The new pan in my life

This is my new frying pan, 12 inches of glistening 18/10 stainless steel. It's so handsome, I don't know whether to cook in it, or date it. The maker is JA Henckels.

Handsome is as handsome does, however. I wouldn't buy another pan from this company, most likely. While it is gorgeous and cooks like a dream (as long as one does not use high heat), it is heavy and the handle is awkward. It is riveted on, which is great. But the shape and width is not good for my hands. I have a bit of arthritis in my hands so lifting it with food in it would be difficult. Moving it to a cooler burner is no problem, however.

What would win me over would be if the pan had an extra handle like this one on my Cuisinart pan. Why didn't I buy one with the extra handle? The Cuisinart pan was bought while on vacation down in Charlotte, NC. The new pan was bought in a small city about an hour from the boonies in which I call home. I had a choice of coated cookware, Emeril Lagasse brand (I wasn't smitten with it), or the Henckels. The Henckels would be my first choice IF it had the second handle on this pan. This cookware is meant to last for years and years, and as one gets older, strength in one's hands can be an issue.

Here is another view of the handle on the new Henckls pan:

I own about four brands of stainless steel cookware now. I buy pieces as I need them, as boxed sets often have pieces that I don't need and take up space which I don't have. I have Le Gourmet, Cooks Club, Henckels, and Cuisinart. All cook very well and are good stainless steel pans. I'd love the Henckels best if it had the extra handle, but at this point, Cuisinart gets the nod from me and will likely be the pans of choice in the future.

All were roughly in the same price range. The Cuisinart pan pictured is a 10 incher and came with a lid. It was $69 dollars. The Henckels pan is a 12 incher and was $79.99 but it came with no lid...I had to purchase the glass lid separately for $12.99.