Customer Reviews

Simply Calphalon Stainless Multipot

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this set to replace another pot of similar size. I figured that this would be a great deal - it's got inserts and it's from Calphalon at a great price too. The tempered glass cover fits well and is helpful because you can see inside without removing the cover although it spits when the pot is at a full and rapid boil. It's a stainless steel piece so it's not dark when you look inside like many other Calphalon pieces. The aluminum bottom is not the same as on their commercial or professional lines. It's a heavy-duty aluminum bottom attached to a stainless steel pot. Even though the pot along with the bottom is thicker and heavier than most other lines that do the same, it did not heat up like other Calphalon pieces that I own. Still, I cooked a stew at a slow simmer for six hours and it didn't burn at the bottom. A good thing.

This is the first time that I have inserts like these and I don't think much of the big insert. To cook pasta or food, you need to add an additional 2 quarts of water (the amount needed to touch the bottom of the insert) making it more time consuming to use. I will cook my pasta without the insert and may use the insert as a colander/drainer. The small insert is useful because you can steam items while boiling pasta or other items

All in all, a good pot not a great one at a great price.

After about a month's use, we had a major disaster with this pot. After the contents reached boiling, we turned the flame down, as the recipe said. The glass lid fit so tightly that it formed a partial vacuum, and as the pressure inside dropped, suddenly the lid shattered into zillions of tiny pieces. It totally ruined the food, of course, as well as destroying the lid.

We did find a lid from another pot that we had that fit, so we use that. Otherwise it's a pretty good pot. We use the small basket a lot for steaming. The larger basket, as others have suggested, isn't very good for making pasta, but it works to just use the pot, and use the large basket as a strainer.

After a few years, the pots still look quite good.

But I'd suggest that you file a few grooves in the edge of the lid, to prevent an airtight seal. If you don't, you may end up with a shattered lid as we did.

...pasta insert only reaches down about 60% into the pot so you have to put about 4 quarts of water in before it even touches the insert...which means to do any kind of volume you are practically filling pot to brim which is both time consuming (to boil)and heavy to deal with once ready (to move/drain). Similarly, because of this design tragedy, you can't really cook much more pasta than what could have been accommodated in a properly designed 6 quart pot/insert, so you don't even get to benfit from the size....all around shame ! (Just a pretty stock pot now)

...and I haven't even used the lid yet to experience all these other horrors I am reading about.

Calphalon should have recalled/replaced or Amazon should have accepted a little more responsibility for peddling it once issues were brought to light.

JMHO...

I have used this pot for catering a friends party and i found it to be extremely useful. I boiled angel hair pasta with the deeper pasta insert and steamed asparagus that went over so well that when a child went to throw out half a spear, he was stoped and the valuable stalk was savored by a more appreciative adult. I cleaned this pot by hand afterwards and had no problems. Although i have washed dishes in a highly rated restaurant, i dont believe pot scrubing is a skill that is hard to acheive.

I encourage all to at least try this pot. Both inserts are excellent. I imagine the thick bottom would be great for simmering large quantities of sauces or stocks.

Please ignore negative reveiws for this item. The handles on the steamer insert could be slighty difficult to retreive for the lazy but for the rest of us, it is not exactly rocket science. One of the advantages of steaming food is that steam is hot and heat is what cooks food so dont be surprised is the insert gets hot as well.

Dont buy this if you cant take a few micro seconds to relize that fire makes things hot. Just get some mits or a side towel or two and get on with your life.

At the very low price offered, this pot is definitely worth a try.

When I was a new bride at age 17, I couldn't afford good cookware. Now into my 40's I am upgrading for the umpteenth time, but this time to cookware that will last forever. I have a few pieces of Calphalon and have been pleased with their performance, so when I saw this pot, it definately turned my head. I have not been disappointed.

My first impression was of how heavy this pot is. Heft is a sign of quality, and this pot and it's inserts are hefty. I have owned entire pot sets that didn't weigh as much as the steamer!

Upon first use I found the time it takes to boil water for pasta was noticably reduced. Just cover the pot to bring the water to a boil then remove the lid. In contrast to some other reviews, I found the insert adequate for pasta. Yes, you do need more water, but isn't the idea to BOIL pasta, not STEAM it? Lifting the insert from the pot to drain the pasta is very convienent. Just lift it from the water to strain back into the pot and place it on a plate while you empty the pot. Keep your pasta hot by leaving a couple of inches of the hot water in the bottom, pasta in the insert, lid on.

I have made so much pasta sauce in this pot I had to can 5 quarts of leftovers. The heavy disk in the bottom of the pot allows not only for a quick boil, but also for long periods of simmering without scortching. The glass lid is great since you can peer inside without lifting the lid, and the stainless inside is bright so you can see.

I had concerns about the lid and spattering after reading the reviews. I can see where these people are coming from, but I think the problem is solved by using lower heat. The handle on the lid isn't plastic and will get hot - eventually. It took a LONG time for it to get hot enough I couldn't handle it bare-handed, but common sense will tell you to always check before touching anything that has been in contact with a heat source.

The handles on the steamer can get in the way but I don't know that this is a real problem, and I don't know how they could design it better. After all, you if you are using this insert you will need to retrieve it somehow.

Cleanup was no problem at all. Again, I believe a lot of the issues would be solved if lower heat was used. I usually wash the lid in the dishwasher and the pot by hand. The brushed stainless gives you the beautiful look of stainless without the hassle of "spit shining" it. Fingerprints and water spots aren't quite as noticable.

Storing this big pot and all it's accessories is not a problem since they all stack beautifully and require a much smaller footbrint than several separate pieces.

I love this pot so much I purchased one for each of my daughters as well. I don't want them to have to wait 20+ years for quality cookware. Perhaps owning quality stuff will inspire them and they will enjoy their time in the kitchen - not struggle with it like I did for so long. I only wish I had this a LONG time ago!

Don't be swayed by the negative reviews. This is a very good set and a terrific value.

I can only find fault with one thing in this set and that is the lid. The lip on the lid is simply too small. Since the lip is small, you don't get as good of a seal and this can cause some sputtering and splatter. I can't figure out why Calphalon would have done this, I own other pots of theirs and none have lids like this. Regardless, it hasn't been that big of a deal. I briefly considered replacing the lid, but it hasn't been a big enough problem to justify it.

The pot itself and the two inserts are fantastic. The pot is nice and heavy with a thick bottom. It's been great for making stock and boiling pasta. I've had no problems cooking with it whatsoever. Complaints about too much water when boiling for pasta are unjustified. Most people don't understand that the more water you have for cooking pasta, the better. If you can't wait a few extra minutes for the water to boil, buy a cheap all aluminium pasta pot or learn to plan ahead. Cleanup has never been a problem.

I haven't used the smaller steamer insert much, but I don't understand the complaints about the handles. A pair of tongs easily lifts the steamer basket out of the pot - or you can use the steamer with the pasta insert and lift everything out together.

If you want an excellent all around, multi use, pasta/steamer/stock pot and don't have unrealistic expectations, this is a very nice set and a terrific deal.

This is the first piece of Calphalon I've ever been so unhappy with that I returned it.

The pot itself is fine. The steamer basket is fine. The deeper insert is better thought of as a large-capacity steamer than a pasta insert as it's so far from the pot's bottom that you can just barely cook a package of pasta. There's just not enough water space available.

The lid. Oh, the lid. It's not a bad lid, it's just the wrong lid. All of my other large pots' lids have a flange of some sort so condensation from the underside of the lid drops back into the pot. This one has no such flange, so condensation collects on the surface the lid sits on. Passing steam grabs this moisture and sprays it gleefully across the kitchen. Well, maybe not across the kitchen, but the time I tried making pasta sauce in it, I had a ring of red splatters six inches all the way around the pot. Other Calphalon stock pot lids have flanges on their lids and they don't make a mess.

So, this pot went back and was replaced with a RevereWare pot at about half the cost.

I have read the complaints of condensate dripping on the stove top, and I agree that there is some of that, but then, it seems hard to avoid with a covered boiling pot. On the other hand, the set is built of heavy (real quality) stainless steel, and it has a very thick aluminum base. The thick base probably doesn't do much for pasta cooking, but it really makes this set useful as a stockpot. The glass lid is also a nice asthetic touch, and works well for checking out what is happening inside without lifting the lid. I like it. I was also impressed when it arrived, as it is built to a far higher standard than one would expect for a multi pot. A good deal.

Calphalon Collector's Edition Stainless Steel 4-Piece Multi-Pot Set is a huge disappointment. The lid fits improperly therefore the spatters aren't contained and the lid rattles. In fact, the spatters are so frequent that you can't leave this pot unattended. I feel strongly that a quality replacement pot/lid is due from the manufacturer. This is an expensive pot to have such a serious defect. I will not recommend this product to anyone.

Well, I thought what a deal at this price. It turned out to be a big messy disappointment.

It does not matter if you use the large insert or the smaller steam insert or both together ---- If you are steaming anything or boiling anything you are going to have a mess all over your stove. The glass lid sits atop the insert(s) in such a manner that there is no way for any condensation to escape OR drain back into the pot. What you end up with is a lid that dances around while large amounts of water spit and splatter all over the sides. I have a smooth top range and this is the pits as the water gets all over the burner.

If I could return it after two months I surely would. If I had known of these problems I would have never purchased this..... at any cost!

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