Overall, the best stainless steel cookware set is the Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Triple Ply 12-Piece Set. Plus, the handle on the pan remained cool to touch, which makes it safer to use. For a less expensive option, the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Steel 7-Piece is the best stainless steel cookware set.
In our tests, the pans heated incredibly evenly and didn’t discolor over high heat. However, the pans took almost double the time to preheat as our picks and were heavier than we’d prefer. We think this set is worth the steep price only if you’re looking for rivetless cookware. Since the skillets and stockpot in the All-Clad D3 Curated 10-Piece Set (sold exclusively at Crate & Barrel) cuisinart pots and pans set are smaller than we recommend, we opted not to test the full set. However, we’ve tested similar pieces from All-Clad’s D3 Stainless Everyday line, which you can read about above. Several of our staff members also have All-Clad pots and pans in their own home kitchens , and they find that they continue to heat evenly and clean up well, even after years of persistent use.
They are wide in design for a comfortable grip and easy hanging if needed. Particularly tricky food types include fried eggs, fish, and other proteins. In fact, the stickability of proteins to stainless steel cookware is one of the big disadvantages of this material, regardless of brand. Given that this is a Thai food website, it’s always important to tie in the suitability of any products I review for cooking Thai recipes. The Cuisinart set is more of an all-rounder suitable for a broad range of recipes from several cuisines. The patented Heat Surround technology delivers even heat distribution on the base and sides of the pots and pans.
Speed of heating reflects how quickly 4 quarts of water in the largest pot of the set increased from room temperature to a near boil. Ease of cleaning reflects how easy or difficult cuisinart pots and pans set it was to clean sticky béchamel sauce from a saucepan. I have 15 years of experience in catering and creating custom cakes and desserts as a professionally trained baker.
When he’s not testing the latest home products, he’s spending time with his family, cooking, and doing house projects. Connect with Andrew viaemail,LinkedIn, or thePrudent Reviews YouTube channel. Cuisinart’s stainless steel and hard-anodized aluminum collections are oven-safe up to 500°F, but the aluminum pans are only safe up to 350°F. All of its stainless steel cookware is induction-compatible, and the Ceramica XT and Elements Pro Induction non-stick collections are too. The copper offerings are fully-clad with a copper exterior, aluminum core, and steel cooking surface. Stainless steel cookware is either fully-clad or single-ply with an encapsulated (cladded or impact-bonded) base to improve cooking performance and heat distribution.
On top of that, the lids have tiny handles that we found difficult to grasp, and the set comes with only one skillet. The Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set was our previous runner-up pick. However, after a new round of testing, we found the skillets warped over high heat. The bottom of the pans bowed so much that they wobbled on a flat surface. We tested multiple skillets to be sure this wasn’t a fluke, but all of them had the same results. Although the pans were still usable after warping, their damage voids the warranty.
We opted not to test the Five Two Essential Cookware 11-Piece Complete Set because it comes with glass lids, and the stockpot is only 6 quarts. According to our research, ceramic coatings don’t last as long as PTFE coatings. cuisinart pots and pans set Cookware manufacturers often sell variations of the same cookware set to different retailers. They do this primarily to avoid competition among big-box stores, such as Target and Walmart, that sell similar items.
All of those features make this one of the best stainless-steel cookware sets for your kitchen. While most nonstick cookware is made with a Teflon coating, many new products on the market are promoted as nonstick, such as ceramic, enamel, and anodized aluminum. There are also pots and pans that, when properly seasoned and maintained, can develop nearly nonstick coatings, like cast iron and carbon steel. Teflon is the most nonstick of available surfaces but needs proper maintenance to ensure the coating does not get damaged.
The Multiclad Pro set’s upper-temperature limit in the oven stretches a full 110 degrees higher than that, which is impressive. Cuisinart offers multiple cookware collections made of stainless steel, aluminum, hard-anodized aluminum, and copper. Its non-stick pans are coated in both traditional and ceramic materials, depending on the collection. For more information, see our cookware buying guide, which includes a primer on different types of cookware and the materials they’re made of.