The Age of Your Pans

[Binky Profile]

How old is your oldest pan?

We have just finished cooking dinner and have used two pans from the Prestige French Provincial range. They were usually bought as wedding gifts as they were expensive to buy back in the 1970s. Ours date from 1976.

They are copper based and distribute heat well, but unfortunately are not non-stick, so you need to be there stirring. Having said that, I don't think this range is for sale any more having been overtaken by the likes of Tefal etc.

[Pampy Profile]

I had to replace all my pans when I got an induction hob so they are all quite new. However, I have a roasting tin and some Pyrex dishes that date from 1974.

[Wic Profile]

We still have a set of those French Provincial ones and use them all the time. We saved up for them, it was in the 70s, or thereabouts. There was a Which? Questionnaire not long after we got married which asked how long you thought a pan ought to last. At the time I think I thought 10 years was a good age.

I was thinking about this when making pancakes. My pancake pan is a frying pan my mother bought me when I went off to live in a flat when I went to university. It should probably be donated to a museum.

[Sakkarin Profile]

I treated myself to a completeish set of John Lewis saucepans, I can't say exactly when, but probably around 1985 when I could afford such luxuries. Still relative babies though alongside some of the others mentioned here!

They still sell exactly the same design, totting up how much I would have to pay to replace them makes my eyes water a bit. I even got the steamer and the bain marie inserts.

https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-pa ... ans/p63868

EDIT: I can't see any reason why those saucepans shouldn't last forever.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

My oldest pan is actually my Prestige Hi-Dome Pressure cooker, Christmas 1975

The next would probably be a black iron frying pan, circa 1982

My Ken Home Wok I think dates from the late 80s or very early 90s; my cast iron grill pan came from Woolies around the same time

After I got my first brand new gas cooker in 1992 I got a set of cheap stainless steel pans I intended to replace with better ones, they are still going strong though I added a Judge steamer set and a massive Judge sauté pan with a lid, also s/s, not long after,

Also stainless steel roasting pans, they are still going strong, doubt I'll ever buy another

In the last 20 years I've added a couple of Greenpans and a couple of James Martin 3-ply stainless steel

There's a an aluminium double boiler and a milk saucepan (now used for boiling eggs, everything stuck except water) both about 30 years old

The baby is a nonstick frying pan, Meyer Circulon, about 3 years old. Best nonstick I've found

Think that's about it, apart from a couple of s/s casseroles bought in the 90s when both mum & I started to find Le Creuset too heavy. Oh, and a random non stick frying pan

[karadekoolaid Profile]

We´ve got one of my mother-in-law´s aluminium pots. Must be early 1960s!!

[Alexandria Profile]

The oldest collection of cookware that we have, are from both sets of grandmothers ( all 4 grandmothers are alive ) earthenware "cazuelas" of all sizes and shapes and "palleras" ( paella pans ) of several sizes ..

The rest are fairly new, within the last 2 to 4 years of age except for the French cookware, which was a gift from my parents & inlaws 2 years ago.

We had a mini flea market at our office, one Saturday morning and there went the kitchen stuff, that I no longer needed or used ..

What is junk to one, is a treasure to another ..

Goodnight .. 12.30am - Thursday morning.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I’ve just remembered that although I’ve only had it 15 years the oldest pan I have is a French silver lined copper pan by Mauviel

It’s small and I don’t use it for actual cooking, though I have used it for serving sauces

Not sure exactly how old it is, but they haven’t made the silver ones in a long time, and family history suggests it is likely to date from the 50s or before - it came from OH’s family in France

[Joanbunting Profile]

The oldest pan I have is Granny's preserving pan which has made marmalade and jam every single year since the 1920s. It also has a funnel which came with it for getting the preserve into the jars.
I also have 2 copper frying pans, one specially for trout which were wedding presents in 1965.
The newest is a fabulous professional sautuese with lid which I bought with coupons given away in the supermarket depending on how much was spent every week.

[Lizzie-47 Profile]

I junked all my oldest pans - they were the cheapest I could find when I was setting up house as a young woman, and were nasty aluminium, minus a fair amount of handles and lids. I think this is where I've lost out by never getting married - I've never been given "good" pans as wedding gifts! I've steadily acquired better ones, but have never been able to afford Le Creuset.

After my mum and dad divorced, my dad briefly had a girlfriend who cost him a lot of money through her extravagance. As he was a Yorkshire farmer, and careful with his money, she didn't last long, but I do remember she made him buy a set of Le Creuset pans, which he hung onto despite not being much of a one for cooking. After he died and we were sorting out his stuff, we were delighted to see that he'd been using the largest one for feeding the sheep..... its heavy base must have meant they couldn't knock it over!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Hi Lizzie
Don't often see you here

I never married either, but I have managed to acquire a few good pans one at a time, and the stainless steel set of 3 that were a bargain.

I don't feel the need to have a load of pans, after all there are only 4 burners on the hob and while you need some choice of size it would seem to me extravagant to have a dozen basic pans, and they'd be impossible to store in my little kitchen.

With pans, as with clothes, I work on the principle of a smaller number of slightly better ones that will stand up to wear and washing, rather than more flimsier ones

<looks down at current jumper and jeans combo>

<shrugs>

[Lizzie-47 Profile]

Hi Stokey Sue, no, I am a bit of a lurker. You lot are so terrifying with your culinary expertise that I rarely venture an opinion!

I am of your mind when it comes to clothes, I tend to wear mine until they drop to bits.

When it comes to cookware, I've often got some surprisingly good stuff half price in the Sainsbury's January sale.

[cherrytree Profile]

My oldest pan is the one I ‘steam ‘ puddings in the simmering oven. It’s at least 100 years old. Part of its life was when my mother boiled our nappies in( don’t worry, that was 65 years ago!)
Moving forward , my pancake pan was one I bought in Kingston Habitat before we got married in 1970. I still have some Le Creuset items from our wedding present list then.


I also have a tiny Swan pan that came from a Home Economics classroom that shut in 1970. It was ancient then.
I do have some lovely modern Aga pans as well- I’m not completely living in the dark ages!

[Pommes Profile]

When we married in 1969 I very quickly got through 2 sets of 'non stick' pans. Then they were the 'latest thing' but sadly long before Tefal, & so lost their coatings very, very quickly. So I saved up my commission from running a shopping catalogue & bought a set of Prestige Pans, which then had a lifetime guarantee. I bought a second set around the early 80's, & both sets are still as good as new, despite being in use every day.

[cherrytree Profile]

Talking of Prestige, I’ve still got my complete set of Prestige kitchen implements that my godmother gave me in 1968 as an engagement present. They are still in wonderful condition and I use one or other of them every day. What an excellent company. Long gone, I suppose.

[Sakkarin Profile]

I don't think I've managed to save a complete set of anything in my life!

P.S. My John Lewis stuff was not a set, although I still have all the bits I bought...

[Pampy Profile]

Prestige is still going - don't know what the quality is like these days. I was bought a Prestige pressure cooker in 1974 and it was still as good as new in 2013 when I had to replace it because it didn't work on my induction hob. It's still giving good service to my nephew though!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I emailed Prestige, now part of William Levine, because I couldn’t work out which of the current replacement valves would fit my 1975 Hi Dome

Got a lovely long chatty reply explaining which to buy and how the new ones worked differently to the old ones

[kavey Profile Website]

One of my favourites is an ancient heavy non-enamelled black cast iron casserole dish with lid that my mum was going to throw out and I rescued!