# Le Creuset 3-ply stainless steel vs De Buyer Affinity series saucepans



## johana (Nov 25, 2013)

During the next year we will be re-equip our home kitchen and among other things, I'd love the forums opinion on the above mentioned cookware, specifically saucepans. We're two to tango so esthetics turned out to be very important. After initially looking at Mauviel (which was turned down by me because the handles were too thin compared to the others) and Demeyere (which was turned down because they were "very ugly"), I landed on the De Buyer's Affinity series and she on Le Creuset's 3-ply series. Now, none of us are great chefs in any way, but friends are and we'd love to invite them from time to time and the family's intention is to really put some time in improving the home cooking.  Also, we really want to buy durable stuff with good guarantees (preferable lifetime).

There's a rather big price difference and even though the price doesn't really matter that much to be the final weight, who wouldn't say it's better to save some money for something else.

Is there any major differences in the way they handle heat, both in speed and how evenly it's spread (including up on the walls)? Any other minor quirks about any of the ones? It seems from pictures (no store here has them, they have to be bought online eventually) that the De Buyer is just a tad more curved which I'd like, but maybe that's just the photographs. Do they differ when it comes to cleaning?

Any input appreciated!

Johan


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

Wow, Johan, both brands are pricey!  Neither would be in my price point.  I have found that as a Home Cook, a covered saucepan doesn't need to cost over $100USD, but that's my kitchen.


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## johana (Nov 25, 2013)

kaneohegirlinaz said:


> Wow, Johan, both brands are pricey! Neither would be in my price point. I have found that as a Home Cook, a covered saucepan doesn't need to cost over $100USD, but that's my kitchen.


Thanks for the answer! Point taken  The thing is though that I already know that some of the people that will be using them are running restaurants, some are chef etc. I submit would love for all to be very satisfied


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

Johan, a good sauce-pan to me is a conical one. I think you should reconsider Demeyere cookware, especially the professional ranges Apollo and Atlantis. I agree that I have a soft-spot as a Belgian for this outstanding material.

Both Apollo and Atlantis are 7-ply stainless steels and are fantastic to cook with and very different from 3-ply material. These pans have a 3 mm thickness all over, also the edges, which make them even heavier than normal 3-ply pans with a thick bottom plate, something these Demeyeres do not have. They are not the cheapest around but you will find thousands of these in high end European kitchens. These pans come with a 30-year guarantee!

A conical saucepan is a real must-have in my opinion, especially good for making emulsion sauces like béarnaise, Hollandaise etc. They are designed to enable the cook to reach all parts of the pan with a whisk.





  








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chrisbelgium


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Nov 28, 2013








http://www.demeyere.be/default.asp?CID=2966&SLID=1

A good and much cheaper conical saucepan is this Beka. It is not a 7-ply but a 3-ply pan, hence the price difference. I also think Beka has only one size, while Demeyere has a number of sizes.

http://www.beka-cookware.com/tri-lux-conical-saucepan


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## johana (Nov 25, 2013)

Thanks for the tip on the conical shape, I agree that it seems intuitive that this shape would be better for the whisking! I'd really love to go for the Demeyere, I'll try to convince the better half


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