This could be IMHO (or even GQ, I suppose), but it deals with cuisine and most of the good cooks hang out here, so I’ll try here first.
I’d like to buy a set of cookware as a gift for someone. I’m thinking in terms of a ten piece set, or larger. Budget is more or less $200; a little more would work if it would be money well spent. I’ve been looking around and I’ve found some sets that I like, but I’m not sure. My preference is for stainless.
I’ve owned a set of Belgique cookware for years and they have seen near daily use, and they are still in very good condition other than a few scratches. They are stainless with aluminum bonded to the bottom (although the very bottom is stainless). Virtually no stains after all these years. Macy’s seems to be the only folks who still carry Belgique these days (under the name “Tools of the Trade”). There are some other TotT lines, but the Belgique seems to be their top. The bottoms are copper, bonded to the pot. They seem heavy duty. However, I was a bit put off by the warnings on the box; don’t boil them dry, and don’t use high heat (over 900F) on an electric stove. Is there a danger of the copper bottom de-laminating from the pot?
Cuisinart has a nice set of cookware, as does KitchenAid. All-Clad is above my budget.
While a set may seem like a nice idea, I question the desirability of a boxed set to anyone, novice or experienced cook. No one’s going to use all of those little bits and pieces they tend to throw in to these sets, so there’ll be waste, and different materials are desirable for certain applications.
Separately, I enjoy some of the All-Clad pieces I’ve been given over the past few years, but they really aren’t of any particularly unique quality, and are outrageously priced. Plenty of companies offer aluminum-core stainless steel pans which should work fine – stuff geared for professional kitchens who wouldn’t pay what Sally Homemaker might for the name brand. Anyway, fully-clad pieces such as a saute pan (straight-sided skillet) are of dubious merit, compared with a steel pan with a copper or aluminum core or plate on the bottom.
The “copper”-looking pots you’ve described don’t sound as though they have enough copper to be useful. Who knows, though? Maybe a genuine copper sauteuse, lined with stainless steel, by a reputable manufacturer like Falk, might make a splendid gift, or a beautiful Le Creuset deep skillet.
See the egullet instructional course eGCI written by Sam Kinsey for a lot of straight dope. (eGullet.org)
I would first of all agree with **Billy Powell’s ** comment regarding the usefullness of a full set. My most used pot is a 3-quart (or larger) saucier, a side sloped pot capable of even heating all the way up to the top. This pot is exceptional for deglazing any type of dish along with doing reductions (get one with a lid so it can serve as a dutch oven or braising pan). My second suggestion would be a 12 or 14 inch diameter frying pan and the third would be a 6 or 8 quart stockpot that can also serve as a pasta pot and get a steamer insert for it if you can. Those should start them out quite well.