Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless-Steel 13-Piece Cookware Set Review
This good-looking 13-piece set has all the components you need to make a variety of scrumptious meals. Combining the beauty of mirror-polished 18/10 stainless steel with the superior performance of highly conductive, heavy-gauge aluminum, the core in this cookware set spreads heat evenly and responds to temperature changes quickly. Cool V handle design ensures handles stay cool on the stovetop. Flared rims protect edges and make pouring easier, neater and safer. Satin finish interior. Set includes 8" and 10" omelette pans, 1.5-quart, 2.5-quart and 4.5-quart sauce pans, 3-quart saute pan, 6-quart stock pot and 6-quart pasta insert. Lifetime warranty.
Description
- 13-piece set includes 8- and 10-inch omelet pans, 1-1/2-, 2-1/2-, and 4-1/2-quart saucepans with lids, 3-quart saute pan with lid, 6-quart stockpot with lid and pasta insert
- 18/10 stainless-steel construction for strength and beauty; satin interior finish
- Aluminum base provides excellent conductivity for even heat distribution
- Heat-tempered glass lids resist shattering and permit food monitoring
- Oven-safe up to 700 degrees F; clean in the dishwasher; lifetime warranty
Technical Details
Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless-Steel 13-Piece Cookware Set Customer Review
We bought the Calphalon Tri-Ply stainnless over 4 years ago, and, while we were buying, added to the basic package. We have both large and small saute pans, large and small fry pans, 8 quart soup, and every size of saucepan plus the double boiler insert (which I rarely use, since I have a melt setting on my range.) Since our cookware has to be displayed on racks in the kitchen, it must be bright and shiny with no spots, stains, or discolorations, and since I am very crabby if my pan fried foods are not all evenly browned and/or take a long time to brown, ditto bringing water to a boil, I demand a lot from my cookware, although I am not a professional chef. Furthermore, I loathe scrubbing pots (or anything else), so it is esential that my cookware go into the dishwasher and come out sparkling. The Calophalon Tri-Ply passes all my tests. The directions that came with the cookware said to heat a fry or saute pan until the top edge feels hot to the touch, then to put in oil. Doing that not only decreases the amount of oil you need, but pieces of coated fish or potato latkes, or anything else brown up quickly and perfectly evenly. There is no problem of having center pieces dark brown and those at the side almost white. When I'm through frying, after putting the food on a platter, often I deglaze the pan easily by splashing a little wine into the hot pan and immediately scraping the fried up bits left behind, and letting it cook a minute, giving me a simple sauce to pour over food. For things like crepes or latkes, which you don't want a sauce on, cleanup is still no problem. I let the pan cool down for a few minutes, then spray the interiors thoroughly with Dawn Power Booster before putting them in the dishwasher. For boiled food, of course, I just put the pots in the dishwasher and for thick sauces, like caramel, I just pour a little Dawn in the pot and let it soak in water a while, and then put it in the dishwasher. Most pots come out shining and spotless, but if there are any spots or discoloration, a quick shine with a soapy steel wool pad usually makes them gleam. If the pot still isn't up to my standards of perfection, I shake a bit of Bar Tender powder, especially on the pan bottom. Then I run over the bottom in a circular mmotion maybe two passes at the most, and that does the trick. All of my pots look brand new. Given the ease of maintenance plus the rapidity and evenness of cooking, I can see no reason for anything more expensive. I could have bought All-Clad when I bought the Calphalon, but it was double the price, and holding the pans side by side, I could see no reason for that expense. I didn't like the design of the Cuisinart, so didn't buy them, although I'm sure they're fine. That brings me to the final thing about the Calphalon, its design. The pots have a very pleasing curve shape, and the handles are hefted so that they're easyy to pick up and carry, even with food in them. They are also very sturdy. I also happen to like the glass covers, which are pleasantly domed, but some people might prefer an all metal lid. The glass shines up beautifully in the dishwasher. Finally, beware of stainless that has only an aluminum bottom instead of a complete aluminum core. The tri-clads cook more rapidly and evenly than a pot with only stainless for its sides. Also, there is very expensive tri-clad copper core cookware with an unclad copper bottom. Those can't be put in a dishwasher, and, having had a set of copper bottom pans, I know that it takes a lot, and I do mean a lot, of cleaning and polishing to keep the copper untarnished and unstained. I don't know how much faster copper heats up than aluminum, but I do know the Tri-Ply over aluminum hears up evenly in a matter of seconds on a smooth top range.
Read More Reviews >>>>
