I sauntered over to BB&B at lunchtime and checked out the Calphalon 13-piece Tri-Ply cookware set. The pans seemed to have a bit of heft to them, which I like. The set is $400, but you get a bonus gift that retails for about $124 (for the pan and cover) and a $50 BB&B gift card (and there’s another knife I want); plus I can use a 20% off coupon.
Right now my cookware is a bit of a hodge-podge. I have a set of teflon pots and pans ($50 for all of them), and hand-me-downs or pans purchased singly. I only have one steel sauté pan. (Of course there are the two 10" cast iron skillets, the 6" cast iron skillet, and the cast iron griddle too.) It would be nice to have an integrated set of heavier-than-what-I-have stainless steel (actually, they have aluminum cores) pots and pans, since I like to cook.
What is your opinion of the Calphalon Tri-Ply cookwear? Worth the price? Worth the price when the ‘free gift’, $50 gift card, and 20% discount are included? Or should I wait and get the All Clad or Revereware set (about $600)?
I bought a set of Calphalon a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. I also bought a wok. I don’t know whether mine is the same set you’re referring to . . . mine is the set with glass lids, a great feature. I’m taking excellent care of them, hoping I’ll never have to replace them.
Calphalon has changed their product lines a lot over the years. I have a few pieces of the old anodized (not nonstick – just anodized aluminum) stuff and it’s fine, though I prefer stainless. I don’t like the “Calphalon One” (I think it’s called) nonstick cookware much. I have no experience with their stainless cookware, but I’d guess it’s totally acceptable. However, due to all of the changes they’ve made, I don’t think that peoples’ experience with Calphalon cookware from years ago is necessarily applicable.
Also, FWIW, I don’t personally think that buying a set is a good idea most of the time. You usually end up with a few pieces you never use, and you could get the individual pieces you do use for less than the cost of the set (and you don’t use up as much storage in your kitchen). YMMV.
I cooked with Calphalon for years, and it’s solid stuff. I now prefer All-Clad, but it’s certainly more expensive. I’d advise you to save up, but I know plenty of people who love their Calphalon. I’m not sure I’d buy anything I’ve seen from Revereware, but I’m not all that familiar with their latest endeavors.
(Also, I’m not sure you need all those pieces, based on what you already have in your kitchen.)
You’d be surprised. But really, the cheap non-stick pans I mentioned are wearing out after only a year or so. Like, the teflon is flaking off around the edges. Except for a few things, I prefer non-teflon pans.
Having looked at the set, the only thing that I don’t envision using much is the 6-qt. stock pot with the pasta insert. OTOH, since I learned how to make pasta (from scratch) it might be used more.
My stock pot (All-Clad) with pasta insert is actually one of my most used pieces of cookware. I love it. I’d say that’s in the top three along with an All-Clad Stainless 10" skillet and a Lodge cast iron skillet. Good to have, I think.
Alton Brown says he never cooks any amount of pasta in less than a gallon of water. I thought I might try it his way to see if it makes a difference. If it does, then the stock pot would get more use. And as I said, I’ve learned how to make pasta. Raviolis take up more space, so a big pot with its own strainer is a plus.
Actually, I have one of those blue-with-white-flecks stock pots with a hole-y insert. It’s probably close to 40 years old, as I inherited it from my dad. I can get two dismembered Dungeness crabs in it. A second pot would come in handy during crabbing season. (I kill the crabs first and just cook the legs. They taste good that way, and take up less space.)
I love my Calphalon pans. I like the long handles that don’t get hot, and I love that I can stick them in the oven because there are no cheapie plastic bits. They wipe clean with a paper towel, so it doesn’t even bother me that I can’t stick them in the dishwasher.
Mine are the old anodized aluminum, as well. They’re clunky and the handles get hot, and are just about ready for replacement, as the coating is coming off bit by bit. I really like my Berndes pans, though: 3 layer non-stick, with a very thick bottom that stays perfectly flat. I also have a Cuisinart stainless pot I like that I use for pasta.
I have one of those pieces in your link (I think it’s the one in the very front, but it’s hard to tell by the image if it’s the exact size). I love it. Of course, it’s not nonstick, so it sometimes requires a bit more soaking and scrubbing to get clean, but I’m getting tired of using the teflon-coated ones (even the more expensive ones like the Calphalon One pans we have) that wear out too quickly and become nonstick eventually anyway. I would love to get a whole set of those.
Well… I went out at lunchtime and bought the set. Carried the box to the car, but I’ll have to get the bonus box this afternoon. (They’re holding it for me.)
So thanks for the recommendations, all! Of course if I don’t like the cookware, you all have to pay me back. If I do (as I suspect I will), please do go to your nearest Bed Bath & Beyond and ask for your commission!
And since you’re wondering, probably an omelette on Saturday.
