Customer Reviews

Calphalon Simply Stainless 12 Piece Cookware Set

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a simple, unsophisticated but complete and useful set. You get exactly what you see in the images attached to this item. My wife finds this set ideal for most of the daily cooking and, if she is happy, I am happy.

- Packaging: excellent
The box that I received had in it another box which, in turn had the box holding the cookware and each piece was carefully wrapped to avoid any scratching.

- Looks: very good
If you like the looks of stainless steel, then this set is for you. All metal pieces are polished to near-perfection and the finish for the aluminum bottom is hardly distinguishable from the body's.

- Maintenance: somewhat demanding
The Amazon blurb says that the set is 100% dishwasher safe. It may be so, but Calphalon RECOMMENDS hand washing so, if you want to preserve the looks, it's probably better to avoid the dishwasher. Calphalon also warns against the use of any abrasive cleansers or cleaning pads, oven cleaners or other caustic cleaning solutions, baking soda, bleach and so on.

The use of sharp metal utensils to cut, chop or whip foods in the pan is discouraged while the pans are hot.

- Oven and broiler use: yes
Both the pans AND the glass covers can be used in the oven and under the broiler for as long as the temperature does not exceed 450F.

- Ergonomics: hot, heavy
I have no major complains except for the steel handles that tend to get hot as the pan gets hot. Anyone used to those Teflon or rubbery handles should be careful.

These pots are HEAVY. Stainless STEEL is just that.

- Overall rating: excellent, for the price
So far, we are pleased with this purchase. With a little care (see maintenance note above) we should have this as our main cookware solution for quite a while. This is a very good set and it very much lives up to our expectations. It's not perfect but it should be an easy five-star within its price range.

Very nice quality, no manufacturing defects and all the lids fit like they should. I think the set looks a lot nicer in person than the photo on the Amazon page. I especially like that the handles are solid, not hollow underneath; they are also connected to the pots with a "y" design, like the more expensive sets.

I do wash mine in the dishwasher and they still look nice, although I've noticed minor etching (like scratches, but shorter -- could these be pits??). The only utensils I've used with them so far have been nylon, I've only scrubbed them with a microfiber dish cloth as needed, and I use gel in the dishwasher; so I'm not sure how the etching is happening. But this doesn't seem to impact performance, and maybe I'm being too picky. There is no way I am going to wash these by hand -- I don't have room for most of them in my sink, and being able to wash them in the dishwasher was the #1 reason I bought them.

Eggs do stick - I'm still trying to refine my technique because the literature says if I get the temp (both pan and raw food) just right, they shouldn't. I'm glad I got the set on sale -- I think it is worth what I paid. I love the cookware more and more each time I use it. I guess that nagging voice in my head worrying about the non-stick pans I had been using was affecting me more than I thought. It's such a relief not to worry about that any more.

I haven't had any issues with the handle on the glass lids or on the pans themselves getting too hot -- I haven't even needed to use a potholder to handle them on the stove yet. However they do get very hot in the dishwasher, so hot they can burn my fingers if I don't let them sit for a while before putting them away.

I was worried the set might be damaged during shipment, but there was so much packaging, so many boxes within boxes, there was little chance of that!

UPDATE DECEMBER 20, 2011: This set still works well for us. The only negative is that the largest saucepan (2 quart) is too small for many things so we have to resort to using the stock pot, although that is larger than we would have needed. This set would have benefited from a 3 quart saucepan instead of or in addition to the 2 quart. Our set has endured moderate use, always cleaned in the dishwasher, and still looks very nice.

Wow, I just ordered it with free shipping and it arrived the next day! Great Value, The pans are all very usable sizes and I supplemented the collection with a 3 quart tri-ply saucier, a 5 1/4 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven, and a 10" Lodge cast iron skillet. I did check the stock pot for a leak, after boiling for 30 minutes I noticed a little bit of moisture at one of the rivets, just enough for it to start to drip. This is covered under the 10 year warranty, but I am not sure if it is worth messing with it. I really did not buy the set for the stock pot, and any stews, soups, chili etc will be done in the dutch oven. This pot will be fine for boiling pasta etc. anything not on the stove for more than an hour.

I received this set two days ago and I am very happy with it. The name perfectly describes the set. It is "simply" a stainless steel cookware set, and that is all I wanted. All the pieces are very heavy and feel well made. The weight of the set helps the pans maintain the correct temperature much better on my glass top stove than lightweight aluminum pans. The handles are solid steel, large, easy to grip, are shaped like a Y, and they attach to the base with two rivets. I have yet to encounter a leaky rivet like a previous reviewer, but I will look out for it. The handles also keep cool during frying so I guess whoever designed them did a good job. The lids on some of the pots are interchangeable with some of the pans so you can use them when needed. They seem to make a tight seal with the pan. Yesterday I was steaming some vegetables and I did not notice any steam leaking out. It did a good job of keeping it all inside.

As far as the quality of the steel goes I have not owned them long enough to see if they will show rust spots if they are left in the sink overnight too many times. Which is something that I do too often. I did notice a superficial scratch inside a frying pan from using a stainless steel utensil, so they will scratch. But that is part of the point of stainless. Who cares if you scratch them a little, at least it is not a nonstick pan which would be ruined. I am looking forwards to many years of putting scratches into these.

The only thing I would change is that I would like a bigger stock pot to match the set. Though 6 quarts is fine for many things, sometimes you need to make more than that.

As far as style goes, they look great. Nothing looks better than bright clean stainless steel sitting on top of a stove. They are beautiful and far better looking than in the picture. My gf cant believe what I paid for the set. I could not imagine paying 300 or more for a set similar to this when these are available for around 100. The price is too good.

These pots and pans are great. They are nice and thick (helps prevent burning). They look great, and we haven't had any problems with them. They clean very nicely. Definitely worth the money.

I do love to cook, yes once in a while and dont want to be disturbed by my wife for using her utensils, I took this for my self and very happy , easy to clean, still figuring out how to make a egg as its still get stick to it, other stuff with chicken and veggies have been very good.

The price of the pot set and the quality that you received was definitely a good buy.The detail in which the product was packaged for shipment provided for optimum care that the goods were not damaged in anyway.
When cooked properly eggs do not stick. I liked the fact that most of the pots and pans had lids to go with them.The one drawback of the set was that the handles on the lids are hot to touch otherwise good buy.

This is my first stainless set and I'm still learning how to cook with it. Although I haven't use all the pieces yet, the quality of this set is good and heavy. The glass lids are great to see how the food is cooking.

I was bargain hunting for nice stainless steel cookware and found a perfect match in this set. It may not be the aboslute best stainless set on the market, but it has to be the best you can get at the great Amazon price. Out of the box, this set was beautiful - exactly how it looked on the Amazon website. I kept pulling out piece after beautiful piece from the box in pure delight over this purchase. I still can't believe the price I paid for everything I received.
Each stainless piece is heavy and sturdy and seems to cook evenly througout. The lids provide a decent seal, not quite snug-tight. All pieces clean up easily after use, although they seem to have lost a bit of the original luster. I suppose that is normal. This purchase was one of my best ever.

The stainless cookware from Calphalon is very high quality (as with most Calphalon products). All pieces are made from high quality, thick stainless, and are built well. The glass lids seem pretty strong, but I am still nervous about dropping one (they are quite heavy). I'd prefer metal lids, but I guess glass is nice for watching the food while covered (if you're into that). The handles will heat up if you are cooking at high temps for a long time (30 minutes plus), but for normal cooking they stay cool enough to hold. As for cooking with them, stainless is not my number one choice for cooking because it does not respond as quickly to flame adjustments as aluminum or copper. The difference in response time was immediately noticeable to me because I am used to the anodized aluminum. However, for everyday use, this set is great. Food comes off fairly easy and you don't have to worry about acidic recipes wearing the finish. Overall a very good product.