Review of Anolon Chef Clad Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set

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List Price: $425.00
Sale Price: $279.95
Today's Bonus: 34% Off

I wanted the Clad pans with the outer Anolon cover. LOVE the pans. Heavy, thick, nice looking, clean well and cook great. Was a little worried since I couldn't find but one review of these. But very pleased that they will last a long time.

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I have a couple Anolon Advanced pieces that I picked up at BB&B, the 8" skillet and the "Ultimate Pan" to be specific. I was impressed with the quality of these products, but noticed like on most teflon or non-stick coated surfaces they could be damaged by heat, using a metal spatula, or being washed in a dishwasher. Well, Capholon is typically overpriced and the quality doesn't seem much different. Others seem inferior or out of my price range of what I wanted to spend.

So, looking on Amazon and the Anolon website I found this set. An aluminum set with a stainless steel inner layer? I don't think I've ever seen that combination but it made a lot of sense. Aluminum is only surpassed by copper as far as cookware goes for distributing heat evenly. The steel inside acts as the protective layer, making it easy to clean and last for years to come. And, I can put them in the dishwasher!

If you are looking for a set that is reasonable in price, but don't like the fact your non-sticks are peeling and chipping and/or can't put them in the dishwasher: You cannot go wrong with this set!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Cookware is worth spending a lot of money on. Good cookware that's properly cared for will last a lifetime, if not longer. With the exception of cast iron, good cookware is typically expensive because the materials cost what they cost -everybody is paying the same price for metals; nobody can sell them cheaper than someone else.

Anolon keeps costs down by having only the cooking surface of the pans -the interior -be stainless steel. The outside of the pans -except the bottom which is stainless -is aluminum. The reason All-Clad stainless steel cookware is so expensive and praised is because the exterior is completely stainless steel (the interior is aluminum). That, combined with their construction, makes them pretty much indestructible. The aluminum exterior of the Anolon will be more susceptible to damage from impact with objects and especially heat than pans that are completely stainless. You must be very careful not to allow a heat source to come into direct contact with the aluminum sides of the pans -that means never using the smaller pots on large gas burners.

I spent a week using this set to make everything from sautéed vegetables, to risotto and soups. Overall the performance was pretty good. The pans heated pretty fast and fairly evenly; the benefit of the stainless steel interior is that you can stick sharp objects into the pan -it's very hard to damage the surface.

My main complaint is that these pans are fairly heavy -noticeably heavier than my All-Clad stainless and Calphalon hard-anodized. If you're cooking something that requires tossing or moving the pan around a lot, it could make things a bit more difficult. That's why I removed a star.

While the pans are advertised as being dishwasher safe, I would never do that because dishwasher detergent tends to be pretty abrasive. The easiest way to clean stainless steel is with Bar Keepers Friend. Just let the pans soak for a little, pour out the water, sprinkle some BKF in, and clean with a wet spong. They'll look brand new.

Overall this is a good entry-level set for someone who wants the benefits of cooking with a stainless steel interior. The price really is quite good for the quality. More experienced cooks will want to save up for All-Clad.

Honest reviews on Anolon Chef Clad Stainless Steel 10-Piece Cookware Set

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The brushed aluminum finish really makes these look great, but looks aren't everything...unless you don't plan on using them...then looks would be pretty important.

But if you do plan on using them, there are a few quirks.

We compared these against a nice Kitchen aid set, and the Anolon seem weighted heavy.

Well Balanced? -

Heavy cookware can mean quality, but it's not that the Anolon were heavier it's that the way the handles are placed, they just doesn't feel properly balanced between the handle and the pot. It was a very noticeable difference when we picked them up. Maybe the angle of the handles are too steep and don't distribute the weight very well. Not sure. They just are not as easy to hold as they should be.

Hot Handles? -

The lids are pretty good. They don't have the rubber along the edges which can actually make a seal and lock the top on to the pot. But, the handles do get hot, just FYI. Other pots will have a rubber or silicon grip to the underside of the handle. These don't.

Brushed Aluminum for show? -

The Cookware look great with the brushed aluminum, but I thought Aluminum was being removed from antiperspirants over health concerns.

Wanting to see what the fine print said in the notice that came with the pots, it looks like the aluminum is just a coating on the outside. But what's interesting is the warning that it states if you let a pot boil water until dry (not a good idea at all, but accidents do happen), and since the aluminum is just for the distinct look, it's interesting to see what the care information states for the Aluminum with stainless or copper base:

"In some cases, cookware with an aluminum core base or cookware with a base container copper that is allowed to boil dry, may melt and separate from the pan body resulting in severe personal injury and/or property damage. If your pan boils dry and you see molten aluminum, do not pick up your pan. Turn the burner off, allow the pan to cool, then remove from the burner and discard."

Doesn't give me a lot of confidence there. Maybe that can happen to any old pot or pan, but our old set is stainless steal, not covered in brushed aluminum.

Some people will care about that, and some won't but I wanted to mention it for those who might want to look into it before buying.

-A tip --

After a little bit of use, one thing we noticed were white spots in the base of the pan. Scrubbing didn't do much, but the care instructions said a little vinegar would do the trick, so we scrubbed with a little vinegar, and it worked.

So, if you're going for the look, they are elegant looking. They don't feel well balanced, but that's a matter of preference and will be different for each person.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I've been getting good use out of these and trying to get a sense of how they hold up. The company happened to send them to be reviewed just before Thanksgiving, so it was a good opportunity to test them out.

These have been extremely easy to use. They've been cooking things very evenly, and I've been impressed by how easy it's been to clean them up thus far. They don't have the bolts for the handles that are flush with the surface of the pot, so you occasionally have to scrub around that area with just a little extra care to make sure it's getting clean. Nothing that's especially troublesome though.

I've particularly liked how well the handles do at remaining cool even when something has been cooking for a long time. I was really paranoid about burning my hands for the first couple of days but it seems like they just aren't getting all that hot.

In person they look like they'd be very much at home sitting next to a computer or monitor made by Apple due to the finish. If that's an aesthetic you happen to enjoy, you're very likely to be pleased with them. They feel a bit heavy, but I suspect that's because I'm used to pots with plastic handles and the additional metal adds weight.

On the whole, you can obviously do better quality-wise if you get something like All-Clad, but I'm really impressed by how good these are given the price point they're sitting at. They're much better than the various pieces I've been using previously that are in about the same realm for cost.