Rachael Ray or Paula Dean?

Got the Paula Dean set and man, it is NICE! It was more affordable, more stores carried it so I could add-on to my existing set and the pans do exactly what she claims them to do. Plus, everyone alsways comments on the beautiful "mottled" color that she has on the bottom of the pans. I chose the red set and they get noticed each time I cook or have an event at my house. Paula Dean not only has quality stuff with her name on it but she has come from rags to riches and knows that families don't have tons of money to throw down on Calphalon, Anolon, or Emeril cookware at this time in this economy. I have a Calphalon set from my wedding and frankly.....I'll stick with my Paula Dean cookware any day of the week!

I have a Paula Dean set I got for Christmas. It's AWESOME. I love the red speckled color and NOTHING sticks to them. Easy to clean, stores great.

The ONLY issue I have is that there isn't a lid for the smaller sautee pan but other than that...fab.

I DO however like some of R. Ray's utensils. The "spoonula" and other gadgets are cool to have.

OH...with the PD set, I got a set of paring knives. They are great as well. Sharp, great handle, nice addition.

Good Luck to you!

i got the emeril set. one word....DO NOT BUY EVEN IF THEY OFFER IT FOR FREE
everything sticks, cleaning is a pain and i cannot wait to replace the damn thing

I got the R. Ray set a couple of years ago and love them. They are so easy to clean. Highly recommend!!!

I just got the R. Ray pans a few months ago. I wasn't sold on them because they seemed kind of lightweight compared to my previous Calphalon pans. We chose them because of the sale they were having on them at Kohls. And so far so good!!! I love them and would definitely recommend them!

We have these http://www.ameriwareprofessional.com/cookware/pages/main.... they are expensive but they have a 25 year warranty. My hubby picked up a set of pans at a state fair last year for a great deal. They are truly non stick w/o the use of oil or butter. You can make a grilled cheese sandwich by placing a piece of cheese or two on the pan let it melt put a piece of bread on the cheese swirl it around the pan lift the bread and top it w/ another piece of bread :) Watch the demo you can really do it. When hubby bought them he told the guy that he would be back tomorrow if he couldn't make the grilled cheese sandwich that way. A year later they still look brand new and still work just as well.

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We have these http://www.ameriwareprofessional.com/cookware/pages/main.... they are expensive but they have a 25 year warranty. My hubby picked up a set of pans at a state fair last year for a great deal. They are truly non stick w/o the use of oil or butter. You can make a grilled cheese sandwich by placing a piece of cheese or two on the pan let it melt put a piece of bread on the cheese swirl it around the pan lift the bread and top it w/ another piece of bread :) Watch the demo you can really do it. When hubby bought them he told the guy that he would be back tomorrow if he couldn't make the grilled cheese sandwich that way. A year later they still look brand new and still work just as well.

I have the Emeril and HATE it! Everything sticks really bad. I wish I had gone with something else for the money. I cannot recommend either R. Ray or Paula Dean because I don't have experience with them but instead of buying the Emeril I think I would have gone with the Paula Dean.

I have one of the small Dean pots and I love it, but I love the shape of the the bigger Rachael Ray pots, they are oval shaped so they fit on the stove better

I wouldn't get any that are coated with tephlon. because no matter how pricy there are the tephlon with eventually start to scratch. I have a set of pots that were my aunts that she got when she was married, (my great aunt who would have been married 72 yrs this year so yeah old pots!) and they are still in great shape because they don't have any tephon coating, my mom has a similar set only hers has a thin sheen to it (I dont know what it is but it is clear so the pans are silver...not black like tephlon pans) and she has had them 26 yrs. I dont know what the rachael ray ones look like but I think the paula dean ones are tephlon free

I don't have either, but wanted to respond to the tephlon comments. I have had a set of tephlon coated pots and pans for 18 years and not a scratch on them! I only use wooden or plastic utensils when I cook and I wash them by hand. I've never had a problem with pealing, because I never use metal utensils that would scratch the coating. Hope this information is helpful.

I received the R. Ray set for Christmas a few years ago and love them! Can't remember how much my husband paid for them but he got a better deal on Amazon (even better than ones he purchased on super sale day after Thanksgiving). I've left mac and cheese in them for a couple days and they still clean up nice. I just got her basic set (haven't purchased the oblong pan yet) but I think they're great! Totally agree with the other comments that you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a set of pans. Good luck!

I am not familiar with either set, so I am not sure of the prices. But I have been cooking on my Belgique Tools of the Trade stainless pans for the last 12 years, and they are still going strong and look like new.. I know that every Macy's across the country carries this brand and it is one of the opening price brands that they carry. I highly recommend you go with stainless steel as teflon coatings can degrade at high heat AND if your coating is chipping and scratched, it is likely that you are ingesting some of it. Read the link I provided, this site is pretty light in it's admonition of teflon, but there are many other sites that are completely against it. That stuff is no good.

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-testing/reviews-t...

I am sort of leery of tephlon coated anything because of all the talk of it being bad for you when it starts to peel. Does the bank catalog have anything that isn't coated? It might be worth it to wait and save up more points, if that is an option. I just use the regular pots and pains. There is a bit more scrubbing (especially after eggs). Periodically I clean them with baking soda. They look great and have lasted longer than any coated pots and pans I had.

Sorry...not much help here just my 2 cents:)