The nonstick coating made making omelets a breeze and over-easy eggs, well, easy. Meats such as sausages and bacon caused no issues, either, and the large size of the pan allowed us to cook veggies in bulk. Plus, adding thick sauces—which tramontina cookware set can stick and burn—was easy, even on medium-high heat. We also noticed that some pans from the Everyday line were polished around the rim and others weren’t, which suggests there may be an issue with quality control.
You’ll find something for every budget, material preference, and equipment need. The company even branches out from cookware, creating trash bins, containers, and even flatware. A thermal imaging camera is used to evaluate the heating evenness of the frying pan. While the Tramontina actually edges out the All-Clad as far as heat retention goes, the All-Clad is an all-around better performer.
It also works well on induction, a not-so-easy feat for many nonstick pans made of lighter materials. All-Clad’s D3 Stainless Everyday 3-Ply Bonded Cookware (10 pc) is a tri-ply set similar to our All-Clad pick. The handles on these are slightly curved, which some may find more comfortable than the stick handles on our tramontina cookware upgrade pick. This set includes 8½- and 10½-inch skillets, 1½- and 3½-quart sauce pans with lids, a 4-quart sauté pan with a lid, and a 6-quart stockpot with a lid. This may have been a one-off manufacturing error, but we’ll keep an eye on customer reviews to see if others experience a similar problem with the handle.
Five-ply cookware also holds onto more heat, so it’s slower to react when you lower the heat on your stove. Ultimately, we don’t think five-ply cookware is worth the extra cost. All told, I’ve spent more than 140 hours researching and testing cookware sets for this guide.
The Viking Hard Stainless 10-Piece Cookware Set has a small stockpot so we didn’t test it. We think most people will be happier with the All-Clad set we recommend. The Open Kitchen by Williams-Sonoma Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set has a small, 6-quart stockpot (we recommend at least an 8-quart stockpot), so we opted not to test. We dismissed the Cooks Standard Multi-Ply Clad Stainless Steel 12-piece Cookware Set because the rivets weren’t secure on some of the pot handles, causing them to wiggle.
If you are building your cookware set one piece at a time, expect to spend as little as $15 per piece. For complete Tramontina cookware sets, the cost varies from as little as $50 for a three-piece cast iron cookware set to $350 for a full set of 12 pots and pans with lids. Made from heavy gauge aluminum for even heating, these fry pans come with a nonstick coating that is PFOA-free.
You don’t need to get all of these pieces if you don’t think you’ll use them. If you’d rather start with a few basics, you’ll be able to cook a lot with just a 3-quart saucepan, a 12-inch skillet, and an 8-quart stockpot. The 8-piece set comes with two covered sauce pots, but not a full stock pot. The covered dutch oven works well in place of a stock pot, but if you are looking for a quality traditional dutch oven then buy cast iron instead. The stir fry is another piece we wouldn’t buy because it isn’t suitable to high-temperature saute as you would do with a traditional wok. If you aren’t concerned about PTFE and need to outfit a small kitchen, then you might consider one of Tramontina’s well-known nesting nonstick sets.
For difficult-to-remove items like burnt-on oil or lime deposits, a sponge and some Bar Keepers Friend usually do the trick. In the Wirecutter test kitchen, to remove burnt-on oil or discoloration we often use a slurry of baking soda and warm water, along with a sponge and a little elbow grease. For other cleaning options, refer to our blog post and video on the subject. As with most of the sets we tested in this price range, the Tramontina skillets tarnished slightly after normal use. Although we easily removed burned-on oil and food bits using a combination of baking soda and warm water, the pans retained a noticeable tint after cleaning. Because the discoloration in no way affects the cooking performance, we’re willing to forgive this minor drawback.