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Ikea Annons Cookware Set
by thehonesttruth
When we moved house, we decided to get rid of our old ones, which were a cheap non-stick set we'd had for some 5 years. Due to a lack of love and care, the non stick coating was all but destroyed, so when we spotted this little set of 3 pans in Ikea for just £6, we decided to pick it up, along with a larger pan from the 365 range. The ... set consists of a small 0.8 litre sauce pan, a larger 1.4l saucepan with lid, and a double handled 2.4 litre pot with a lid.
The pans do require a little assembly, as the pan handles for the two saucepans are not attached, nor are the lid handles attached to the lids. This is very easy to do though, and although instructions are provided with the pans, I found it unnecessary to look at them.
The pans themselves are very stylish in a mirror shine steel, with smart black handles. The picture above doesn't make it very clear, but the lids are actually glass, with black handles and steel trim around the edges, and both lids have small holes for the steam to escape from. The pans are suitable for all kinds of hobs, and are dishwasher safe (although I don't have a dishwasher so this isn't too relevant to me).
I found that the pans are sufficient for most of my needs. The smallest can just about fit in 6 small to medium eggs for boiling, and is also the perfect size for reheating a tin of soup or baked beans. The medium pan is a good size for boiling veggies, and the larger one is just about the right size for boiling up pasta for two adults and one child. I do find that on occasion I do need a larger pan, as I do like to make things in bulk, or cook for friends, hence the purchase of the larger 365 pot seperately, but I think for a couple just starting out in a home, or a student in a bedsit, this little set of pans would suit most needs.
Obviously, being stainless steel they are not non stick. According to the little book I got with them, they have a ' Three-layer base: two layers of stainless steel with an intermediate layer of aluminium; reduces the risk of food getting burnt and stuck to the pan.' Now, I don't know if it's the three layer base, or the fact that, knowing that these pans aren't non stick, I'm more watchful of them, but I've never really had any issues with anything sticking to the pans, and on the one occasion where I did let some pasta boil ever so slightly dry, a soak in a hot sink and a gentle clean with a soft sponge did the trick and had the pan looking as good as new.
So far, I'm quite happy with these pans. I will probably upgrade them at some point, not because they don't perform adequately, but because I've always wanted a nice set of Le Creuset pans, which I'm getting one by one. However, I may still keep these as a back up set - they do the job well, the sizes are useful, and the clear lids allow me to check if the water is boiling without taking the lid off and letting the heat out.
On top of that, they actually look very smart - my pans are on display in this house, on a wall mounted shelf, and I find that after washing, a quick buff has these looking gleaming and new, and something I'm happy to have out where people can see them.
The one small downside with these is that, like many of the smaller Ikea homeware items, this set sadly y isn't available to buy online, but only in the stores themselves, for which I will deduct one point.
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This Morning Prestige Saucepan
by karlsm93
We in the process of moving house and the house that we hope to move to has a different kind of hob to the one that I currently have, in fact it is an induction hob, and therefore only certain saucepans and frying pans are suitable for this particular type of hob. Every single saucepan and frying pan that I own is not suitable for this ... new type of hob, and so am going to have to replace each one in time. I wasn't too bothered about getting a set of pans, given that the pans that seem to be suitable for induction hobs are all made of stainless steel and there is no colour in any of them, so they will generally look the same anyhow. So, I decided we would be having enough new bills moving house and I would look to TK Maxx to see if I could pick up a few bargain induction saucepans and frying pans.
Well, there is a limited number of induction suitable saucepans, but I found this one by 'This Morning by Prestige' in TK MAxx for £12.99, only the picture at the top of the screen is slightly different from mine, in that mine doesn't have any colour in it, but looks identical in every other way. I bought a 20cm stainless steel saucepan in the make, and I like the roundness of the saucepan around the bottom, and for the price I paid, I thought it would certainly start us off.
Well, I got this saucepan about a month ago and I thought I might as well start using it, in case it was useless and end up not taking it to the new house. Now, I am currently using it on a solid ring hob, so I can only comment on its effectiveness of that type of cooker currently. THis saucepan is suitable for ALL cooker types, and I liked the fact that it had firstly, a 10 year guarantee, and secondly it had soft grips on both the handle and on the handle of the lid, meaning you didn;t need the oven gloves to lift the lid or pan. This saucepan is dishwasher safe as well, although in our current house we don't have a dishwasher and we just handwash our dishes, but it is also suitable for the oven as well up to temperatures of 180C. Now, I have never, and don't plan to ever put a saucepan in the oven so have no idea how true this claim is.
Another feature of this saucepan which I quite liked was that the lid was perfectly clear so you could see what was happening in the pan if you had the lid on. However, it is the lid that annoys me the most about this product. The lid is fine when I am cooking, and it will balance tilted on the edge of the pan to allow steam to get out when cooking, however, the problem comes when washing this lid. I find I have to wash this several times before I really have it clean. Just under the edge of the lid, the starch from potatoes or other bits and pieces left over from cooking seem to harbour and it is very difficult to get them out. THere have been plenty of occasions when I have been washing the dishes, thinking the lid is perfectly clean, only to realise once dried that there are little bits I have missed under the edge of the lid.
So far, when used in cooking, I haven't had anything stick to the bottom, and there have been no difficulties with the actual pan. My issue is more with the lid of the pan. My good set of saucepans that I got as a wedding present and have served me great have little vent holes at the side, so I don't have to worry about the lid being tilted and when draining something, I don't have to balance the lid either, and so this saucepan certainly doesn't compare to this.
ALl in all, this is an okay saucepan probably for what I paid for it but I'm sure there are better induction saucepans out there, and I will keep this one, but I will look out for better ones for my new hob!
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Lakeland My Kitchen Cake Tin
by thriftygiftyisme
=Lakeland - My Kitchen Cake tin=
After having a massive gut out about 2 years ago, I got rid of all the cake tins, and invested in these rubber cake tins, they are great for what I call standard cakes but trying to cook Christmas Cakes in them, I just found that the cakes just didn't seem to bake as well, whether they did not like ... being in the oven so long don't know.
I thought as I'm going to invest in a couple of better quality ones and as I knew that I needed 2 special cakes earlier in the year, one for wedding anniversary, and one I said I'd do the cake as a Birthday present for my daughters granddad's surprise 80th party.
=Off to Lakeland we go=
I had looked online and noticed that they had a range "My Kitchen" and the cake tins that I choose where the cook and bake loose sided cake tins.
Sizes available
15cm diameter x 8cm high - £9.39 (6in x 3in)
18cm d x 7cm - £10.39 (7in x 2 3/4in)
20cm d x 10cm - £11.39 (8in x 4in)
23cm d x 8cm - £14.39 (9in x 3 1/4in)
26cm d x 9.5cm - £16.39 ( 10in x 3 3/4in)
30cm d x 10cm - £20.39 (12in x 4in)
(Prices correct at time of writing, - presently on offer at buy one get one half price)
=The Claim by Lakeland=
Lakeland say that each is robust, commercial weight piece has a heavy duty construction that will not twist or wrap with a double layer of durable Quantum 2 non-stick to see you through years of roasting and baking" - With a claim like that I was looking forward to getting let loose on them. They are also dish washer and freezer proof.
=My Purchases=
I brought the 26cm and the 30cm cake tins.
=My Experience=
I used my tried and tested Christmas cake recipe, so I did 2 batches, the first which would stay as Christmas cakes and to trial the tins, and the 2nd batch ready for the "special cakes".
I have to say the tin was easy to use, from lining the inside of the tin with greaseproof, to covering the outside, it was easy to pop the mixture in to the tin, although when full they were heavy. To pop the base in you just lower into the tin, and it slots into the ridges at the bottom, it went in perfectly first time, and had a really snug fit.
Cooking - They cooked the cake effortlessly, it was even texture.
=The Help Moment or should I rename the panic moment=
This is the bit that I always dread getting the cake out of the tin, is it going to come out in one piece, are there going to be chunks missing, is it going to collapse - I'm sure we've all been there!
Off comes the outer of grease proof, then I put the cake upside down on a wire cooling tray, and held the bottom as I lifted the main unit off then removed the base. It was perfect, both the cakes where.
=Batch Two=
This was the one I worried more about but knew if I did any accidents, as least I had batch 1 to fall back on, again this was a smooth 10 out of 10.
=To wash=
As previously mentioned this is dishwasher proof, but I don't have a dish washer, just his lordship!! - the cake tin washed really easily, no scrubbing was needed, no soaking, just a normal wash.
=Since Christmas=
I have baked a couple of times with the cake, on normal cakes from a Victoria Sponge to a marmalade cake, even with the thinner consistency it cooked both cakes perfectly, no running out of the bottom.
=Long Term Investment=
I know I have only had these about 4 months, but they are really good, and I have purchased other items from the range as I was really impressed, and there's a few more that I have got my eye on.
The sizes I first purchased were for Christmas Cakes / Party cakes, but the smaller sizes work just as perfectly.
I can see myself and my daughter getting plenty of use from these tins.
=Would I recommend=
A great big yes.
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