My New Favorite Pot
I collect the weirdest things sometimes. Chicken figurines. Placemats. Porcelain pans. Potted plants. Worn out quilts.
And pots of a certain type. I fell in love with this style of pot/pan many years ago, when I stumbled upon one at a thrift store some 30 years ago. That pot is still in my possession and gets used regularly. I paid $8 for it. I’ve since added at least six others: a small saucepan, a small oval roaster, a mid-sized saucepan, and a very large roaster. They are all still my go-to pots for everything from boiling potatoes to making stove-top pot-roast and roasted fowl. When I find one for sale, there is a good ten minute back-and-forth discussion with myself about whether or not I should buy it.
And the answer is usually yes.
What is so special about these? They are thick cast aluminum, similar to a pressure canner or pressure cooker. They have a variety of brand names as the company has changed over the years, but they are all the same manufacturer. They go by MagnaWare, Wearever and Ware. All of my pots boast one of these brand names. The newer ones are Magna Ware. The older ones carry the Ware or Wearever name.
These pots are heavy. They distribute heat beautifully. The caramelize an onion on low heat like nothing you’ve ever seen. Their heavy lids hold in moisture, something critical in the dry environment I live in. The handles are composite or wood (depending on the age of the pot) and don’t get hot. I have made countless batches stews, pot roasts, soups, mashed potatoes, kale, cabbage, you name it. I have never had a failed dish in one of these.
My newest acquisition is a 12″ deep fry pan. It is at this moment my favorite pot. I have made pork chops and cabbage, mushroom steak, strawberry jam, kale and bacon, cabbage and bacon, mashed potatoes, and soup. I use it at least once a week, but if I’m cooking a lot, it gets used 3 or 4 times a week. I LOVE this pot. The single handle makes it easy to move the pot around and to empty it if needed. The heavy lid seals in moisture and provides the best result of my cooking.
The bonus? I found it at a flea market, marked for $35. This pan would have been over $150 brand new in the store. My big roaster would have been about $250, but I paid $35 for it at a church rummage sale. I’d have gladly paid more. Sometimes, I get a wild hair and look at other cookware. But I always turn away when I see how cheap, flimsy, thin, and brittle they are.
Give me my Wearever any day. 
Do you have a favorite pot or pots? What do you like about them?
I have my mother’s old copper bottom Revere Ware and I love them. I have a few non stick pots but I don’t like them at all and rarely use them. I was going to give them to Austen when he moved out but he bought his own pots and pans so I still have them. I like that the Revere Ware doesn’t have nonstick in it so I can mash my potatoes right in the pan and not worry about scratching it. Bill has a few pans that are similar but not Revere Ware and I use them occasionally but I don’t like them as well as mine. I have scorched the bottom of my big roaster before (well actually Aubri scorched it) and have soaked and scrubbed it clean – couldn’t do that with a non stick – it would be trash material.
We have a mish mosh of pots and pans. One full set of Queen Ware that my Honey brought with him. (inherited from his grandparents) and my set of copper bottomed Revere Ware that were a wedding gift back in 1976. We also have a few other non-stick types. I don’t like the non-stick at all. The Queen Ware has to be kept no higher temp than a medium. Takes f o r e v e r to boil water on medium heat. Those think bottoms to distribute the heat evenly and burning things takes longer. lol
Love, love, love my Revere Ware. They take a beating and perform like a champ. Clean up is pretty easy with a good scratcher. Love the way the copper shines on the bottom too.