Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I am currently staying at my SIL's and she doesn't own a stock pot. We borrowed one from a friend of hers for while I'm here, and she now sees the value of owning one. (I think I'll have my nephew making stock and cooking SV before long.) It has been forever since I bought a stock pot. Can anyone recommend a good one with a fully clad bottom which doesn't cost a fortune? She's always inclined to go with AC, but at almost. $400 I told her to save her money.

Amy

This One was endorsed by the equipment corner last August.

This One may be available at the nearest Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

I bought one the same size, price and specs at my corner Wegmans a few years back and it works OK.

I'd go with Jim. Personally I don't like a heavy pot because my stove and sink are not very close togther and I don't like walking across the floor with a pot of boiling liquids
fitzie

Another option is a Tramontina pot, probably available at both Target and Walmart. I have had the same Tramontina for 18 years and it's a great pot, not too heavy but sturdy enough.
I also have a Wolfgang Puck one that I keep just to have another pot, but it's so flimsy that it's only really good for boiling corn.

I feel obliged to point out that a stock pot, if actually used for liquids, does not need to be clad and won't really gain anything from it. A commercial Al one is cheap and light and its only downsides are not being used in the dishwasher (but typically too large anyway) and not being acid friendly (not so common I think to make monster quantities of tomato sauce at home, though not unheard of).

If of course it is to be used for non-liquid purposes (ala dutch oven), then whole different story.

They can pry my cheap, Revereware stockpot from my cold, dead hands. It'll probably still be around, too. I've had it for 20 years now and, if I were to be arsed to polish the copper bottom, it would probably still look like new. It's light and it heats up quickly. IMHO that's all you need in a stock pot.

not fully clad I agree, but a clad bottom only like Amy is looking for does help to keep the simmer at a simmer much easier. That's why I don't like the puck, it simmers way too fast.

Is making 10 litres of sauce at a time monster? I use the tramontina for that every few months. You should see the ginormous one we use in the fall when canning 16 bushels of tomatoes.

I use a 12 QT pasta pot (basket helps) DH got at Costco, under $40.00 and it works well. When I want bigger, I use a 23 qt pressure canner (old fashioned, aluminum) so it does double duty.

Yes I'll bet restaurants make tomato sauce all the time in Al pots (is there anything they don't make in Al pots?), but lots of people seem uncomfortable with it.

I recall one of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" episodes on stock pots.
He went through a few different configurations, but settled on an anodized aluminum version.
Stainless clad was cool, but expensive, and thermals weren't too good.
Bare aluminum had good themals and was cheap, but aluminum is an active metal and reacts with some chemicals.
Anodized Aluminum because the thermal transfer properties were very efficient, and anodize because it is a robust non-reactive coating of aluminum-oxide, and the final result being that it's usually a great value.

So if I were to get a list of REQUIREMENTS that defines a desirable stock pot, . . .
1. Efficient in thermal transfer such that you could heat a full 10 liters on a simmer setting.
2. Material must be non-reactive to a wide variety of chemicals (within the range of human consumption).
3. Greater marginal utility (aka, a good economic value)
In short, it's gotta work right and be cheap.

Most of the time I think he's full of crap, but in this case I agree with Alton on this one.

I also like Cubangirl's reply: COSTCO rocks, unfortunately not everyone has access to them.
I've also used my pressure cooker as a stock machine.