After decades of continuous service, my Magnalite pots and pans are showing their age.

Most Louisiana cooks over the age of 40 swear by two types of pots and pans – Magnalite and cast-iron. Magnalite doesn’t require any special care, but the cast-iron ones need a little spoiling.

I don’t have a lot of the black cast-iron pots, but the ones I have are the workhorses of the kitchen.

Rounding out the collection is inexpensive cookware. They don’t last as long and they have a few other drawbacks.

Food sticks to the surface of the pans after a while, and the pots warp. Trying to balance an uneven pot full of hot water on the stove is not easy.

Perhaps, I told myself when throwing away two cheap pans, I might as well buy a good set that will last instead of replacing the cheap ones every couple of years.

That longevity, I discovered, costs.

A 10-piece high-quality stainless-steel set of pots, pans and lids runs right at $800.

That’s more than I paid for my couch.

As I don’t like to cook, paying that much for pots and pans seems a waste of money. I decided to make sure the cheap pans last a long time. This feat can be accomplished by cooking in the air fryer and the microwave.

It’s not just pots and pans that are expensive. Gone are the days of the inexpensive Pyrex mixing bowls that nest inside each other. New bowls start at $9 each.

Kitchen gadgets can be expensive. A wireless Bluetooth meat thermometer can run as high as $270. A fork stuck in the middle of a chicken thigh works just as well.

A good set of cutting knives will also break the bank. One six-piece set I saw was over $700. I’ve had the same set of knives for over 50 years. They need sharpening, but they get the job done.

I own a few other geriatric kitchen items. A set of orange Tupperware measuring cups are my go-to whenever I’m baking, and I know they date back to the 1980s.

Same for the baking sheets I’ve had for decades. Sure they’re a little beat up, but they work perfectly fine when baking cookies or a frozen pizza.

We’ve used the same forks and knives for years. They don’t match, but they’re capable of getting food from the plate to our mouths without a hitch.

My glass Pyrex baking pans are a little etched, but the baked chicken comes out dry.

My fault, not the pan’s.

Maybe if I had that $700 meat thermometer, I wouldn’t overcook the chicken.

Our coffee mugs are all different colors and designs, but each one represents a memory of where we’ve been or a special occasion.

Some things aren’t expensive to replace. Potholders are usually less than $10 for a set of three, but I use the ones my grandmother crocheted over 50 years ago.

The potholders are lightly stained, and I’ve had to sew up a few rips over the years, but there’s no way I’d leave them in a drawer, forgotten and left to rot from not being used. They were made with love by my grandmother, and they’re priceless to me.

After researching new pots and pans, I made a decision. The pots and pans I have now suit our needs, so I’ll see if I can get a few more decades out of them.

Just because something’s a little dinged up doesn’t mean it’s outlived its usefulness.

I could be talking about myself, but for right now, we’ll stick with the Louisiana queen of the kitchen – Magnalite – and her princess – cast iron.

 

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.