Opinions Please on Pots and Pans

[hmclaugh]

Hi

I know that this subject has been discussed before but I need some help. I am getting ready to by new cookware. I have narrowed it down to All Clad and Calphalon. I know that this is what I want. Can you tell me the pros and cons of the two and which line of each you would buy?

Thanks
Hieka

[veschke]

I buy All-Clad because I love the way it looks. :-) I've never found anything about it to complain about, but I've never used Calphalon.

Once you get to a certain standard of product, I believe there's no reason to go on anything but your aesthetic preference.

[cooknmom38]

I like the All Clad also. I have the stainless liine an I love them. Here is the website. www.allclad.com
I dont have any Calphalon, but I hear that they are good too.

[Sami]

I'm no help because I have Calphalon and I really like it. I have 1 All Clad piece and that seems very good also. I don't think you can go wrong with either set you buy.

Sami

[wallycat]

I have all clad and le creuset.
I have used calphalon at my step-daughter's house.

I would never purchase all clad at full price. I agree that when you reach a certain (good) quality of cookware, more $$ doesn't necessarily mean a better pan. Sometimes you're paying for the marketing and the big name.
I got all my pieces on sale (rest. supply) or outlet/sale.

I agree that either line would be more than adequate. Heck, I have an old, old, old Cuisinart pan I still use and it works great!

[slawrence]

I have Calphalon and am moving over to All-Clad. I like my Calphalon but after using All Clad at the cooking school, I am sold on All Clad.
Good luck-good pots and pans are never a minor expense! Sue

[gertdog]

Hi Hieka! :)

Here's what I can offer about All-Clad. I have the Masterchef line, with the brushed aluminum finish (which I'm not even sure they make anymore). I would *definitely* buy All-Clad again, but I would choose the stainless finish because they can go in the dishwasher, and my brushed finish pots can't (the finish would darken). We tend to wash pots by hand anyway since they would take up so much room in the dishwasher, but it would be nice to have the option.

My MIL has Calphalon- sorry I don't know which line, but it is the dark, matte finish, not nonstick. I don't care for the dark finish because it is *really* hard for me to tell when something like butter has browned properly. They seem to distribute heat just fine, though.

And- one caveat on both- the larger pieces are *really* heavy (come over sometime and heft my 8 qt. All-Clad stockpot full of water). If I could do it over again I would probably buy somewhat less expensive and lighterweight large pieces, but that's just me!

[mbrogier]

I have All-Clad. I bought my husband a great starter set on sale at Marshall-Fields for a present one time. (it was what he wanted.) For under $300 I got the huge stock pot, 2 & 3 qt sauce pans--all with lids and the 8" non-stick fry pan. Everything else we have was found at stores like TJ MAXX, Marshalls, and Homegoods for cheap. We have a round griddle, a huge wok looking chef's pan with lid, and two silver baking sheets (I LOVE these).

I have a Calphalon stock pot and a frying pan. They are that dark anodized finish. I hated the frying pan. Even with oil, things would stick and the browning wasn't as even as the all-clad. The stock pot shows water calcification, etc. really quickly. I wasn't impressed. I haven't tried their non-stick because I had a parrot and non-stick is toxic to parrots. (the all-clad pan was post parrot)

All-Clad stands behind their pans, even seconds! I love my pans, and I know my grandchildren will be fighting over them and my Wustof knives. :D If my husband were here reading this, he would say the knives were his. ;)

[blazedog]

I have All Clad, Calphalon and some other stainless but not fully clad cookware.

All Clad and Calphalon book are really good pans (I am talking about the top of the line Calphalon which is now called Calphalon One).

The advantage to Calphalon is that it is somewhat lighter in weight than All Clad which I appreciate in my saute pans and other top of the line pans. I am partial to the way it looks. I don't care that it isn't DW safe as I have no room in the DW anyway. My Calphalon pans are nonstick which I use a lot sauteing as I probably cook nonfat or very lowfat more than many people on this site. I don't have any particular problem with its dark surface since I can tell if it's browning and it provides an very even reactive heat.

I don't like Calphalon in the oven because in my experience the dark surface overcooks the food too quickly. For a Dutch oven, I would go with All Clad (CI's top rated choice for Dutch ovens) or a Le Creuset enamel over cast iron. With a Dutch oven, I don't mind the extra weight because of the type of things that are cooked in it.

I love the brushed finish of the All Clad as it doesn't show waterspots. It's available for more expensive than the more common stainless steel.

You really can't go wrong with any of these lines. Personally I would get a piece from each and test drive it.

[gertdog]

Originally posted by blazedog

I love the brushed finish of the All Clad as it doesn't show waterspots. It's available for more expensive than the more common stainless steel.


Actually, it's the reverse- the brushed finish (Masterchef and MC2) is cheaper than stainless, because that factored into my decision to go with the brushed finish.

Hieka, Chef's Catalog has all of the current All-Clad and Calphalon lines so you can comparison shop online- they carry most pieces so you can get a sense of what it would cost to build a set of the pieces you want.

[hmclaugh]

Thank you so much for answering. I think that I will go with the All-Clad. Are all of their lines basically the same? I have pulled them up and it seems as if there is quite a price difference. Is one better then the other or is it once again once you are into that high of quality it does not really matter? Now off to compare the
All-clad lines.

Thanks Again
Hieka