Ever bought a pan / cookware product and regretted it?

Question

To me, various extra thick turners, If I can't get under a piece of fish and turn it, the turner is useless. I went through 8-10+ of them before finding one I like.

I also had negative experience with few different mandolines. They look good on paper, but pain to use, pain to set up and pain to clean or maybe I got the wrong ones...

As for pots or pans, I have not really had any regrets, but I think that's due to being overly picky and researching the crap out of it. I am guessing that I am in the minority, along with few others here and on other cook forums vs a normal joe/jane.

Answer

So many useless tools & utensils to count.

All the thin tri ply.
Kind of regret some Demeyere items, but at least I can recoup most of my cost. Minus shipping.

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Two things come to mind: (1) cast iron grill pan; (2) Cutco knife set. For some reason I really, really, REALLY wanted the grill pan, but once I got it I realized I hated it. First, it was too small to cook anything for more than two peeps at a time. Second, it was a PITA to clean. Third, it splattered all over the place. I ended up giving it to our daughter, who I think still uses it every now and then.

As for the knives, I bought them in a moment of weakness when the neighbor's kid came over to make a pitch, and this particular kid was kind of adrift - wasn't in school, had a hard time keeping a job, etc - and we were trying to be supportive. The knives are ok, but just barely, and certainly not worth their price. A dozen years later, I still use them, but I could have had much better knives for the same coin. And ultimately it didn't do the neighbor kid much good, either, but that's not a story for this forum.

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Cast iron shallow grill pan, for the $$$ and time I spend cleaning the stove and about a 3 foot area around the stove and back splash. Should have purchased a regular sided CI pan, performs the same task better.

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Hi ceasar,

Same experience with turners. Every time I look at one of my silicone mistakes, I get angry at myself for being so stupid!

My Le Creuset saucepan was an item I gave away early on--but might reconsider if I still had it today. 

I'd never get another ECI saucier, but I still occasionally use the monstrosity I bought.

I deeply regret my beautiful electric can opener that mostly doesn't open cans.

Ray

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A "try me" sized All-Clad D3 that I bought on ebay. My first experience dealing with their terrible classic handles. And a vintage made in Brazil copper pan that I was expecting to be almost as thick as Maviel's 1.5mm copper line, turned out to be thinner than even Revere Ware.

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Yeah, >20 pieces of Le Creuset when I was young and gullible.

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More in the nature of a very few regrets for things I did not grab or things I let go of too soon.

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30 cm ECI round Le Creuset 
28 & 24 cm Demeyere Pawson frying pans

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What's a turner?

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I love NordicWare Bundt cake pans, but regretted buying 2 Christmas themed ones -- one a 9x13 snowflake design, the other a pine-trees with circling toy train design. I bake cookies at Christmas, LOTS of cookies, not cake. They've since been given away to family members who mention each year how happy they are to have the special-designs for their holiday baking.

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I didn't buy it (it was a present from my clueless ex-husband), but an icecream maker, which was way more trouble than it was worth, needed expensive ingredients to make anything worthwhile, and took up more time and money then driving to the shop.

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Yup. Did a ton of research and Asked for Zwilling J.A. Henckels Ceramic Nonstick. It is garbage. Even wrote to the company but to no avail. Everything sticks to my “nonstick” pan. Then Bought phantom cookware on a whim and it is fantastic.

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The Hot Dogger or something similar. bought for a buck at a tag sale circa 1972. I think I used it once.

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Long time lurker but this thread finally got me to sign up just to fess up my mistakes. I regret two AC D5 I bought while still impressionable, a Le Creuset grill pan that I have never successfully used, a Calphalon Tri-Ply Copper sauce pan that is days away from being replaced by a Falk copper saucier, and a Demeyere 5-Plus 5.5 qt Dutch Oven that I got while on a buying spree then immediately regretted.

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across utensils, cookware or the like. But lots of things fall into the realm of well, if you don't try X or Use Y, is any better than your current Z.....so gotta buy for comparison.

I'm pretty dialed in at this point with my stuff though..
There was a recent post about ice cream maker. LOL, I fall into that catagory now but it's more purchasing as memory makers with the kiddos' . It started with the Zoku ice pop maker, but between the ice cream maker, the Breville Piazzolo for Pizza night, it's priceless for the memories. In my drawer, I still have the kiddo's kitchen apron he was wearing when he was 3 Yr Old. Ha.

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Not so much bought but wedding gifted and still keeping around cause I know at some point someone will ask me to bring it to an event- at least that was preCovid: ice cream maker and electric griddle

I was happy to replace most of my non-stick calphalon set from our registry as I was/am a very different cook than when I was a newly wed. Kept the lids though- work nice with the replacement non-stick skillets from BB&B for eggs, etc

And like others, the stupid LC grill pan.

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So what did you end up with after all this experimentation?

Pardon me if you answered below! I did scroll down quite a bit.

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It took me a couple years, but I regret getting the large Atlantis saute pan and the large prolines due to weight and handling mainly. At the time, though, I had little choice due to the high potential for warping and the slowness of a glass electric cooktop, but now I like what I've replaced them with. I still have the 24 cm proline and just used it for mushrooms the other day and it was enjoyable because I can handle it fine. I also use the Atlantis 24 cm saute pan and enjoy it for its purpose, but wish it wasn't so straight sided, I really like the Lagostina rounded edges.

There are some gadgets I wish I hadn't gotten. One lately was this boil over top that I couldn't return because I'd only get 25 cents back because I had used the Kohls cash from that. It works, I just really don't need it. At least I did get it for fairly cheap. https://www.amazon.com/Kuhn-Rikon-Kochblume-Stopper-11-Inch/dp/B00U2L21MC/ref=pd_lpo_79_t_0/132-9731734-1333327?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00U2L21MC&pd_rd_r=d4d98c4b-cde6-4ad5-bfc5-fe195e0b5239&pd_rd_w=6eBtE&pd_rd_wg=EpH0i&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=1ACCYC6YPP7JATS6EQBN&psc=1&refRID=1ACCYC6YPP7JATS6EQBN

I can't say I regret the pasta insert for my 22 cm Lagostina Accademia stock pot, because I had to try it and I wouldn't have been satisfied otherwise. But I am now getting more and more perturbed by the water slopping out in between the top of the stock pot and the insert and I have the water below level. It doesn't matter what cooktop it's on, electric or the PIC. I cannot find my old pasta pot and now I feel stuck. It doesn't help that this pot is very slow to boil, unlike my old pasta pot. I will have to find a new pasta pot, preferably with the strainer lid like my old one, I think it was a Ballarini. 

Oh, I forgot, I regret getting that electric turkey fryer. I kept hearing about deep fried turkey being so good and this I got for $80 so thought it was a good buy but it is a total space hog and I might prefer spatchcock to deep frying anyway.

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