No Regrets
Written: Jun 18 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Even heating; easy cleanup
Cons: Cannot put in the dishwasher EVER!
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| Tholian's Full Review: Calphalon Commercial Non-Stick Cookware |
I bought a set of Calphalon Commercial Non-Stick pots about a year and a half ago. In fact, I took an Xmas-help job at a local Williams-Sonoma store for the express purpose of being able to buy these pots at a whopping discount. I have not been sorry I did either of these things, even though the job I had was as a stocker--so I got to lift a great many of these cookware sets before I finally came home with one!
When I had the money saved up and it was time to buy, it came down to the following:
The 10-piece Non-Stick Calphalon;
The 7-piece stainless steel All-Clad;
The 10-piece Hard Anodized Calphalon plus a "bonus" wok.
Although the All-Clad was certainly eye-catching and had more of an image factor, I have always preferred the even heating of anodized aluminum. But more importantly, the All-Clad handles were very uncomfortable. When I picked up an All-Clad pan, the handles actually cut into my hands! Besides that, the All-Clad was not as much bang for the buck and I only had so many bucks.
Once I found out I would not be able to put the Hard Anodized in the dishwasher anyway, I opted for the Non-Stick, reasoning that it was worth giving up the wok in favor of easier cleanup. I already had a Hard Anodized saute pan (received as a birthday present) and knew the potential for annoying cleanup. The non-stick also sported the "Cool-V" handle, which was not a feature of Hard Anodized at the time. That was very important to me as I had previously burned myself on a too-hot Calphalon handle.
I have enjoyed every moment of cooking with these pots, except for this: Food tends to get stuck where the handle bolts into the body of the pan (particularly eggs). This necessitates immediate immersion in water after use, else prolonged soaking will become necessary--you can't use anything abrasive on these pans! Now, that's not much of an issue when I use it, because my cookware and knives are the only things in life about which I am the least bit anally retentive...but when other householders use the pans, they often end up soaking for days.
(I realize that's a human-dynamics issue rather than a cookware issue.)
This is an ideal set for the cook who is gaining some culinary skill and is ready to make the move to "better" cookware. I realized significant savings through buying the set, but I also do a lot of cooking at home--if you want some good pots but don't anticipate ever using some of the ones in the set, open-stock may be a better choice. These pots are not cheap. Additionally, if you are comparing this to All-Clad or other high-end cookware, do yourself a favor, go out to a store and handle the display cookware to get an idea of how it feels. Remember, this is an investment and you will be using it daily. It has to feel good or you will hate it. Any store worth buying from will let you handle the pots to your heart's content.
I have not had any reason to regret buying this cookware...my kitchen experience has been nothing but positive.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Tholian
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 2 members
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