If you follow me on social media (especially Instagram or Twitter) then you’ll know that I recently purchased my first set of cookware in about 15 years. It was a major purchase and I put a lot of thought and research into the decision, so I wanted to share the process with all of you. As I’ve learned over the years, the quality of your cookware makes a BIG difference in the outcome of a recipe.
Although this post does contains affiliate links, I was NOT paid by any brand, manufacturer, or retailer to mention their products or stores. These are my pure, unadulterated opinions.
The Old Stuff…
A big portion of my decision was based on my experiences with the cookware that I already own, so let me start with that. I bought my first set of cookware at the dewy age of 20 (or was it 21?). I didn’t know much about cooking or cookware, so I simply went to Target, found a set that looked sturdy, and bought it. The set I bought was the older version of the Simply Calphalon 8-piece cookware set. Despite being a hasty, uninformed decision, the set has served me very well over the years.
This is my old sauce pot. It has seen better days.
They’ve been beat up, stained, and slightly abused, but have held up surprisingly well. Here is what I liked and disliked about this set.
Pro’s: Heavy, thick, one-piece construction that conducts heat evenly. Glass lids that allow seeing the contents without letting out heat or steam. Dishwasher safe. Non-stick surface was surprising durable and did not flake, peel, or scrape (no metal utensils were used).
Con’s: Not oven safe due to the plastic handle and non-stick surface. Non-stick CAN scratch if misused. Non-stick’s safety is questionable. The outer surface stains easily.
The pro’s definitely outweighed the con’s, IMHO. It was a good set, but they’ve seen better days.
I also received a set of stainless steel cookware as a gift from a friend who had received them free for subscribing to some magazine or something. They’re shiny, pretty, good for blog photos, but terrible for cooking. They are as thin as paper and have a “bonded” bottom for heat conduction, rather than being one solid piece.
See that extra layer stuck to the bottom? It’s a thicker piece of metal meant to help conduct heat. The problem is that it doesn’t conduct heat up the sides and around food. Womp, womp. The metal on the walls of the pot are only 1/32 inch thick. Seriously, paper thin and terrible for cooking.
Compare that to my Calphalon set, which is 1/8th inch thick and all one piece. MUCH better. The heat flows easily and evenly from the bottom of the pot up the sides and all around the food. That’s how you get even and reliable results when cooking.
In addition to these two complete “sets”, I’ve also purchased a few individual pieces over the years, like my Lodge 10″ cast iron skillet. I use that one a lot because, unlike the Calphalon set, it can go from the stove top to the oven with no damage. You can literally use it as bakeware OR cookware.
So, after comparing what I liked and disliked about the sets and pieces that I already own, I made a list of “must haves” for my new set of pots and pans.
Must Haves:
- Thick, solid, one-piece construction
- Glass lids
- Oven safe
- Dishwasher safe
- Stainless Steel
- Set must include a deep skillet with lid (perfect for “skillet meals“)
To Non-Stick or to Not Non-Stick
My first decision was whether to buy another set of non-stick, or opt for stainless steel. While I enjoyed the ease of my non-stick cookware, I kind of felt like the teflon was a safety net that I no longer needed. Now that I’m more experienced and understand the cooking process better, I know how to keep food from sticking without the help of Teflon. I no longer need my training wheels. Plus, I wanted the flexibility of going from stove to the oven or broiler, or using metal utensils without the fear of scratching. (I might keep one small non-stick skillet for fried eggs, though. ;) ) If I had decided to stay with non-stick, I may very well have just purchased the very same set of pots and pans again, except the bigger set that includes this deep skillet with lid. I liked them that much.
Price
The second thing I had to decide was how much I was going to spend. I’m not quite as broke as I was when I started this blog, but I still don’t want to drop $500-$600 on a set of pots and pans, even though I know they will last me another couple of decades. I just don’t have it in me. After shopping around a bit, I felt that I could get a pretty good quality set with the basic pieces that I needed for around $300, and that price point didn’t give me an anxiety attack. :P
Comparing Sets
I was so impressed with my first Calphalon set that I went straight to their website to see what else they offer. I found this awesome comparison chart of their different stainless steel cookware sets, which helped a lot. It had columns for most of the items on my “must have” list (they have a similar chart for their non-stick cookware sets). Simply looking at the chart helped me understand what I wanted and what I should be looking for, regardless of the brand. From that chart, I was able to see that the only Calphalon set that met all my “must haves” and was within my price range was the Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless Steel set. Unfortunately, the smaller 10-piece set did not have all the pieces I wanted (I NEED that deep skillet with lid) and the large 13-piece set was out of my price range. How did I plan to fix that? A coupon.
Look for Deals
When making big purchases, it always pays to look for sales, coupons, or any other deals that you can get your hands on. I looked around at several online retailers, but that set had pretty much the same price point everywhere I looked. I did see that Bed Bath & Beyond was running a special $50 gift card promotion for Calphalon, so that caught my attention. THEN I remembered that BB&B prints 20% off coupons like they grow on trees. So, I got my hands on one of those and made sure that Calphalon wasn’t one of the brands excluded from the coupon. Bingo! It was eligible for the coupon! That makes a $399 set only $319, which is just slightly above my target price. So, I marched off to the physical store to check out the goods…
Well, when I was at the store I locked eyes with this Stainless Steel Pro set by Oxo Good Grips and it was love at first sight:
It had all the things on my list that I wanted: stainless steel, one-piece construction, glass lids, oven/broiler safe, dishwasher safe, AND the deep skillet with a lid. They have the same tri-ply construction as the Calphalon set and the lids seemed like they fit a little better. They also had a few extra bells and whistles, like volume marks on the insides of the pots, and a gorgeous rounded shape, which they claim is easier for whisking and stirring, but I just like because it’s pretty. I’m a very visual person, so the beautiful shape totally sealed the deal. All that and they were the same exact price as the Calphalon set. Moral of the story? Always check out the product in real life, even if you plan to purchase online.
I am the most excited about this deep skillet with lid. Can you tell by how many times I’ve mentioned it in this post? Over the years I’ve found this to be the most versatile piece of cookware and if I were only allowed to buy only ONE piece, this would be it. End of story.
The Oxo set was out of stock at all the Bed Bath & Beyond stores in my area, so I ended up ordering them online. The print 20% off coupons are only eligible for in-store purchases, but I was able to sign up for their text message alerts and get a coupon that works for in-store AND online purchases. The text message alerts can be cancelled at any time, so it was totally worth it (they don’t send the coupon for about a week, though, so be patient).
In the end, I got an amazing 13-piece stainless steel cookware set for about $320. That is a steal! (Or steel? No? Bad joke.) I love them. They’re beautiful, sturdy, and from what I can tell so far, cook very well. I win!
Other Options
If I had a smaller budget, I would have probably purchased one of the hard anodized aluminum non-stick sets, like my old Calphalon set simply because they’re still thick and heavy, but cost much less than the stainless steel. OR, I would have checked out a stainless set that had the bonded bottom, but made by a more reputable brand. I have a feeling that not all bonded bottoms are quite as bad as the free set I was given, so that would be worth looking into.
If you have a very tight budget, consider looking in thrift and consignment shops for cookware. A good set of cookware can last generations, but people usually don’t keep them that long just because they want or are given something new. You can score big on some very durable used stainless steel or cast iron pieces. Even if a piece of cast iron looks rusty and shot, it can sometimes be restored with a little TLC. Also check out restaurant supply stores. They carry bare bones, sturdy cookware that gets the job done well, without the celebrity/brand names or the bells and whistles that can hike up the price.
That was my experience, what’s yours?
Share your thoughts, experiences, and advice about buying pots and pans in the comments below. We can all learn from each other!
Congratulations on your new set of cookware! I have a bunch of stainless steel that I love (All-Clad copper core) and will probably be cooking with for the rest of my life. How do you take care of your pots and pans? When we bought our set the sales person suggested using Barkeeper’s Friend to keep everything shiny and looking like new. 7 years later we still use it every time we clean our stainless steel. It’s amazing! We only use it on the inside of our cookware (out of laziness), but if we’d use it on the outside as well then I’m sure our whole set would still look like we just took it straight out of the box.
Yes, I actually meant to include Barkeeper’s Friend in the post, but totally forgot! I bought some of it right away and have been using it to hand wash the set so far. They’ve been really easy and quick to clean out by hand, but I’m sure at some point if I get extra tired or lazy, I might pop one in the dishwasher. :)
Here in Virginia, BB&B coupons can be used even if they are expired. I keep a huge stash of them. It sounds like you got a great deal! I have All Clad pans that I got for free with credit card points. I never noticed the points for years and then one day when I did, I was amazed. Pure chance. I still keep a few non-stick pans.
Good choice, My wife & I received a set of Wolfgang Puck SS cookware for our 15th wedding anniversary — not perfect but the price was right. 18 years later it’s still going strong. Big heavy SS stuff, heats very evenly, works great in oven, has glass lids, double riveted handles. Similar spec’s to your stuff, you should be real happy.
I do also have 2 cast iron dutch ovens, 2- 10 &12″ cast iron pans, plus 3 non-stick skillets(omelet,9/11″) of various sizes for egg’s, pan sauce dishes(just easier to clean up), plus a real cast iron imported 16″ wok (should use it more but it’s such a pain to store/re-store in my 12×14 kitchen!)
I think you will be very happy, so nice to clean up a mess with bar keepers friend if needed! Got to love SS!
This looks like a great set! I was extremely lucky, when my husband and I got married, my mother-in-law gave us a brand new set of All Clad stainless steel cookware. I absolutely love them.
I bought my first set of pots and pans last summer. I’m in college and had no idea what to get. I decided to stay away from teflon for several reason: 1) reports of it leaching into my food and 2) Teflon lets off vapors that are very toxic to my pet bird. I decided to go for T-fal 14 pc stainless steel set from Target for about $150ish http://www.target.com/p/t-fal-14pc-stainless-steel-cook-set/-/A-14630953#prodSlot=_1_1.
It was TERRIBLE! I don’t know if it was the brand or just cooking with stainless steel. I was told not to cook stainless steel on high heat or you’ll “burn the pan”; also you shouldn’t use cooking sprays only butter or risk staining the pan. There was also some worry about cooking acidic dishes like tomato sauces in stainless steel. I toughed all that out for these pans. What got me was how LONG it took to cook anything! Just a simple cheese quesadilla would take close to an hour! They also started to discolor; there was this strange rainbow look to them. The handles being just stainless steel would get really hot, like needing a pot holder hot. Thankfully Target let me return them after a few weeks. I ended up buying Costco’s Kirkland Hard Anodized 15 pc. it was about $250 including the price of a Costco membership. http://www.amazon.com/Kirkland-Signature-Hard-anodized-Aluminum-Cookware/dp/B00GEZZBT0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=09NZRC4MNH9BBAGGNR7T
These pans are AMAZING!!!! They’re thick, have glass lids, and conduct heat so well that even washing with hot water the pan heats up and stays warm. They can also go in the oven like the stainless steel! I love everything about them and I’d suggest them to anyone who would listen to my rant. haha Cleaning is a breeze too, I could wipe these clean with a paper towel. gross.
I have used well-tempered cast-iron cookware for the last 25 of my 61 years. I regret that I was ignorant of the benefits and joys of cooking with cast iron when I was younger. I rejoice that I have wizened up with age.
This is such a helpful article–thank you! We found the process of selecting a set of pans SO stressful, but ended up inheriting a set before we decided and adding to it as we needed things. Nothing really matches, but that’s okay. When it’s time to shop we will come back to this great explanation :)
Very helpful! Could you expand on the topic and do a series of kitchen essentials? I’m doing my wedding registry and actually looked back through your posts to get an idea of what cookware I needed!
I’ve got you covered! I made this list of Kitchen Essentials last year with links for examples. I hope you find them helpful! :)
Don’t feel obligated to buy a set. I use cast iron pans which I love. They belonged to my great-grandmother. And I find they are better ‘non-stick’ pans than teflon coated ones if properly cared for. I use stainless steel pots that I bought piece meal. My dutch oven (a second hand purchase) doubles as my big pot. It works well for soups, large batches of sauce. I love the fact that I can move it from the stove top into the oven.
We needed new cookware and decided to individually buy the pieces that we actually wanted, instead of the whole set. I got a stock pot and two saucepans (one 5 cup, one 9 cup). I use my cast iron skillet for cooking everything else. This scenario worked for us because we didn’t have the space for the whole set, nor did we want to just have extra pieces laying around that we had to move out of the way to get to what we wanted to use! The set is nice, but really … there are only four burners on a stove anyway!
Once I got to the point where I could afford it, I started getting the hard-anodized Calphalon Contemporary pieces. I didn’t spring for a full set all at once, but I’ve been adding pieces over time. (That huge Dutch oven is calling my name!)
I absolutely love them, and plan on using these pans for the rest of my life. I still wash them by hand, but they clean up so easily. I’ve never paid this much for pans, but they have been so worth it. It’s actually a strange pleasure to use them…and even to clean them!
This looks like an outstanding set! I have All Clad cookware that I bought in my early 20s, and more than 30 years later, it’s still going strong. I expect to have it for the rest of my life. My daughters are grown and I’ve been wanting to help them get started with a good cookware set. I bought them each two pieces of All Clad, but this set would be perfect! However, we’ve all moved to Canada and it doesn’t look like BB&B carries it here.
There’s a sneaky way to use that 20% coupon for an online BB&B item. Go to the store’s registry desk and ask for help ordering an online item. They do the order for you, honor the coupon, and it’ll be shipped to your house. I got $80 off my Breville Soux Chef food processor that way.
Whoops! I didn’t think my first post went through and now its doubled.
If you sign up for their emails they send an online only, 20% off coupon. I get one per month. It’s a one time use coupon connected to your email address. So if you get the mailer and the email you can get 20% of two items, one online and one in store!
You do need the deep skillet! I hosted a Pampered Chef party to get mine 50% off. That was 15 years ago, and I still use it a few times a week. My pots and pans were a Christmas gift from my parents, and I know that they’ll continue to last me years, but yours are pretty. I’ll live vicariously through you :)
I’m curious — Did you consider cast iron? Why or why not?
I have a couple cast iron pieces, but for the bulk of my daily use I prefer something a little lighter and easier to clean. Plus, it’s *really* hard to get good pictures with the black cast iron, so I had to take that into consideration for the blog. Ha!
I’m an avid thrifter and I’ve been fortunate enough to find many pieces of Le Creuset over the years. I bought a complete set of unused, enameled cast iron Descoware(later bought by Le Creuset) at an antique store for $150. Just last week I found a giant Dansk pot for $5.
Nice!!