Customer Reviews

Cuisinart 77-10 Chef's Classic Stainless 10-Piece Cookware Set

5 star:		(437)
4 star:		(139)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(39)
1 star:		(57)

 

 

Let me preface this review with the fact that I am Italian and raised 5 children on daily home-cooked meals. The kitchen is the center of my home. So when my daughter got her own apartment out west and asked for a set of pots for Christmas, I wanted to make sure I got her a quality set that would last her for years and years. I knew what I wanted for her, but didn't know which brand to purchase. Non-stick was out (I have never liked it). The pots also had to be both dishwasher/oven safe, and I wanted the pot handles to be riveted into the pot. Off I went to the mall with my "specifications" in hand to look at the different brands and sets available. Boy was I amazed at how many there were! I took my time and examined each set. Not only did I look at the sets, but I also handled the sets. This is VERY important. Many of the quality sets were so heavy that I needed two hands to lift the larger pieces, and although I could lift the smaller saucepans, I had difficulty tilting them to the side to pour. Others had handles that were very uncomfortable to use. Then I came upon the Cuisinart Chef's Classic Stainless 10-piece cookware set. I was very impressed by the quality. They were heavy grade yet easy to handle. They also met my other specifications listed above AND they looked really nice as well. The price of $149 was quite unbelievable. I drove home and ran straight to my computer and ordered the set through Amazon. I got free shipping and had the set delivered directly to my daughter. I also used the holiday bonus coupon for $25 off my order. I was so impressed with the set and the deal Amazon was offering, a few days later I purchased a second set through Amazon for myself. I LOVE them. They cook beautifully on my gas range and clean up well in the dishwasher. The handles DO NOT get hot while cooking, which totally surprised me. Do be careful with the lid handles though. They will get hot if cooking on higher heat. I haven't had a problem with delicate foods burning due to the high thermoconductivity of the pans; however, my stove is a professional grade 6-burner unit. I don't know if that makes any difference or not. All I can say is this set looks great, cooks great, handles great, and sells at a great price. What more can you ask for?

After comparing major cookware lines, All Clad, Emeril, Wolfgang Puck, Jamie Oliver online, as well as in major stores, Williams Sonoma, Macy's, Linen n Things, etc., I purchased Cuisinart's Chefs Classic set. Quality, features, and value could not be matched! The price (with free shipping), also included a kitchen tools set, a nice bonus.

Thanksgiving was my big "road test". The quality is outstanding! The mirror finish stainless kettles have a nice weight, well-fitting lids, classy sturdy riveted handles, flat bottoms that fit nicely on the burners, and stay-cool handles. They heat evenly. I do not like nonstick cookware, and by adding a little water to the pan after cooking, cleanup was a breeze. I put them all in the dishwasher and they come out sparkling.

I bought a chrome potrack and display them proudly. They indeed look and perform like very high-priced cookware. This was indeed a great purchase!

Any minor spotting or discloration from use, disappears like magic with the use of a small amount of Barkeeper's Friend powder.

I am so pleased with my set that I have already added to it; I purchased a 2qt. and 3qt. saucepan, and the 5 1/2 qt. saute pan. The saute pan is a work of art; especially good for those big pieces of meat on Holidays, and at $39.99, an unbelievable value. I plan on purchasing several as gifts.

It is also ovenproof to 550 degrees; something not found in the plastic-lid products.

You will not be disappointed.

The day after Thanksgiving, "Black Friday" is the official kick off of the Holiday shopping season. I have never participated in this event, however those 20% coupons to shop between 6AM and 11AM enticed me. I needed a new cookware set, since my old pots and pans dated back to before I was born.

I am known as the "Research King" & "The Negotiator", so yes I did my homework. I was going to purchase a non stick set for $300.00, however you have to "feel" the set before buying. Is the weight even, do the covers fit right - you know what I mean. NOTE: I cook every night and have for years. I am not a Chef, but can cook a great meal.

Right next to Anolon at Macy's Dept. store, was the Cuisinart 10 Piece Classic Stainless cookware. It looked good, the weight was even, the lids fit great, but why so inexpensive? I researched Cuisinart and knew it was a good brand, so after playing around with the pots and pans for 20 minutes I bought the set! So this is what I got:

- 8" & 10" Skillet

- 1.5 QT & 3 QT Saucepan with covers

- 3.5 QT Saute with helper handle and cover

- 8 QT Stockpot with cover

FREE Gift with purchase: 2 QT Saucier

Extra Purchase: 5 1/2 QT All purpose pan with cover.

So, all in all, I got a 13 piece set for the grand total of: $130.75

Yes, I took advantage of a 20% coupon and then an additional 10% coupon. All 13 pieces are part of Cusinarts's Cheft's Classic line.

My Experience: (Rate by school grade A through F)

* Appearance: All the pieces looked great. The set looks as if it should be worth $500.00 (Grade A )

* Weight: The weight of each piece is solid and even. An important point because I flip my food and move the pans a lot while cooking. Note: These pieces do not feel cheap. Very good solid feel. (A-)

* Covers: The lids are a little light in weight, however they create a vacum seal when the heat is turned down. They do a better job then I expected. Normally with lighter lids you think they would wiggle and pop off, but these hold tight! (B )

* Handles: Solid Stainless steel, riveted handle. Solid feel and yes they stay cool. Also long enough to get a good grip. (A)

* Heat Distribution - Cuisinart recommends cooking on lower heat. Yes, this is true. The aluminum bottoms heat quickly and there are no hot spots. Trust me, use low heat. (A )

* Sticking - Well, these are not non stick. I used most of these pots and pans already to reheat our Thanksgiving dinner. Some things really stuck to the pots even when using PAM. Mashed potatoes, stuffing, stuck like glue. Next morning: Bacon stuck, but eggs did not. Go figure.... (B-)

* Clean Up: Water and soap in pan right after cooking. Yes this works well, but I have always done this. (B)

* Dishwasher: Yes, they are dishwasher safe, however after one cycle, the inside bottoms of a couple of pans had a purple tint to it. So, I have decided just to hand wash these for now. (Until I get lazy). (C-)

Final grade: B

Guess again!

The 5-piece starter set includes the 8 qt. covered stockpot, 3 qt. covered pot and 10" open skillet. This set sells (curently on the Amazon site on 10/01/2005)for $59.99. Add the following open stock items currently on the Amazon site:

-1 1/2 qt. covered sauce pan; $13.99
-3 1/2 qt. saute' pan with helper handle and lid; $20.99.
-8" open skillet; $13.99

-TOTAL $108.96 !!!! (If I added correctly)

There are some other good Cuisinart open stock values out there as well.

Not rocket science; just another example of Amazon's sometimes quirky pricing.

(9/24 update): There have been many price changes (mostly trending lower and revised in my example above) for this fine Cuisinart Chef's Classic line. Be a smart shopper and check the openstock (and starter set) item prices first before purchasing a larger multi-item set.

I'll echo what many other reviewers have said: This is very good cookware at a very reasonable price. I don't think you can beat the value.

A few notes: While the handles are metal, the long handles do stay cool, unlike some other metal handled cookware -- I haven't had to grab a towel yet. The lids included also fit both frying pans, which is quite handy. This cookware isn't light, but has a good heft to it. Lids fit well, making simmering and steaming easy. Unlike glass lids which can be hard to clean where the glass joins the metal rim, these all metal lids clean up very easily.

Overall, the set performs very well, providing even heat distribution and making cooking much easier -- no more having to constantly keep attending to the pan just to keep food from sticking on one hot spot.

Highly recommended for the price!

Ups:

-They are decent pans, looks great when you first take them out.

-They are sturdy and I use metal utensils to cook, I like that.

-The attached aluminum plate in the bottom helps spread and retain heat, if your stove isn't that powerful.

Downs:

-I like to sear and stir fry a lot with hot pans, so they will discolor a little with heat. Overheated oil will cause black oil spots on the pan that are hard to remove.

-You need the pan to be hot so that it doesn't stick, and you will need to use a little more oil than typical. If you don't do either of these, your non-greasy food WILL stick to the pan.

-The aluminum plate takes some time to heat up.

-The aluminum plate reduces the responsiveness of "lowering the flames" on your stove. Less control.

What this set needs:

Large Pan

Non-stick omlette pan

Wok

I recently got a new ceramic top stove when our old electric stove's oven caught fire while reheating thanksgiving leftovers.
Since I had the new stove I decided that it was time to buy the new cookware I had been wanting for some time. I looked at a local retail store and liked the Cuisinart best for quality and price. Then I saw this bigger, nicer set on Amazon.com with the free utensil set and ordered it on the spot.

I have had the set for a week now and like using it. This cookware is well designed, has a good solid weight to it but not too heavy, it transfers heat evenly and efficiently. Cooking with it takes some getting used to, if you are used to using cheap pots and pans like me you will find that a lower heat setting is needed than you are used to using. Clean up is easy too. Just put warm water with a drop or two of dish soap in the pan when you are done cooking, leave it until the meal is eaten and the water is cool, then wash and dry by hand or put them in the dishwasher using non lemon detergent, and heated dry. They come out of the dishwasher shining with no spots.

Overall I think this is a excellent value in quality stainless steel cookware. I would recommend it to any one tired of using cheap cookware and cookware with coatings that always peels off in a year or two.

May 16, 2005

I still love this set. I now have them on a pot rack so they can be seen since they still look so good. I have added the steamer insert that works with both sauce pans, it works great for veggies and was around 20 some dollars. I would like to get the larger saute pan. this is the best set I have had ever and guest and family are impresseed when they see it. I was shopping at the local mall a few weeks ago and saw this same set at a fancy department store for $400!!! It's worth that much but thankfully Amazon sells it for way less.

This cookware is well made with rivited handles like what is used in professional kitchens. I recieved my order in less time than was estimated. My order arrived in well packed boxes with no damage.
This cookware heats eavenly and is easy to clean as long as you clean as you go. For the stovetop, the long handles stay cool but you may want to use protection on the small handles. This cookware is also oven safe to 500 degrees. This set should last for years of trouble free service. I highly recomend it as a starter set for those that are newly maried, or new to the kitchen. I would recomend a second 1.5 quart sause pan (for those that cook for 1 or 2.) I also recomend adding the 2 quart sause pan (or 2 for larger families) to round out the set. For those that make scrambled eggs frequently you may want to look at the chef's classic nonstick skillets as well.
Things you have to remember:
1: This is not a nonstick set of cookware... you will have to clean it before residual food drys onto it or you'll be using some elbow grease to get it clean.
2: The disk on the bottom is attached with epoxy and will seperate if you boil it dry and let it sit on a hot burner so don't let that happen.
3: Do not use high heat settings especally with gas cooking the flame will discolor the pan. Medium heat is just right.
4: It's cookware you will use it, and it'll scratch. It's not for decroation if you want pretty pans, get 2 sets the price is right.
Amazon's price with the additon of the 4 pc kitchen tool set (free) the super saver shiping, and the $25.00 may discount (I noticed there's a june discount now as well) made this set much less than was available at the mall and worth the wait for shipping.

Added 12/11/2005
After 6 months of everyday use, the finish on this cookware is still very nice even with a few scratches. I have noticed that I use lower heat on the stove (gas) meaning a lower monthly bill. I have noticed that when using the dishwasher there is some minor discoloration but that is easily removed with barkeepers friend. I am still verry happy with this cookware, and have added other itmes this line.

After researching various kind of pot sets and reading reviews in Amazon, I bough this set last September. They are shining and seems good build quality. However, after about 6 month of use, the 3.5qt pot broke. Yeah, it broke, literally. (Please see the picture I uploaded, which is next to the product image.) It is kind of surprise, as these pots look very solid and I use this pot not very frequently.

So, I contact the manufacture about the pot and offered to send them the images. After a week, I got a phone call from the manufacture and the representative is very nice. However, the only way they can offer the warranty is for me to send the pot to them together with $7 for return shipping, which means I need to pay the shipping for both ways. If this issue is within warranty, they will send me another one.

Considering the weight and size of the pot, it seems pretty obvious that it is cheaper to buy a new pot, and the representative was aware of this.

So, I will have to buy a new pot, just not from this company.

Cuisinart's Chef's Classic line is the best kept secret in the cookware industry. This cookware is amazing! After years of spending a fortune buying & trying various upper end nonstick lines of cookware, I finally came to the conclusion that nonstick cookware is just plain lousy...thinking I was the only one who hated nonstick. So, I then completely excluded nonstick cookware lines, and researched all the higher end brands (those which we all typically look at), in search of simple, pure, quality cookware. Upon first glance, Cuisinart's Chef's Classic line surpassed all the others in simplicity, beauty, ease in handling, sturdiness of construction, etc, ...even all those other similar brands costing 3 to 5 times as much. It's heavy duty professional grade cookware with riveted handles, but not so heavy that it would cause discomfort & trouble lifting & pouring. It's beautifully engineered...perfect combination of form & function. My previous various nonstick brands always "stuck". Cuisinart's Stainless Steel interior is amazingly *UN* sticky. Cleans up easily and completely. Stunningly beautiful, with a modern and yet timeless design. Lids fit like a lid should fit...perfectly, sealed tight. Can withstand higher heats and therefore can be used in the oven! Cooking is even throughout the pan. It's fabulous for quick scrambled eggs, a grilled sandwich, pasta, rice, etc., and performs equally excellent with low heat slow cooking both on stove top AND in the oven! I 1st purchased the 10 peice set last Christmas, and over the last year, I've added individual pans to complete and round out my cookware set...with amazing sale pricing at Amazon.com! I found that I tended to use the small 8 inch skillet constantly for something quick (professional working mom, single parent), so I picked up a few more of those, in addition to some larger covered skillets for slow cooking traditional meals, such as a huge batch of chili, beefstew, or homemade soup, for parties, or for freezing in smaller portions to get me through the week. Overall, this cookware 1) Looks gorgeous (and very expensive!), 2) Performs flawlessly in cooking, comfort in handling, and cleanup, and 3) As an added bonus, is an amazing cost value!!! Buy this cookware! A tip* This cookware does perform differently (better!) than anything else I've ever owned, and does require different use & care. Therefore, read and follow the enclosed instructions, particularly with regard to using a lower heat setting, and soaking breifly, prior to cleaning. Read the instructions completely and several times, they are very straightforward, and provide excellent information & education on the use and simple maintainance of the cookware. I'm soooo happy to have found this cookware...it's a constant joy to use. Cannot think of a single negative. On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I give this 100 stars (the review limits me to five stars). Love this cookware! Heirloom quality. This is one of those products that 100 years from now, people will say "they don't make 'em like that anymore!" In our world of junk consumerism, this product is a shining star stand out.