Cuisinart12 Piece Cookware Set, MultiClad Pro Triple Ply, Silver, MCP-12N

I am so impressed. High quality, tri-ply, and the perfect amount and size of pans. If you need a step-up from your starter set or you are looking for a starter set that will last you 20 years, this is it. This set also has the rivets in the handles where they meet the pan (not welds but rivets) and that is important to know for endurance. If you are thinking that the price is too good to be true know that these are authentic Cuisinart pans and the craftsmanship and heaviness of the pans left me no doubt that they are exactly as described.For those of you who have not cooked with stainless pans before, use low heat, put oil in pan AFTER it is a bit heated up and then add your food. Research and review videos online about using stainless steel to cook in. These are not not-stick pans so you have to use them differently but you can get the exact same results and minimal cleanup, if you research how to use stainless steel pans for cooking. Using anything above medium heat in these pans, will cause scorching and food sticking. Also, don't move your food or flip it right away once you put it in the pan, give it some time to gel and congeal and that will also prevent sticking and the food falling apart when you flip it. For example, to cook an egg, heat the pan on low to medium heat for 2 minutes, then add a bit of butter or oil, give that a bit of time to heat up but do not let it smoke (if it smokes, it is too hot!). Then add your egg, let the egg sit for a while before flipping it or moving it or scrambling it. You need to let the egg congeal a bit on the bottom so it will not stick to the pan when you move or flip it. This will be trial and error but eventually, you will know when to flip it or scramble it. If you move or scramble it to soon, it will stick to the bottom of the pan and it will fall apart and the pan will be more difficult to clean.When you are done using the pan, do not put it into the sink in cold or hot water. You will ruin your pan. Instead, let the pan sit on the stove with the heat off for a while. Then pour some warm or hot water into the pan and let it soak. This will make it very easy to clean, Also, if you have residue in the pan after a normal cleaning, use Bar Keepers friend to scrub away the residue. This has worked for me 100% of the time with all stainless cookware I have ever used, including these pans.If you ever have a really really bad scalding stain in the pan, use Bar Keepers friend and a crushed up bit of regular aluminum foil. Then use the foil like a scrub pad and it will remove anything left in the pan (aluminum is softer than steel so it won't ruin your pan but test it first on the bottom on your pan just in case you are skeptical it will work on your set...I take no responsibility for this technique working on all stainless steel pans but I have never had it fail on any of mine and I have never scratched or ruined a pan using this technique on the pans I own or have owned). I once bought an old stainless pan at a thrift store that was charred and black inside and out. Using this technique, I restored it to almost new. It does work but it can be a bit so be patient with it and rest if you get tired or conscript a family member to help. LOL.Three are videos online as to how to season stainless steel pans for cooking as well but I have never found this necessary. This is NOT the same as seasoning cast iron so do not use THAT technique on these pans. You can look those videos up as to how to season a stainless pan to make it more non-stick yourself and decide if you want to do that.Yes, you can sear steaks and meat and anything else in this pan just don't turn that burner up to High like you do with other cookware. What is very important to know about stainless is that using high heat is never going to be necessary and is almost always counterproductive to both the cooking of the food and the cleanup and the preservation of the pan. You may or may not know your stove very well and how the different controls impact the burner/flame but that is very important in cooking overall and very important to using stainless for cooking. My point is, that if you are not used to cooking with stainless pans that are not non-stick, you will have a bit of a learning curve so do not assume that what temp you used on your stove in the past to cook on your previous cookware, will work as well on these pans. Experiment and plan to spend a bit more time initially in using these pans to see what works and what doesn't when you are cooking your favorite foods. I found that it took me a bit more time on lower heat to cook things initially until I was able to determine the right setting on my burner as well as how long it took for the pan to heat up before I added the oil and then how long it took before the oil was perfect temp before I added the food. Once I got used to all those variable, my time spent cooking was always consistent and I never had to think about it again when I went to use my stainless pans.These pans are going to last decades and will be heavily used by my family and me. I will be buying more of these pans in the future to round out this very well thought out set of 12.

I think this is my first Amazon review in years, but I simply had to say something because I was staring at the stock pot today while boiling potatoes in it and realized that I’d had this set for over four years now. I bought this set on a payment plan when I was in graduate school and had just started to develop my own style in the kitchen. I was upgrading from a t-fal nonstick set I’d gotten when I started college 6 years prior and I decided that I was tired of handles falling off and needing to transfer items like steaks onto baking sheets to finish them in the oven (though I’m more inclined to reverse sear a good cut of steak these days).Anyway, I was staring at the stock pot this afternoon when I realized that there are so few signs of wear on any of the items in this set. Four years later, I have zero regrets about the $300 I spent on this set (and that was in 2021 dollars while I was a broke grad student!) and only thought back on the many gorgeous meals I’ve made in these pots and pans and the fact that despite going into the dishwasher at least 4 times a week, none of them have deteriorated in quality or finish. I primarily use wooden and silicone utensils (the only metal tools I have are for the grill) and I know that the finish would probably have been damaged if I had used metal on them, but I was genuinely astonished that they have held up so long and so well with no signs of deterioration (several shallow scratches on the exteriors of the items, but I’ve also moved residences with them 5 times since I got them, so there’s definitely a reason for that beyond flaws in the construction). In an era where planned obsolescence is the norm and everyone upgrades everything at the drop of a hat, usually out of necessity due to poor quality and inability to maintain integrity over time, it is so refreshing and satisfying to know that while I struggled for a few months to pay off the set, the money I’ve saved by being able to cook at home most days and feed friends and family at gatherings at my house rather than going out has far surpassed the initial investment I made in February 2021. I don’t know if any of the manufacturing processes have changed, but I know that if the set is constructed the same way as four years ago, you will be able to use them for a long time. I really could not be happier with the quality of these items. Flashier, more expensive items may come and go, but a solid all-clad steel set will last years, and for the price I paid, I’ve already been repaid tenfold with this set.