12 Pc Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel Cookware Set
Of course, burned-on oil or grease can be more challenging to remove with just regular dish soap or a run through the dishwasher. But applying Bar Keepers Friend or a slurry of baking soda and warm water with a nonabrasive sponge (and a little elbow grease) gets the job done. The All-Clad skillets Tramontina online discount store discolored slightly over heat, though significantly less than almost any other cookware we tested. All told, I’ve spent more than 140 hours researching and testing cookware sets for this guide. And as a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I have written reviews for all kinds of kitchen equipment.
The nonstick coating lasted the longest of any of the pans we’ve tried, so you know you’re investing in a piece that you’ll have for years to come. The Cuisinart MultiClad Pro Stainless Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set was our previous runner-up pick. However, after a new round of testing, we found the skillets warped over high heat. We tested multiple skillets to be sure this wasn’t a fluke, but all of them had the same results. Although the pans were still usable after warping, their damage voids the warranty. For each set, we started by testing how well the large skillets retained heat.
The Duxtop Whole Clad Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Premium 10-Piece Cookware Set did poorly in our caramel test, as areas of the saucepan started to burn the sugar before the center had fully dissolved. Peep seven of our favorites below, and consider this your official welcome into the Tramontina Fan Club. The original version of this post was tramontina pans initially published as part of our 2020 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. In my small Brooklyn kitchen, every pot, pan, knife, and organizing accessory has a leading role to play, and I pull the Tramontina 10-Inch Professional Restaurant Fry Pan from my pot rack almost daily.
There are many options available in the market, from sleek stainless steel to vibrant ceramic cookware that add a touch of elegance to your kitchen, making cooking a truly delightful experience. Here are a few tips, which you could consider before buying a good cookware. Quality and safety should always be the first priority because cookware provides the base and foundation to your food and inadvertently your health.
The pots and pans are the perfect weight, and due to their superior heat conduction, they cooked food more evenly than our top-pick set. This cookware set was one of the only ones that became spotlessly clean after washing—even when coated with burned-on oil. And although this set is much more expensive than our main pick, we think it’s worth the extra cost for its durability and proven longevity. We like the angle of the stick handle, and the rounded bottom fits nicely in your hand, even when you’re holding a dish towel or pot holder. An editor favorite here at Kitchn, Tramontina’s 10-inch frying pan was named the best budget nonstick skillet on our 2021 Best List. It features a blissfully slick surface that allows everything from eggs to sauce to crepes to glide easily over top, as well as a safety-first, silicone-covered handle for worry-free cooking.
The stick handles on the Goldilocks set are strikingly similar to those on the Cuisinart 77-7 Chef’s Classic Stainless 7-Piece Cookware Set (our former budget pick). A few of the Goldilocks pieces are a bit heavier than those in the Tramontina and All-Clad sets, so some people may find them more cumbersome to lift. In our tests, the chicken sautéed in the All-Clad 10-inch skillet cooked evenly and turned out perfectly golden-brown with a crispy skin, about on a par with the chicken we made in the Tramontina skillet.
The skillets in the Williams-Sonoma Signature Thermo-Clad Stainless-Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set have a very small cooking surface. The handles on this set are also very long, which we found awkward—especially on a crowded range. At 3 pounds 14.8 ounces, the Signature Thermo-Clad pan was a bit hefty for some of our testers. To avoid liability for damage caused by misuse, cookware manufacturers routinely advise against cooking over high temperatures. However, judging from our years of experience, as long as you reduce the heat after preheating your pan on medium or medium-high heat, you won’t damage your pans.
Anything abrasive can scratch the pan’s surface and damage the nonstick coating, so you should also avoid using metal utensils when you cook. Goldilocks is a direct-to-consumer cookware brand that was formerly called Potluck. (We opted not to test the former Potluck set because it came with just seven pieces and included a 10-inch skillet only.) The set we now recommend was introduced after the company’s rebranding.
The Goldilocks Cookware Set Plus is the best budget cookware we’ve tested, and it performed almost as well as our other picks. It heats evenly, cleans up well, and costs under $250 at the time of publishing. Buying a set of cookware can be a convenient and affordable alternative to tracking down pots and pans one piece at a time. The pans in this top-of-the-line fully clad tri-ply set continue to impress us with their even heat distribution.
This wasn’t the case with the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic stockpot, which required frequent stirring to prevent the sauce from burning. With its classic flared-lip shape, slick nonstick coating, and comfortable handle, this quality pan will last for years. For information on how to prevent food from sticking to your stainless steel cookware, check out our blog post on tramontina pans the subject. Never clean your stainless steel cookware with harsh chemicals, like oven cleaner, that could cause permanent damage. Several of our staff members also have All-Clad pots and pans in their own home kitchens (or have worked with them professionally), and they find that they continue to heat evenly and clean up well, even after years of persistent use.