I am an avid home chef & treasure high-quality cookware. These are great! They are thinner (but harder) than many brands, which I truly love. Lower heat settings can be used for comparable results in other cookware, which saves energy, money, & severity of burns if the user is accident prone.
Some things to know:
1. These pans are designed to be hung on a rack. Hanging does save your cookware from a lot of those small injuries caused to them by stacking.
2. The Quantanium non-stick finish is like Teflon on steroids! I use about 1/4 the oil/butter I normally used in the older versions of Teflon. As mentioned above, a lower heat setting is also necessary. These are very easy to clean (except the stainless steel "buttons" where the handles are attached everything sticks well there).
3. Although they say "Metal Utensil Safe", DON'T! Save the metal utensils for your cast iron & stoneware.
4. Non-stick cooking spray tends to eat finish on pans. Preserve them by washing well with soap & water as soon as they are cool. TIP: NEVER, EVER put a sizzling hot pan in water or dump cool water into it! This causes warping that basically ruins the pan. Move the pan to an unused burner & let it cool naturally before washing.
5. With the small steamer insert, never fill the pan over one inch above the bottom of the insert. With the stockpot insert, 2 inches. This can be pushed to nearly 3, but the mess from overfilling is big.
6. Enjoy & care for these pans! You won't ever have to buy replacements for them as long as you don't abuse them.
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I purchased this 14pc set of cuisinart pots and pans, after many comparisons and shopping around. I was initially more interested in purchasing Circulon Elite, but I wasn't too happy with the sizes offered in the set. Anyway, I am extremely happy that I purchased this set instead and here's why...
The price is great! This is a high quality product! There are 14pc included and they are all in useable sizes, the only additional thing you many need is a 12"skillet, but I have been fine without one so far. The 4 quart saute pan is wonderful!!! And I absolutely love the steamer basket, that was a huge selling point for me because I steam veggies everyday! I am very impressed with everything about these pots and pans! The non-stick finish has been very durable so far, and extremely easy to clean. They cook evenly with no hot spots, etc. One important thing to note that makes this set different than most other hard anodized cookware, is that these are made with an aluminum core. So they have a hard anodized exterior and a non-stick interior, but the aluminum core makes them quite a bit lighter in weight to most other products. I consider this to be a positive thing, I don't need to break my wrist washing a pan. But if you use your pans as weapons, consider something else. =) The exterior finish is awesome, its a smooth hard anodized finish and very easy to maintain. Another review complained about the exterior, that "it looked cheap and no matter how she cleaned them they looked bad"... well, she's crazy!!! These look awesome!!! The clear lids are very helpful, although they do tend to get hot so using a rag when lifting is advisable. But handles on the pans seem to stay cool, no problem.
Anyway, if you are considering this cookware and are comparing it to more expensive brands, then save your money! You will not be disappointed with this purchase!
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I got these on sale last week from Amazon at . Totally worth it. They are nice and heavy, heat evenly and the non-stick is amazing. You can put them in the dishwasher but it makes the outside of the pan turn a chalky dappled grey color. You really should hand wash them unless you don't give a crap how the outside looks.
The metal and glass lids can get hot while cooking but that's why they make over mitts but the great thing is, since these pans do not have the rubber coated saftey handles you can transfer from stove top to oven for a broil without having to worry about ruining your handles [like the old Revere Ware].
Update: 2009 and the pans have not yet fallen apart. The larger cookpot is showing some wear on the nonstick finish after heavy use. I also admit to using metal utensils on the product. The lids are in great shape and have not cracked or chiped and all the metal handles are still bright and shiny and not loose depite me washing them in the dishwasher.
Honest reviews on Cuisinart 66-14 Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 14-Piece
15 years out of school and in desperate need of new pans, I researched for months on cookware brands, materials, pan-types and price. I purchased the Cuisinart 14-piece set based on my research & the enthusiastic commentary of so many other long-time users.
In every day use, this Cuisinart cookware has met my expectations. All of the pans including the skillets can be used with the lids included in the set. You won't get as many lids as pans, but having a perfectly-fitting lid on hand for both the 8" & 10" skillet is rare, and really nice.
The cookware pieces are attractive, well-made and perform exactly as described by the manufacturer. A smooth finish inside and out means that hand-washing is easy; food just does not stick in the pans. The rivets are easy to clean, too -these are big pluses since my schedule does not allow for much additional time for chores.
I tend to use medium to medium-high heats for most dishes, and haven't needed high heat to get quick & even results. I don't have a kitchen large enough to hang the cookware pieces, so I stack/nest them in my cupboard, using Wonderliner padded shelf inserts between them to mitigate against any scratching. However, the Cuisinart Cookware's nonstick surface has been quite durable and the set shows no signs of interior nor exterior wear.
The steamer insert is great for vegetables and Asian dumplings (I never use the pasta insert.) I couldn't find the steamer insert sold separately, and you can't use a metal fan basket steamer on the nonstick surface, so buy the 14or 17piece sets to receive it. I use wood and silicone-based utensils with the set.
I own other cookware (Cuisinart Multiclad, Staub & Le Creuset) to cover a full range of cooking needs. Nonstick is essential for certain applications; all in all, it truly has been a terrific set for me.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Cuisinart 66-14 Chef's Classic Nonstick Hard-Anodized 14-Piece
I never write reviews, but this one is worth it! Cleanup is a snap, even baked on cheese. Normally I dread cleaning pans and just toss them in the dishwasher. I did abide by the instructions and washed them by hand. Egg, grease, baked on cheese, you name it. A little hot water and soap under the faucet does the trick.
I'm tossing my other pans.
