Excellence everyday!
Written: Jul 11 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
| Ease of Cleaning: |
|
|
| Style: |
|
|
|
Pros: Inexpensive, durable, easy to use and clean.
Cons: Handles could be a problem.
The Bottom Line: Good deal for the money. Will probably last forever as long as they are cleaned well.
|
|
|
| madlee's Full Review: Cuisinart 5-Piece Everyday Stainless Steel Cookwar... |
I got sick of cooking with aluminum. We've all heard the horror stories of using aluminum surfaces for cooking, specifically Alzheimer's. I decided to shop for some stainless pots and pans. I went to all the normal kitchen stores and some discount home stores and was surprised by the high prices. 40 bucks for a spaghetti pot? And this was the lowest quality brands...
Anyway, I somehow became aware of this set (I think it was FatWallet)and was impressed by the features and the price. This line by Cuisinart features a "sandwiched" copper bottom that is protected by a layer of stainless on the bottom. Copper conducts heat better than steel, but it a lot less durable than stainless steel. Putting a thin layer of stainless over the copper to protect it, seemed like a nice little feature that would increase the lifespan. Amazon also had a Cuisinart stainless utensil set they were giving away with purchase of any Cuisinart set. The free super saver shipping made up my mind. I placed the order and anxiously waited.
The utensils came first a few days later and I can't complain, since they were free, but I wouldn't buy them. They are well made, with formed handles. However, the directions that came later with the cookware set, specifically directed not to use metal utensils, or you would damage the stainless surface of the cookware set! These utensils may be nice to use as serving utensils, but I suggest using wood and rubber utensils with the cookware set.
A few days after that, the cookware set arrived. I was a bit perterbed, that amazon just simply slapped a delivery label on the cuisinart box instead of double boxing. Kind of gross thinking your future cookware was on dirty trucks and planes, but I guess a good initial cleaning and soaking would have to do.
The set came with the following items:
(1) 9.5 in skillet
(1) 2-quart saucepan
(1) 6-quart saucepot
(1) 9.5 in lid (fits both saucepot and skillet)
(1) 4 in lid (fits saucepan)
All items have a shiny polished mirror surface on the outside and have a dull matte interior. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the shiny exterior, since it really requires hand drying, so that no water stains are left.
The handles on the lids and pot are tack welded on, and although generally that should be fine, if they were welded poorly, they may come off. The handles on the skillet and pan is a curved sheet of stainless, which helps keep the conducted heat down, but you may still sometimes need a pan or pot holder. These handles are tack welded on also.
The saucepot is great. It is very wide and can be used as a skillet in a pinch. I've used it for chili, pasta, rice krispie treats, etc. and it's worked great on everything from high heat to low heat.
The skillet is good for people who don't like non stick pans which may have their own issues with cooking on teflon. The walls of the skillet are nicely curved which allows easy access with a spatula.
The saucepan is basically a smaller version of the saucepot with a long handle. It's good for soups, or making sauces.
After about 2 months of use, I have a few observations.
1. Stainless is a misnomer. It really should be called "stain resistant." All stainless steel can rust or be stained, and to keep this set in museum quality basically requires either keeping it mint in the box, or a full SOS pad scrub down on the interior and a windex session on the exterior. I'm not too concerned about the mirror finish on the outside, but would like to keep the interior cooking surface clean. It already has starch stains from pasta.
2. I'm not sure how to evaluate the sandwiched copper bottom. Sometimes the set seems to take more time than I would've thought to heat up. It does seem to heat very evenly on the whole surface, but I'm wondering if the two layers of stainless keeps the pan from heating up faster.
3. The handles are welded, but they seem tack welded on instead of a good bead around the entire contact surface.
4. Lastly, for the money I can't complain. I'll gladly use these for the rest of my life.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 54
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
madlee
|
|
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 13 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.