I’m a baker—I’ve always loved to bake. As a kid I begged for an Easy Bake Oven—nothing was better than those mini cakes! As an adult I’ve shared many wonderful moments in the kitchen with my husband and children, however, my only complaint was my pans. Whenever something came out overcooked, undercooked, or just plain burnt, I blamed it on my pans. My dear husband would just give me a sympathetic glance, but I knew he never believed me. Well, now I can finally say, I WAS RIGHT!

This year while surfing Amazon.com I saw some Calphalon bakeware on sale—I’d only heard about Calphalon once before by a friend who swears by the cookware. I started reading more about the pans and decided that I would ask for some for Christmas. On sale at the time, I filled my wish list with cookie sheets, cake pans, and utensils. To my delight, I got several of the pans this Christmas. This particular set was sent to me through Amazon by my brother—upon opening the box weeks before Christmas I found out they weren’t gift wrapped so I decided to use them for the baking I’d be doing for the holidays. I’ve used them almost daily for 3 weeks, sometimes using the jelly roll pan up to 4 times in one day...all I can say is they are FABULOUS! My holiday goodies have never been so beautiful! I made 15 dozen sugar cookies and 10 pumpkin rolls on the jelly roll pans alone! I made 6 dozen muffins in the muffin tin—the only pan that didn’t get a huge workout was the square pan but it did see 3 batches of fudge.

Here are details for this great set:

COMMON ELEMENTS
• Oven safe to 450°
• These pans should never be used under the broiler—even a second or two will permanently damage the pan.
• The non-stick surface can be scratched, therefore, always use nylon, wood or coated utensils.
• NEVER put it in the dishwasher.
• Never use non-stick spray (see below for more details)

While I’m sure there are some people who’ve broken all the rules, I’m not willing—I’ve been waiting for this fabulous bakeware and I’m going to take care of it! So far it’s been a breeze.

13”x18” Jelly Roll Pan: A multipurpose pan that can be used for more than just jelly rolls. I use mine for cookies, fudge, and my kids have been known to throw frozen foods on it so that they get a nice even single layer of food for even heating and the shallow sides keep the food from falling off and making a mess in my oven.

This is a two-tone pan which is designed to assure efficient baking time—the darker grey surface on the top is to protect against overbrowning, and unlike my previous jelly roll pans it doesn’t warp or twist in the heat of the oven. Its non-stick surface has never let me down—my pumpkin rolls release beautifully with just a bit of grease & flour--this pan came with a huge warning to not use non-stick spray. “Sprays leave a gummy residue that is difficult to remove completely. This residue causes food to stick, even in nonstick cookware.” At first I didn’t think this applied to this pan as this is bakeware, however, there was a warning on the box as well as a flyer inside so I’m sure they mean this pan. Reading this made me look at my old grimy bakeware and sure enough, the sticky film on it appears to be from the spray even after being scrubbed with Clorox and other harsh chemicals—I’ve weaned myself off the stuff and now grease & flour. It only takes a second and although I’ve already used this pan many times in the last two weeks it’s spotless!

• • • • • • • • • •

MUFFIN CUPS (6) My only complaint is that there’s only 6—I would have loved a larger pan and they do come in 3 sizes (6, 12, &24)—who knows, maybe I’ll get the big one some day! This pan has all the same features as the jelly roll pan (two-tone design to improve the baking, heavy-gauge metal that doesn’t warp and provides even heating, and nonstick surfaces so the muffins release easily).

I made several kinds of muffins and the tin performed beautifully—I actually didn’t grease & flour as recommended and they still came out beautifully. A quick clean up with dish soap and warm water and I was ready for the next batch.

• • • • • • • • • •

SQUARE PAN 8”x 8” x 2”, this is a pan that will be used quite often at my house! Perfect for brownies, cakes, and corn bread, this pan produces a finished product that doesn’t have burned edges, an underdone middle, or any of the other flaws my old non-stick pan produced. It’s got rolled edges, with reinforced stainless steel rods which prevent it from warping or twisting just like its mates in this set. It is different from most pans I’ve had previously as it has welded side seems—washed in the dishwasher it could fill with water, however, washed by hand and left to drain it’s great.

• • • • • • • • • •
I’m impressed with the quality of the pans and the quality of the baked goods produced with them. The biggest difference is the thickness and the weight—these are substantial pans that keep the foods moist while browning them beautifully!

I’ve had them three weeks and used them more during this time that I will throughout the year and I feel confident recommending them. They have a great reputation on the web and I’ve had the recommended by a trusted friend. Using them convinced me they’re worth the money. The do come with a lifetime warranty, however that wasn’t a huge selling point for me. As with most warranties, there are lots of caveats—they’ll only repair or replace if you find defects in the material or workmanship when put to normal household use and cared for according to instructions. It doesn’t cover “minor imperfections, surface markings or slight color variations that are caused by unapproved cleaners, neglect, accident, alteration, fire, theft, or use in commercial establishments.” I’ve never found these kids of warranties useful as if there is a defect in the material or workmanship you can usually find it at the time of purchase, not years later. And trying to convince them you’d taken care of the pan properly, etc., just doesn’t seem worth it. Therefore, I didn’t give the “lifetime warranty” any thought in my decision to purchase, although some may find it useful.

RECOMMENDATION If you like quality, and you love to bake, buy yourself just one Calphalon pan—I promise you’ll see the difference and convert. It’s the Cadillac of bakeware in my opinion!

SPECIAL THANKS To my big brother for buying me my ‘dream’ pan—I’ll be sending some goodies your way to thank you!

I’ll update as the pans age and let you know if the stand up to the test of time—I think they will.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 29.99