The pots and pans in the Tramontina Gourmet 12-Piece Tri-Ply Clad Cookware Set heat evenly and are a comfortable weight, so they aren’t cumbersome to lift. Their rounded, ergonomically shaped handles are also comfortable to hold. We’ve long-term tested an older (now-discontinued) version of this set for two years, and we’re confident that this durable cookware set will provide you with many years of use. (And we agree, which is why Made In’s stainless-steel skillet beat out All-Clad’s D3 skillet for our top recommendation in our stainless-steel skillet testing). At the time of writing this, the classic series run around $100 per pan. Figure you need at least five pots and pans, and you’re looking at almost $500 just to get your kitchen on its feet.
The pros we talked to said the All-Clad tri-ply cookware is the best for both professional and home use because it’s so durable. In our tests, the All-Clad pans heated evenly, were comfortable to hold, and tackled every cooking job without any hiccups. Though the largest skillet measures only 10 inches instead of 12, this set will outfit your kitchen with all the other pots and pans you’re ever likely to need. And if you’re partial to keeping your cookware bright and shiny, note that in our tests this set was one of the few that looked like new when we cleaned it—even after years of testing.
Rice didn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepans, and there was no scorching in the stockpot while we were cooking tomato sauce. We had to swirl the 3-quart saucepan a bit more when making caramel, but overall we still found it distributed heat evenly. That said, the Goldilocks skillet did a slightly better job at retaining heat than our other picks.
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. We dismissed sets with plastic handles, since even those made Tramontina online discount store to withstand high temperatures can deteriorate over time. Ideally, we wanted cookware that could safely withstand oven temperatures of at least 500 degrees Fahrenheit; that ruled out most cookware with plastic components. Several members of our staff have also seen plastic handles crack after they spent time in the dishwasher.
Tramontina has been making home cookware products since 1911 and is a well known Brazilian brand, but you might not have heard of them if you’ve been sticking with the usual from the department store. Fortunately, both pans meet all five of these quality standards. I’ve used my All-Clad intensely for around eight years, and my Tramontina set even more intensely for the last year. Performance-wise, the Tramontina pan performed fairly identically to the All-Clad in our head-to-head tests. However, if price isn’t a barrier, you’ll certainly be happy with an All-Clad stainless-steel skillet. Item prices do not include fees for pickup, shipping or delivery (if applicable) unless noted in the item description.
The pans are still nicely sloped to fit the curves of a whisk, and their lips are flared enough to allow moisture to evaporate when you are searing meat or sautéing vegetables. The handle shape remains the same, but it’s angled just a bit higher. We found the higher angle provided more leverage when tossing vegetables, and it made the skillets easier to maneuver around the stovetop. The new pans are also about an ounce heavier than the older versions, but the slight weight difference wasn’t discernible in our tests.