Buy Calphalon Pantryware 8 Qt. Multi Pot

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $120.00
Sale Price: $67.99
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

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.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

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.

Best Deals for Calphalon Pantryware 8 Qt. Multi Pot

...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...

Honest reviews on Calphalon Pantryware 8 Qt. Multi Pot

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.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Calphalon Pantryware 8 Qt. Multi Pot

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!