Guests keep ruining pot and pan sets. What is the best sets to buy that guests can't ruin?

[Diane15]

We've bought 2-3 sets of pots and pans in the past year because guests keep scratching them and burning the bottoms of them. The scratching of the interior "non-scratch" looks really bad.

And we're not going to charge guests for scratching the pots and pans. One guest will scratch them in 1 place, another guest makes a couple more scratches, etc.

It's an accumulation over about 3-4 months that they start to look really bad.

We've replaced all metal cooking utensils with hard plastic and wooden stirring spoons, etc., but guests just use the metal flatware instead.

Do I just buy new $300+ sets a few times a year?

I thought of cast iron, but I know guests won't wash and season them properly and they'll rust, etc.,  within a few months.

Any ideas because cast iron and "non-scaratch" pot and pan sets?

Thanks

[Ava30]

Hi @Diane15,  after taking a look at the kitchen in your listings I would suggest something along the lines of the Le Creuset cookware. Wouldn’t necessarily have to be that particular brand, but that style. It holds up well the heavy use, can handle metal utensils And often comes in really great colors. Good luck!

[Sandra126]

Steel or copper (but copper is expensive), anything you can scrub with steel wool! Nothing teflon, doesn't last.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Diane15

I suggest a nice sign in your kitchen for guests to "please take care not to scratch the coated pots/pans by using the appropriate utensil while cooking." If this doesn't work, you can just buy a set of cheapo stainless steel pots and pans that "need" to be replaced every 6 months. 

[Susan151]

I have, during my lifetime, spent an embarrassing amount of money on quality cookware. I have, during my lifetime, learned that you buy the cheapest non-stick pans you can find and replace them regularly.

At your price point, you need to have something that makes people impressed. If I were you, I would buy some high-end, boxed pot and pan sets when they are seriously on sale (All Clad, LeCreuset, Staub come to mind.). I would then go to Costco or Bed, Bath & Beyond and buy a three-pack of fairly cheap non-stick fry pans, also on sale. The only reason to use non-stick is for eggs.

I find these great sales by subscribing to email lists from every vendor, both brick and mortar and online, that sells the brands that I like.

[Kathie21]

I can't see what kind of stove to you have as the kitchen photos are really fuzzy, but I wouldn't have Le Creuset type pans if it's an induction or other glass type hob - they're very heavy and if someone bashes them down too hard it could crack the glass. 

I'm not sure why you need to provide non-stick saucepans - frying pan yes, but not saucepans.  I cook a lot, and it wouldn't occur to me to have them, apart from a small non-stick milkpan for scrambled eggs.  I paid about $120 for a new set of good quality stainless steel pans last year, because we moved to a house with an induction hob.  My 25 year old copper-bottomed stainless steel ones are now in the holiday let, and I am not a particularly careful pan user - but there's just nothing to scratch!   If expensive non-stick frying pans are not resilient enough,  just buy cheap ones and expect to replace regularly. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Diane15,

Great question. 🙂

My first thought was to replace your cooking utensils with wooden or plastic, but I see you have done this. I wonder if you put these cooking utensils in an obvious place in the kitchen, so that when they are cooking they immediately take one of these instead of a metal one from the drawer – just an idea! 🙂 

[Diane15]

Thank you all for your answers.... As you can tell, I'm not a cook at all, (even though my property has 2 kitchens...lol) So from what I'm surmising from most of the answers, going with "Teflon" type pots and pans is NOT the way to go? So if I want to spend about $400 on a set of pots and pans, what should I go with, copper, stainless steel, etc.? I have no idea what "All-Clad", etc., are made of...can they go in the dishwasher? because guests will absolutely put them in the dishwasher, even if we ask them not to.
I just want something that will still look decent for a few years as Guests will absolutely use metal on them...and yes, we've provided wood and plastic utensils right ON the stovetop (it's an oversized gas stovetop, so there's enough room,) it's made no difference.
Thanks again everyone!

[Sarah977]

Stainless steel. Hard to wreck. If guests burn anything onto them badly, you can use oven cleaner on them to get the gunk off. No way they need to cost $300-$400 for a set. Ikea has quite decent stainless steel cookware that is not expensive. I hink I paid $35 Canadian for a large stew pot a couple years ago. Seems like one large, one medium, one small pot and a frying pan would be adequate.

BTW I have 2 cast iron frying pans that I've had for about 40 years. I wash them just like I wash all the rest of my dishes and cookware. It doesn't matter if they rust. A quick swish of a scrubby and a bit of oil and they'll be fine. There is nothing whatsoever unhealthy about ingesting rust, FYI. It's just iron oxide. But I wouldn't recommend cast iron for guests. They'll bash them down on the counters and stovetop and cause damges.

[Mark116]

Exactly. Stainless steel.  No non stick, no cast iron, no enamel, no copper and nothing w/plastic handles.  

Stainless, medium quality.  It will hold up well

[Kathie21]

For burnt pans, bicarbonate of soda usually works (sprinkle it on to a damp surface and leave for while).  Oven cleaner can be a last resort, but it's such nasty stuff.

[Sarah977]

@Kathie21   Yes, oven cleaner is super nasty stuff- I only use it as a last resort. There is also a product called Bar Keepers Friend, it is great for cleaning up all stainless steel- pots and pans, faucets, sinks, etc. It is oxalic acid, which is found in rhubarb and spinach. It's a powder and if you put some in the bottom of a burnt pot with a little water, it usually loosens it up.

[Letti0]

@Sarah977  I use this all the time. It is a great product. 

[Susan151]

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@Sarah977 wrote:

@Kathie21   Bar Keepers Friend

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This is what All-Clad recommends for all their pans. Works like a charm!

[Sandra126]

I provide a box of soapy steel wool under the sink, in case they burn things. Steel can take a LOT of scrubbing.