Let the food residue and stick particles soften then wash with warm water and dishwashing liquid, rinse and later dry it with a soft kitchen towel. White spots found on stainless steel cookware are due to a buildup of calcium in the water. Boil a solution of one part vinegar to three parts water to get your pots and pans looking like new again.
Plus, the Tramontina set we recommend doesn’t cost much more than the Potluck set, and includes almost twice as many pieces. If you’re partial to keeping your cookware looking bright and shiny, note that this was one of the only sets we tested that looked like new after cleaning. The All-Clad skillets discolored slightly over heat, though significantly cuisinart pots and pans set less than almost any other cookware we tested. The number of pieces advertised in a set includes lids, so you’re generally getting half the listed number of pots and pans. We found that most skillets in sets are only 8 to 10 inches, but we prefer 10- and 12-inch versions because they offer a larger surface area for cooking more at once.
The original clad cookware and the standard against which all other clad stainless cookware is measured. Instead of standard sauce pans and sauté pans, consider buying versatile pieces you won’t find in most sets. For example, instead of getting a 10-inch skillet , consider buying a deep sauté pan or chef’s pan. These pans are large, and can be used for almost any cooking task you throw at them. On Amazon alone, there are hundreds of brands to choose from. If you include other websites, the number of brands out there is probably in the thousands.
In the Wirecutter test kitchen, we often remove burnt-on oil or discoloration using a slurry of baking soda and warm water along with a sponge and a little elbow grease. For other cleaning options, refer cgwm-081 to our blog post and video on the subject. We did our best to avoid sets that aren’t fully clad, meaning the aluminum core doesn’t extend up the sides of the cookware, because they’re prone to scorching.
Professional Triple Ply Construction features a core of pure aluminum and a brushed stainless exterior. It’s a great material and many chefs love it because it heats and cools so quickly, and comes at an affordable cuisinart soup maker price point. I never use metal utensils on any of my pots or pans to keep them in good shape. Everything gets stuck to that set though and I actually hate cooking with them as nothing seems to heat evenly.