In our tests, the Tramontina 3-quart saucepan made perfect caramel without burning, though we had to swirl the pan more to distribute the heat evenly. This wasn’t the case with the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic stockpot, which required frequent stirring to prevent the sauce from burning. We excluded sets with glass lids because they can break or crack easily if dropped. Glass lids also offer little advantage over stainless steel lids because you can’t see through them when they’re covered with condensation. Lids should fit well but somewhat loosely, with just enough wiggle room to allow steam to escape. Because of its even heat distribution, fully clad tri-ply stainless steel is the best option for both pros and home cooks.
Cuisinart hit the American market in 1973 when its founder, Carl Sontheimer, introduced one of the first residential food processors to the American market. I conducted the same test with GreenPan, HexClad, All-Clad, Calphalon, and Misen pans. Want to know when brands like All-Clad, Made In, HexClad, and KitchenAid go on sale? Join our free newsletter to get deal alerts, giveaways, and exclusive content. For example, the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic comes with a dark hard-anodized aluminum exterior.
I’ve cooked with many stainless steel pans at all price levels, and Cuisinart, although it looks great, isn’t on the same level in terms of quality standards as brands like All-Clad and Made In. The Professional Series collection comes with oven-safe (up to 350°F) tempered glass lids trimmed in stainless steel. The handles are polished stainless steel and riveted to the sides of the pan. The long cast stainless steel handle is contoured and designed to stay cool on cooktops. SetEach set includes at least a saucepan, a frying pan, and a stockpot. Each set includes at least a saucepan, a frying pan, and a stockpot.
Once the meal is ready, transfer each item from your Cuisinart cookware to holiday- appropriate serving dishes and enjoy. You can find high-quality 10 to 15-piece stainless steel, nonstick, or anodized sets to keep your kitchen fully equipped for years to come, and finally toss those yard sale pickups for good. Ceramic cookware is popular among home chefs for its easy-to-clean nonstick surface. GreenPan’s three-piece ceramic cookware set is dishwasher-safe and nontoxic, meaning it’s free of PFAS, PFOA, lead, and cadmium, and will never release those materials in fumes if it’s overheated. The best budget-friendly set doesn’t skimp on variety—for less than $100, you’ll get 20 pieces of cookware, including nonstick pans, glass lids, and cooking utensils. (All you’re missing is a wok.) From soups to pasta to pancakes, it’ll serve up all of your go-tos without breaking the bank.
Copper is an excellent conductor of heat, but it’s very expensive and difficult to maintain. However, we did test the All-Clad Copper Core 10-Piece Cookware Set because it has a stainless steel exterior. We sautéed chicken, made caramel, and simmered tomato sauce to test for warping, even heat distribution, and ease of handling.
In our test kitchen, we long-term tested an older (now-discontinued) version of this set for two years, and all of the pots and pans distributed heat evenly. The skillets became a bit more discolored after searing meat over high heat, but their performance remained the same. All told, I’ve spent more than 140 hours researching and testing cookware sets for this guide. As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I have written reviews for all kinds of kitchen equipment and gadgets, including skillets, knife sets, and cutting boards. And prior to joining Wirecutter in 2016, I spent over 10 years working in various facets of the food and restaurant industry. After testing Tramontina’s redesigned 8- and 10-inch skillets, we still recommend its cookware set as our top pick.
Nonstick skillets are essential tools for delicate ingredients like eggs or fish, pancakes or crepes, and for fast cleanup of easy meals like grilled cheese sandwiches. When choosing the right one, look at how you will most often use the cookware. For example, if you want to be able to sear on the stovetop and finish in the oven, you’ll need one cuisinart soup maker with oven-safe handles and finishes. You’ll also have to decide if you need lids or not since some nonstick cookware, especially skillets, do not necessarily come with lids. The Le Creuset pan design is streamlined with a durable, hard-anodized aluminum interior construction, giving it a professional look, and the set is also very easy to clean.
Cuisinart offers a limited lifetime warranty to purchasers in the United States and Canada that guarantees its products to be free of manufacturing defects. For best long-term results, all Cuisinart collections should be hand-washed in warm water with a mild detergent. Right out of the box, I noticed several obvious dents and dings on cuisinart soup maker the handle, something you never see with high-end cookware. Although the Cuisinart pan performs well when it comes to everyday cooking, several other options heat more evenly, retain heat longer, and deliver better performance overall. Its other pans are coating with traditional PTFE-based coating that’s not reinforced with titanium.