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!
I’m sorry, I will have to be a little different here regarding cooking pans. I swear by my nonstick T-Fal pots. They cook up beautifully, clean so easily, are light so they hang on my wall so nicely. For the oven, I have a Wolfgang Puck roaster and some Rachael Rays. I suggest buying individually rather than a set for personal needs. I’ve bought sets in the past and left with pans I never use. And, stainless steel is really hard to clean. Call me a rebel. oh, well.
Different opinions are greatly appreciated! :)
Lagostina has never steered me wrong. I have loved my set – some things went missing over several moves and I was lucky to get a full set again from Airmiles!
I’m in a similar boat, and I think I’ll be going about it more or less the same way. I have a 12″ cast iron skillet I adore, and I just picked up a 5.5 quart enameled dutch oven. I also have a big 12 quart stock pot, and a non-enameled dutch oven.
The stainless steel set I bought a 12-piece set (similar to yours, but one extra small sauce pan and lid, and only one frying pan, a deep one with a lid).
I think I’m going to keep my big deep nonstick frying pan, and the one or two of my big 5-6 quart pots in the best shape, since I use those pots the most by far.
We got a non-stick cookware set as a wedding gift and we managed to get it all scraped, we probably ate all the teflon, horrible.
Before we got our current very nice set of stainless steel cookware, I got a few VERY CHEAP stainless steel pots from IKEA.com and let me tell you I secretly love them so much. They do have plastic handles, but they are so easy to clean and they cook so well.
Here’s the link:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90207402/
Question for you about that old Simply Calphalon set– I have a similar set that I got from Target about 5 years ago now. All over the printed materials and on the website, it says that the pans are NOT dishwasher safe. They’re hard-anodized aluminium with the nonstick coating inside. Do you know if that was a change at some point? I’ve read that putting these in the dishwasher will void the warranty, but since they’ve got a 10 year warranty on them, I’m reluctant to try it before the warranty’s up.
Thoughts?
I think it depends on which set you have. They have some hard anodized non-stick sets that are dishwasher safe, and some that aren’t (check out this chart). I don’t remember which mine were, but I put them in the dishwasher anyway (I didn’t even know they had a warranty when I bought them). :P
I haven’t heard of the Simply line ever being dishwasher safe. There was a running change on the Contemporary about two years ago when it became dishwasher safe, but not the Simply.
I got a great deal on a set of Kirkland stainless steel cookware that I love – with no glass lids. My last set of cookware had glass lids and they were impossible to clean so I vowed to avoid glass lids.
As far as cooking eggs in stainless steel, the trick is using butter or butter and oil. I learned that from Martha Stewart’s Cooking School on PBS.
My next cookware purchase is going to be a cast-iron skillet. I’ve read that Lodge is a little rough. I think I will follow the suggestion of looking for vintage cast-iron skillets at garage sales and estate sales – or even try online.
It sounds like you are looking for machined cast iron, which is ground down to be smoother and less porous. It’s the bomb but it is quite expensive if it’s new.
Love how you refer to teflon as “training wheels”. I had the same experience. I no longer need it anymore to keep things from sticking and I question the health concerns.
I also love my deep skillet with lid. It’s amazing. Favorite thing in our house to make with it – tacos! Our kids are obsessed with tacos right now.
I’ve been buying open stock pieces as I need them. My mother in law bought me the most wonderful stockpot for Christmas (I make a LOT of soup and am starting to make my own stocks/broths). I recently bought a Lodge 12″ skillet and it’s my new favorite thing to cook in. I wanted something that could go from stovetop to oven and could make killer cornbread. So far I’m in love!
After my nonstick pans started flaking and I started reading more about the chemicals they can leach into food I started shopping around about a year ago. It took almost a full year for the price to reach something I could afford, but I ended up getting a full set of Food Network ceramic cookware from Kohls last December (http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1590944/food-network-10-pc-nonstick-ceramic-cookware-set.jsp). With coupon it ended up being a little over $100. Best purchase I’ve made in a long time. They heat evenly and really are nonstick – even without cooking spray. I used to burn out pans pretty quick by using high heat and cooking spray, but haven’t had that problem with these. And the red color just makes me happy so I probably cook more than I did before :) Really worth looking into if you’re shopping.
I got this Food Network ceramic set on this recommendation. They were on sale and I had a gift card, so only paid $80. Unlike the original commenter, they were about the worst purchase I’ve ever made, definitely the worst pots and pans. The ceramic coating has flaked in spots despite not using metal tools. The sides and bottoms get filthy and I’m not even sure what from because I’m not a messy cook. The staining won’t come off. I’ve also had two incidents where olive oil that was warming up in a clean and dry skillet suddenly exploded. Once it was so bad that it got all over my walls and gave my legs 2nd degree burns.
I have had them for maybe eight months and they look awful. Looking for a different, better set now. I’m in between Circulon Symmetry and Analon Advanced Nonstick. Have played with them at Macy’s, just watching sites to get a set at a good price as both cost around $300 and that’s a chunk for me.
I have this Cuisinart set, but with glass lids:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-77-10-Stainless-10-Piece-Cookware/dp/B00008CM68/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428451279&sr=8-1&keywords=cuisinart+10-piece+cookware+set
I’ve cooked with them daily for almost 4 years and they are still going strong. So definitely a good option around the $150 price point. I totally agree about the deep skillet with a lid, that’s certainly my most used piece. I use it for any kind of sauteeing, plus frying eggs, making pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese, etc. The straight sides mean it has a larger flat surface area at the bottom than the skillets with the shorter curved sides. My other non-negotiable is a large stock pot for making soup and boiling pasta. I could probably get by with just those two pieces in a pinch.
Forgot to add – The one thing I don’t like about the glass lids is that they have a little crevice where the glass meets the metal rim of the lid. Little bits of stuff get stuck in there and it is almost impossible to clean. You can see that it’s dirty in there when looking down through the glass lid, but it’s such a narrow space, you really can’t get it clean.
Great post, Beth, and you make so many important points here. For many years I had a set a few notches up from that paper-thin set you describe, although when I bought it, it was a huge improvement over the ancient hand-me-downs and cheap mismatched pieces I’d used since I moved out of my parents’ house. Then a few years ago, I inherited a little money and decided that was the time to get what I really wanted, which was All-Clad copper core. I’d lusted after it for years, but even with the inheritance, it was way more than I felt comfortable spending. Then I found it nicely discounted on the Cookware & More website (cookwarenmore.com). I bought a whole selection of All Clad copper core irregulars, building my own very personally perfect set (including a butter warmer, which makes a wonderful little saucepan) and the price was minuscule compared to what I’d pay otherwise, even on a discount. But the best part is that you’d be hard pressed to see anything irregular about any of these pieces! I feel like I got everything I could wish for– great quality, great price, and exactly what I wanted. And their service was great to boot.
I’ve also treated myself to a few Le Creuset skillets the past few years– a 6″, 9″, and 10 1/2″. Love them to death. And last year I used a Sur Le Table gift card to buy two sizes of Scanpan skillets, which are by far the best nonstick in the world. They’re pricey, but incredibly better than any other nonstick I’ve ever used. Now my main issue with cooking is deciding which beautiful piece I want to cook in! Hey, there’s a fun problem…
It took me way too many decades to get high quality cookware (and knives too– equally important!), so my advice to younger cooks is to start building your collection as early as you can, get the best quality you can afford and/or request it for gifts, even if it takes a few years to build your set. (My best friend has been giving Le Creuset pieces to her kids for Christmas and birthdays for a number of years, and those lucky kids have some killer sets now.) Having quality pieces to work with really makes such a huge difference not only in how your dishes turn out, but also in the pleasure of preparing them, and I think that counts just as much.
Can’t say enough about the Scanpans. Even the “base” model is the bomb! So far I have only the 8″ frying pan, but I’m hoping to get a 10 or 12″ one. Cast iron is always a go-to for me. It becomes non-stick by nature with the right care. And, for Christmas, I got my dream pot… a 6 (or 7) quart Le Crueset dutch oven in Cherry red (the big one). Love it! A few good pieces are all you need.
Thank you for the information! I have a very hodge-podge collection of bad cookware that I purchased hastily when I moved into my own apartment. I’d like to get new stuff, but I feel guilty about discarding these pots and pans just a couple years after buying them.
What are you planning to do with your old cookware?
I’m keeping a few key pieces and taking the rest to Goodwill. :)
Really great info! Have you checked out Ebates? You shopped through the site and get a percentage back in cash quarterly.
Sorry, if this already been covered, but how do you cook a fried egg in a stainless steel pan WITHOUT using a LOT of oil or fat? I have tried all the suggestions that Erica made. I am beginning to think that it just can’t be done unless you have a non stick pan. Many thanks and if this is the wrong forum/post is someone able to point me the right direction?
A lot of oil is the only secret I know of, so that’s why I kept a small non-stick just for my eggs. :P I eat a lot of eggs and it’s just easier.
I have never used non-stick pans. Heat your kettle or fry pan, add your butter or oil and fry. Why would it stick? My pots and pans are all stainless steel, the oldest is about 50 years old. They stay shiny and bright and an SOS pad can be used if needed.
I use a little butter and never have them stick. A little butter and medium low heat works every time.
Thanks for your blog, Beth. My husband and I follow your recipes religiously. Are you familiar with Calphalon’s warranty? I know it’s too late, but maybe others reading this will find it beneficial. We have replaced several warn out pans both by mail and at the nearby Calphalon outlet store.
http://www.calphalon.com/Product-Support/Pages/Warranty-Information.aspx
That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing that!