Skillet choice

Silverstone 10-inch skillet $15
Farberware 10-inch skillet $16

Both look identical except for the label and the silicone rubber on the handles. They even nest like they were made at the same factory.

Of the two choices above, which would you pick?

If I could use the $1 on chocolate quickly, the SilverStone.

Brand names mean nothing to me for this sort of thing. If they weigh the same, are made of the same material, then I'd take the $1 home with me. ]

You didn't mention whether these are non-stick or not, but I'm assuming they are. My guess is that neither will last more than a couple of years but at that price you're still getting a fair deal.

I still advocate the All-clad stainless-lined cast aluminum. They are virtually non-stick ( I make omelets in them) The cast aluminum is a terrific heat conductor. And the stainless is a non-reactive metal and you can cook anything in them. I think pans with handles made form anything other than metal are downright silly and inefficient. I wouldn't buy a pan that I couldn't cook with both on top of the stove and in the oven.

I'm not talking about the newer "sandwich" pans - those that are three layer, stainless on the outside, cast aluminum in the middle and stainless on the inside. Mine are the old two layer pans, cast aluminum on the outside and stainless inside. These are much heavier weight than the newer product.

I only have a couple left. If you know anyone who wants to get rid of some let me know.

Yeah, but that wasn't the question. I'd also rather have metal only handles, but the silicon handles in question are oven-safe to 350-450 F. And, yes, they are non-stick.

[Jenise]

They even nest like they were made at the same factory.

They probably were. A lot of this stuff is like clothing. X Chinese Factory makes it and sells it to a variety of U.S. brands who stick their label on it. So I'm with Mike--keep the buck.

I will not comment on the current choices but I will say that because, like Eartha Kitt, "I'm just an old fashioned girl, with old fashioned mind, Not sophisticated, I'm the sweet and simple kind" and my favorite skillets remain those of black cast iron. Difficult to clean, difficult to maintain but lawsy, they do the job so well.

Best
Rogov

P.S. Common knowledge has it that Ms. Kitt first performed this song on Broadway in "New Faces of 1952" but the truth is that she did it first in Paris' Le Jazz Club on Rue de La Huchette a year earlier, rolling from bed to bed as she sang and having every man and woman in the audience wishing they were on one of those beds waiting for her. I only had the chance to meet her once so did not really know her, but when I read of her death on Christmas Day of 2008, I cried. Eartha Kitt was a beautiful woman by any standard of the term "beauty".

The full lyrics of the song (well worth reading) can be found at http://www.earthakittfanclub.com/sheet_ ... _music.htm

I have a number of cast-iron skillets, including a ridged one, and a long, two-burner cast-iron griddle, smooth on one side and ridged on the other. I like 'em, too.