Pan Envy?

Question

Ever made a good, sound purchase and then seen something better go on sale soon after? This happened to me this week. 

About 2 weeks ago, Sam's Club got some pretty decent generic clad stainless frypans, with silicone handles. Nowhere near as thick as All-Clad, might be almost as thick as Cuisinart, but at a mis-marked $16.97 for the 10", a darn good buy all the same, one I easily pounced on, given that I lacked a 10" clad frypan. 

This morning, what's in my email? SLT's Easter sale on Mauviel, with the M'collection de Cuisine (SLT-only version of M'Cook) 10" skillet on sale for $79. This one is 5 ply clad, and so thick, with that wonderful Mauviel handle, so sweet. Ah, well. I'll have to live with a bad case of Pan Envy.

*sigh*

Answer

Just enjoy your new pan. Eventually, in the next decade or so, that silicone handle will give out, and you'll have a good excuse to buy a new one, but in the meantime you've got $60 or so to put towards something else. Spices? Wine?

Have fun!

Answer

Personally, I would not spend even $79 for a skillet but if that's a really good deal - and it sounds like you'd know better than I would - why not get it? You've only spent the cost of a couple of workday lunches on the Sam's Club pan, and it's not like it takes up a whole cabinet to store. Hang onto it or give it away.

Answer

$16.97? Not a bad price at all for something that could be donated to family or friend or neighbor. If you can afford it, get that $79 one. If not, you still have a good piece of cookware.

Answer

I've found all-clad d5 to be pretty heavy and slow to respond to temperature changes, probably due to all that SS.

Answer

I've been trying to stay away from looking at "deals." Almost bought a Mauviel pan that, after later research, was 1.5 mm copper when I already have two All-Clads in similar sizes. 

In my cooking the most temperature sensitive stuff I do is with sauces and my 1.8 quart Alessi (a recent purchase for a serious discount) works just fine. I think many of us - myself included - should work on developing better cooking skills and technique before investing in more expensive pans. If I'm not curdling bearnaise or kimizu in my current setup, would picking up a several hundred dollar copper saucier help me cook any better?

On the other hand, I do collect knives and sharpening equipment, so perhaps I'm just kidding myself...

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Pan Envy?

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