Material is the first thing to consider when buying cookware since it affects both the price and the performance. While there are some cookware pieces made from clay or stovetop-safe ceramic materials, those tend to be specialty items rather than everyday cookware. Most cookware is made from some type of metal, with stainless steel, aluminum, and copper being the most common. While some cookware is made entirely from one type of metal, it’s not unusual to find cookware made from two or more materials.
We also like that each piece has a helper handle, which offers extra control when moving the pan. Make sure you have the best tools for storing and maintaining your brand-new cookware set. Invest in pot organizers and racks and, if you’re going for stainless steel, copper or cast iron, definitely have a bottle of Bar Keepers Friend on hand.
And while this set performed reasonably well in our tests, our testers said they wouldn’t recommend this set based on the intense smell they produce when heated. Our testers loved how easy to clean this set was, noting that “food rinses right off.” Their nonstick coating performed well in our cook tests, too, and showed no sticking and easy movement. One cuisinart knife thing to keep in mind is that the manufacturer recommends letting the cookware cool completely before cleaning. A small frying pan is great for cooking one or two eggs, while a large stockpot is exactly what you need for cooking large batches of soup stock. There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to the perfect size for a piece of cookware.
However, the sauté pan is only 8-inches in diameter so may want to supplement with a bigger covered skillet or saute pan for one-dish dinners. You can safely wash these pots and pans in the dishwasher and they are easy to clean by hand unless you sear over high heat cuisinart knife and get spatters cooked onto the surface. Sizes are etched on the bottoms so you always know whether you’re grabbing the pan specified in your recipe. This seven-piece cookware set from direct-to-consumer brand Caraway is the perfect blend of performance and design.
Sturdy, riveted stainless steel handles give you easy handling, and the entire pot is ovenproof up to 500 degrees. Hand washing is required for these gorgeous pieces, and our Lab tester noted that some additional upkeep is required if you prefer a shiny look versus the patina finish that will develop over time. All-Clad’s D3 Stainless Everyday 3-Ply Bonded Cookware is a tri-ply set similar to our All-Clad pick. The handles on these are slightly curved, which some may find more comfortable than the stick handles on our upgrade pick. This set includes 8½- and 10½-inch skillets, 1½- and 3½-quart sauce pans with lids, a 4-quart sauté pan with a lid, and a 6-quart stockpot with a lid. This may have been a one-off manufacturing error, but we’ll keep an eye on customer reviews to see if others experience a similar problem with the handle.
Our favorite set, the All-Clad D3 seven-piece, would cost about $50 more if you bought each piece of cookware individually. The difference will vary based on the brand and the specific set but you can expect to save some money when buying a cohesive set. In terms of design, testers noted that the pan handles had a nice feel and found that the squared-off lid handles fit comfortably in their hands. The bigger pans and pots have a helper handle for ease of holding anything heavier or hot as well.
This bundle includes 40 vinyl sheets and several helpful tools to use while crafting with the Cricut. It’s a three-level house that comes with a sticker sheet for decorating. It comes with two mini-doll figures and one micro-doll figure , as well as capybara and butterfly figures. The Hoover Power Dash pet carpet cleaner features a dual-tank water system, fast heated drying and a removable nozzle.
The All-Clad skillets discolored slightly over heat, though significantly less than almost any other cookware we tested. In our tests, the Tramontina 3-quart saucepan made perfect caramel without burning, though we had to swirl the pan more to distribute the heat evenly. This wasn’t the case with the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic stockpot, which required frequent stirring to prevent the sauce from burning.
Unlike other nesting sets, the lids actually fit in each pot or pan while they’re stacked. When I moved into my first apartment living in a new city, this was the nonstick set my roommate and I bought. Over the years, even at my job in professional kitchens, this is the set I always compare other nonstick cookware to. At just $120, you can’t beat the price for the value, especially since it comes in many colors and can be customized based on your preferences. Believe me when I say it is impossibly nonstick, making it beyond easy to use. If you’re looking for a nonstick set that doesn’t sacrifice design, this is the set for you; one of our professional product testers even declared this as their favorite set.
(However, if you prefer saucepans with two handles, some manufacturers, such as All-Clad, sell them open stock.) We also looked for sets that included a hole on each handle for hanging. Side handles are best for larger saucepans and stockpots, which have a bigger volume and require two hands to lift. All told, I’ve spent more than 130 hours researching and testing cookware sets for this guide. As a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, I have written reviews for all kinds of kitchen equipment and gadgets, including skillets, knife sets, and cutting boards.