Why do some pots and pans cost more than others?

And it depends on if it has a famous Chef’s name stuck on it. Paula Deen cookware is expensive.

It can be about the designer name, it can also be about quality.

Some pots can cost $100s of dollars for each one. They are made of heavy, enamelled cast iron and will last you a life time (Le Chasseur). Other pans may have very good handles, that resist heat or they can go from the stove to the oven and then to the table.

Good pots and pans are an investment. If you look after them, you will use them for years and years.

Or the cost can be designer bullshit.

All I can think of is some brand cookware sets must be made from precision castings so you get consistent heat therefore can get all burners going at once and not have anything turn out different than you have gotten used to. I’ve tried to get water boiling in a bunch of pots at once and there is a difference in timing. I guess if your kitchen specialty is going to be delicate sauces and precision parboiling…

Thickness and composition of the metal in the pans. Thicker bottomed stainless steel pans with copper layers are a premium pan. These pans will cook more evenly with less scorching of your food than the thinner affordable pans.

Cheaper pots and pans (and believe me, I have had my share) actually have “cold” spots that don’t cook the same as the hot spots. So if you are cooking something like a chicken marengo or a chicken massala, some parts will be overcooked and others will be under.

Pre-divorce, I had a set of all-clad that was wonderful to cook with, especially the roasting pan. All the potatoes roasting around a roast beef would cook evenly.

Expensive pans are usually:

1. Heavier
2. Have a layer of stainless steel sandwiched between two layers of aluminum.

The heaviness means the pan holds on to heat. When you put cold chicken into a hot, lightweight pan, the pan’s temperature will drop dramatically. Put it in a hot, heavy pan and the pan will stay hot.

The aluminum-stainless-aluminum construction does several things. Stainless steel is heavy, so see above. But stainless is a poor conductor and takes forever to actually heat up. Aluminum is a great conductor. But it’s lightweight so it doesn’t hold onto heat. Putting the two metals together gets you the best of both worlds.

Now, some relatively expensive, but not super-expensive, pans will just have the al-steel-al layer on the bottom of the pan, but not on the sides, which will just be aluminum. Very expensive pans like All-Clad have the sandwich design throughout the whole pan.

May I ask what exactly you’re wanting the pans for? Because in my opinion, you only really need a high-quality 12-inch skillet—or, if you don’t cook for a crowd often, a 10-inch skillet. It doesn’t really matter if your saucepans are high-quality because you’re probably just using them to heat liquid.

Heavier. Better heat conducting properties. Less prone to warping. Beautiful. Ability to conduct heat and spread it out over the cooking surface. Durability. You always pay more for pans that do these things better.

Always look to see how the handles are attached to the main pot or pan. If they are welded, it will likely come off eventually. Also, look at the bottom of the pot or pan to see, like @Qingu said, what material is used to make the bottom. You want a bottom that distributes the heat evenly and that means weight and quality material. I like pots and pans that can be put in the oven, so that means no plastic handles or lids.

I have some Revereware that is about 20 years old, probably. It has copper on the bottom, and copper holds the heat better than other metals. I inherited these pots from a deceased relative. I expect them to last the better part of my lifetime. I see a lot of designer cookware in the stores now – Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, etc. I know Consumer Reports occasionally reviews cookware, so I would say check there if you are looking to buy. A lot of times, you will find good ratings for relatively inexpensive cookware that is pretty decent quality-wise.

No matter how well made some of them are though, they are ridiculously priced, no different from other kinds of items.