in.

I use Easy Off oven cleaner (spray or liquid w/brush) to clean the bottoms and handles where they attach to the pan, and sometimes the inside if I've deep fried something (think fresh calimari!) and the oil has cemented itself to the pan. I use a green Scotchbrite for everyday cleaning.

I also have a flat aluminum GE griddle that I place directly on the stove that gets a LOT of use. I try to just wipe it off to keep it seasoned, but occasionally I have to use the Scotchbrite on it and then re-season it.

I like my cookware so much, I bought another set for the RV back on land. And no, my cookware won't be sold with the boat when the time comes. lol

[joelhemington]

For clean up, I find a dog does the best (and most thorough) job and he won't scrape all the Teflon off with his tongue

Ps. the dishwasher will easily handle the dog slobber.

[guyrj33]

Revere Ware stainless at home. Newer Magma nesting stainless on the boat. Plastic dishes from K-Mart have held up surprisingly well. Oneida stainless utensils. A mixture of glass and plastic glasses.
If you're going to scrub with scotchbrite, then bright stainless is the only choice.
pre-soak in a 5 gallon bucket or extra sink.

[ikanode]

Something to consider are pots with heat exchanger bottoms that heat a lot faster on gas stoves than flat bottom pots. The easily available ones, but with limited options, are from JetBoil.
[URL="https://smile.amazon.com/Jetboil-5-Liter-FluxRing-Camping-Cooking/dp/B01B4WIBL2/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=jetboil&qid=16092648 18&sr=8-17"]

They're especially good for boiling water but you usually have to buy the propane stove as part of the deal. They may or may not be stable on your gas burner supports.

I have a couple of Chinese imitations on order from AliExpress to experiment with. (Search for "heat exchanger pot")

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...7e097c93LC3WUf

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000...22af4c4dVw3gXH

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3279...1be94c4dcQyL3m

[zengirl]

I don't understand why someone would keep scrubbing non stick pans with a scrubber that destroys them. This is such a fuss... I have two cast iron pans 8" and 10", a double boiler, a lasagna pan, a pot for lobster. I cook everything with these and I cook a lot!

[bcboomer]

Magma 10 piece all stainless plus Magma omlet pan, 2 extra lids for smallest 2 pots, 2 smaller stainless pots for sauces and smaller quantities, 2 cast iron frying pans, 8 qt pressure cooker set with a basket insert and glass lid. (Glass lid fits omlet pan for nightly popcorn). Wood and stainless utensils, Corelle dishes for daily use and Arabia Ruska for special occasions. Stainless and aluminium cookie sheets but the pastry chef prefers the aluminium. (Stay away from Eckaloy). Real glass for wine and cocktails, crystal for champagne, double walled stainless for coffee, Aeropress for making coffee.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by zengirl

I don't understand why someone would keep scrubbing non stick pans with a scrubber that destroys them. This is such a fuss... I have two cast iron pans 8" and 10", a double boiler, a lasagna pan, a pot for lobster. I cook everything with these and I cook a lot!

I don’t understand this either! Ha ha ha.

But since I’m not doing the dishes for like a year or maybe two, I’m in no position to argue the point.

It’s an ever deteriorating problem too, because the more you sand away the non stick, the more stuff sticks and the harder you have to scrub.

I can’t have cast iron because of its weight. Otherwise, it would be my first choice probably too.